SOA: Minimal Functional Requirements

Attempting to enumerate minimal set of template functional items to be addressed for use as "Semantic Signifiers" withing the SOA (Services Oriented Architecture) SIG "Resource Locator and Update Service" specficiation.

Removed a lot of the authorship and custodianship metadata that is not directly supporting structural and semantic definition. Would like to bring in more requirements only as deemed necessary.

SOA: Semantic Signifiers - HL7 Profile Functional Specification

Introduction

This document describes the functional requirements of HL7 templates to support service oriented architecture specification usage. This enables definitions of constraints to content within a HL7 operating profile for a service.

MIF is the "Model Interchange Format" it is a HL7 artifact formalism for describing all modelling performed in HL7 v3. It is implemented as a set of XML schemas. "mifStaticModelSerialized.xsd" - specfically supports serializable HL7 model metadata. The support for the stated requirements by the MIF is examined here.

Identification/Discovery

This section describes functional requirement items that support identification of the template instance explicitly or by discovery of for desired semantics

Identifier

An identifier must be bound to constraint statements. This allows reference to the template from other templates.

MIF Implementation

/serializedStaticModels/serializedStaticModel/@name

Name

This may be defined to provide an indication of semantics.

MIF Implementation

/serializedStaticModels/serializedStaticModel/@title

Semantics Description

This is a description of the semantics that may be inferred when this template is invoked. It will aid in determining whether the semantics are suitable for use in a desired context.

MIF Implementation

/serializedStaticModels/serializedStaticModel/annotations/description

Version

This is an indication of the current revision of the template. Versions of a template require that there are no semantic differences to be considered the same template.

MIF Implementation

/serializedStaticModels/serializedStaticModel/history/@id

Classification

Terminology concept terms may be bound to constraint statements. This may provide semantic information throughout the constraint statement.

MIF Implementation

Constraint

Requirement This section describes functional requirement items that support constraining a reference model structure, binding to concepts, specialization of templates.

Identifier

Requirement An identifier must be bound to constraint statements. This allows reference to any identified part of the constraint hierarchy.

Reference Model Identifier

Requirement Defines the reference model that is being constrained for this template.

Terminology Binding

Requirement Terminology concept terms may be bound to constraint statements. This may provide semantic information throughout the constraint statement.

Explicit Constraints

Requirement Constraint statements can be made on attributes and associations of a reference model.

Multiplicity

Requirement The allowed range of instances allowed of specified attribute/association, this may be 0-not allowed, 1-allowed, greater than 1-a collection.

Collection Type

Requirement Defines the type of collection that may be instansiated sorted list, unsorted list, set.

Instantiation Conditions

Requirement Conditional statement defining the inclusion conditions of explicitly defined constraints or referenced templates. This may include reference to environmental variables and to instance values that are within the context of a given template.

Referenced

Requirement Reference to identified template to include specified constraints defined in another template.

Choice

Requirement Statement of choice of a number of possible distinct explicitly defined constraints or referenced templates.

Instantiation Criteria

Requirement Statement of criteria of allowed or exclusion properties of referenced templates not identified directly.

Data Value Constraints

Requirement Data value constraints are specific constraints that support common ways of constraining specific data value types. In the HL7 profile this includes all HL7 datatypes.

Range

Requirement Numeric range specification, supporting inclusive and exclusive ranges also single and double sided ranges. This includes numeric types and physical quantities.

Measurement Units

Requirement This constrains measurement units to a value set that is allowed. This applies to physical quantities.

Code System

Requirement This constrains the code system to an allowed set of code system identifiers. This applies to the coded value types.

Value Set

Requirement Includes assumed (default) values, fixed values and enumerations for string and coded value types.

Regular Expression

Requirement Defines allowed string patterns and applied to string types.

Identifier Root

Requirement This constrains the root of an identifier to an allowed set of identifier root values. This applies to identifier types.

Assertions

Requirement Stated assertions defining allowed instantiation constraints of values. This may depend on environment variables or other instantiated values within the context of the given template.