Issue 64: The definition of Number is too narrow

ID: 
64
Starting Date: 
2001-10-15
Working Group: 
1
Status: 
Done
Closing Date: 
2002-02-21
Background: 

Reasonable values for dimensions in the cultural heritage area can be more complex than defined in the CRM.

Current Proposal: 

Extend the scope note of E60 Number to any encoding of a computable value:

Scope Note: This entity comprises any encoding of computable (algebraic) values like integers, reals, complex numbers, vectors, tensors etc. They are fundamentally distinct from identifiers in continua, like dates and spatial coordinates, even though their encoding may be similar. Whereas numbers can be combined with numbers to yield numbers in algebraic operations, identifiers in continua are combined with numbers expressing distances to yield identifiers. Instances of entity Number are the encoding itself, in contrast to the real world quantity measured by them. So one real world quantity can be measured by different numbers, based on the system of units and the procedure. E.g. 100 Greek Drachme are equal to 340.447 Euro. Examples: 5, 3+2i, 1.5e-04, (0.5,-0.7,88)

MD, January 2002

Outcome: 

Scope Note: This entity comprises any encoding of computable (algebraic) values like integers, reals, complex numbers, vectors, tensors etc., including intervals of those values to express limited precision. They are fundamentally distinct from identifiers in continua, like dates and spatial coordinates, even though their encoding may be similar. Whereas numbers can be combined with numbers to yield numbers in algebraic operations, identifiers in continua are combined with numbers expressing distances to yield identifiers. Instances of entity Number are the encoding itself, in contrast to the real world quantity measured by them. So one real world quantity can be measured by different numbers, based on the system of units and the procedure. E.g. 100 Greek Drachme are equal to 340.447 Euro. Examples: 5, 3+2i, 1.5e-04, (0.5,-0.7,88)

Monterey 21/2/2002.