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Micah Dubinko wrote: > Hi Paul, Mike, > > >>Two databases may >>use different identifiers for what is in fact the same concept, such as >>zip code. A program that wants to compare or combine information across >>the two databases has to know that these two terms are being used to >>mean the same thing. > > > Isn't that the whole crux of the problem? If the problem is that two > databases (or web pages) use a different name for "zip code", the solution > is to add a third (Q)name, that both must agree upon? That's one option, but it is very heavy-handed and not practical in all cases. What do you do about pre-existing data sources that you don't control? What if you can't convince the owners of these data sources to work together? I prefer the other option. I can, either locally or globally, make a statement that says that these two things are really the same and it is _as if_ they had standardized but without the effort. Then I can save my energy to standardize the really hard cases like across disparate addressing schemes or protocols, or when the mapping is more complex than a simple renaming. Paul Prescod
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