canonical form
canonical form
A serialized representation of a SNOMED CT expression produced by applying a set of rules that ensure a single unique representation for any expression.
Notes
Expressions that contain exactly the same concept identifiers and refinements, may differ from one another in the following ways:
Inclusion of whitespace between elements
Inclusion of specific terms associated with identified concepts.
The order in which focus concepts, refinements, attributes, and attribute groups appear.
The canonical form is generated by removing whitespace and terms from an expression and arranging the focus concepts, refinements, attributes, and attribute groups in a standard order.
If canonical form rules are applied to a normal form expression, the result is a single unique rendering of the meaning represented by that expression.
Alternatives
Canonical representation
Related Links
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