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chris-day edited this page Nov 21, 2025 · 9 revisions

Enumerations – Detailed Specification

This document provides a comprehensive explanation of enumeration classes, enumeration individuals, and how uml2semantics models ISO-style code lists (e.g. ISO 4217 currency codes) using OWL 2 constructs.

Enumerations are fundamental when modelling controlled vocabularies, regulated identifiers, or closed sets of named values.

1. Overview

uml2semantics uses two TSV files to define enumeration structures:

  1. Enumerations.tsv – declares enumeration classes
  2. EnumerationNamedValues.tsv – declares enumeration individuals

This separation mirrors ISO 20022’s separation between:

  • the enumeration class (e.g., “CurrencyCode”) and
  • its values (e.g., GBP, EUR, JPY)

2. Enumerations.tsv – Enumeration Classes

An enumeration class is a standard OWL class representing the “type” of a controlled vocabulary.

2.1 Required Columns

Column Description
Curie CURIE for the enumeration class, e.g. iso:CurrencyCode
Name Human-readable class name
Definition Optional natural language definition

Example

Curie                Name           Definition
iso:CurrencyCode     CurrencyCode   ISO 4217 currency codes

OWL Manchester Syntax

Class: CurrencyCode
    Annotations:
        rdfs:label "CurrencyCode"

This class acts as the domain for all enumeration individuals.

3. EnumerationNamedValues.tsv – Enumeration Individuals

Defines the actual values belonging to the enumeration class.

3.1 Required Columns

Column Description
Enumeration Name of enumeration class (must match Enumerations.tsv “Name” or CURIE local part)
Curie CURIE of the individual value
Name Human-readable label, typically code value
Definition Optional text

Example

Enumeration      Curie        Name    Definition
CurrencyCode     iso:GBP      GBP     Pound Sterling
CurrencyCode     iso:EUR      EUR     Euro
CurrencyCode     iso:JPY      JPY     Japanese Yen

OWL Manchester Syntax

Individual: GBP
    Types: CurrencyCode
    Annotations:
        rdfs:label "GBP"

4. ISO 4217 Example (Full Walkthrough)

Enumerations.tsv

Curie                Name           Definition
iso:CurrencyCode     CurrencyCode   ISO 4217 currency codes

EnumerationNamedValues.tsv

Enumeration      Curie        Name    Definition
CurrencyCode     iso:GBP      GBP     Pound Sterling
CurrencyCode     iso:EUR      EUR     Euro
CurrencyCode     iso:USD      USD     US Dollar
CurrencyCode     iso:JPY      JPY     Japanese Yen
CurrencyCode     iso:CHF      CHF     Swiss Franc

OWL Manchester Syntax Output

Class: CurrencyCode

Individual: GBP
    Types: CurrencyCode

Individual: EUR
    Types: CurrencyCode

Individual: USD
    Types: CurrencyCode

Individual: JPY
    Types: CurrencyCode

Individual: CHF
    Types: CurrencyCode

Turtle Output

iso:GBP a iso:CurrencyCode ;
    rdfs:label "GBP" ;
    skos:prefLabel "Pound Sterling"@en .

iso:EUR a iso:CurrencyCode ;
    rdfs:label "EUR" ;
    skos:prefLabel "Euro"@en .

5. Relationship Between TSVs and OWL Structures

Enumerations modelled in TSV become OWL:

  • enumeration class → owl:Class
  • enumeration entries → owl:NamedIndividual
  • each individual has a rdf:type relationship to the enumeration class

The generator does not automatically create:

  • owl:oneOf axioms
  • closed class restrictions
  • disjointness between individuals

These can be added manually via additional TSV columns in future extensions.

6. Enumeration as Property Ranges

Enumerations may be used as attribute ranges in Attributes.tsv.

Example

Class      Name        ClassEnumOrPrimitiveType  MinMultiplicity  MaxMultiplicity
Account    Ccy         CurrencyCode              1                1

Manchester Syntax

DataProperty: Ccy
    Range: CurrencyCode

Any individual of type CurrencyCode is valid.

7. Mermaid Diagram – Enumeration Workflow

graph TD
  E[Enumerations.tsv] --> EC[Enumeration Class]
  V[EnumerationNamedValues.tsv] --> EV[Enumeration Values]
  EC --> OWL[OWL Ontology]
  EV --> OWL
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8. Best Practices

  • Use enumeration classes for any controlled vocabulary.
  • Use clear, uppercase code values (GBP, EUR, JPY).
  • Provide definitions where possible.
  • Use annotation properties such as skos:prefLabel for human-friendly labels.
  • Keep enumeration TSVs alphabetised for stability.
  • Use CURIEs consistently (iso:GBP, not bare GBP).

9. Navigation

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