Predefined subclasses for Temporal

Representative classes of the Temporal class are described below. An example can be found here.

Procedure

Procedure is an abstract class representing an experimental procedure.

  • For an atomic, unitary procedure, use Action.
  • For a group of procedures, use Block.
class Procedure

Procedure is a subclass of Temporal, and represents any type of experimental procedure.

type

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance. This field must hold "Proedure" or the name of one of its subclasses.

description

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance.

date

an optional (but recommended) Date property specifying the date of this procedure.

Usually, the value for this property holds a reference to a variable, as the date of the procedure varies across subjects and/or sessions.

start-time

an optional Time property specifying the starting time of this procedure.

end-time

an optional Time property specifying the ending time of this procedure.

setup

an optional (but recommended) Setup property representing what setup is used for this procedure.

reference

an optional string or [ string ] property inherited as an Entity instance.

Action and Block

Both Action and Block derive from the Procedure abstract class.

  • For an atomic, unitary procedure, use Action.
  • For a group of procedures, use Block.
class Action

Action is a subclass of Procedure, and represents an elemental procedural action.

type

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance. This field must hold "Action" or the name of one of its subclasses.

description

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance.

date

a required Date property specifying the date of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

start-time

an optional Time property specifying the starting time of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

end-time

an optional Time property specifying the ending time of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

setup

an optional (but recommended) Setup property representing what setup is used for this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

reference

an optional string or [ string ] property inherited as an Entity instance.

class Block

Block is a subclass of Procedure, and consists of a group of Procedures.

type

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance. This field must hold "Block" or the name of one of its subclasses.

description

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance.

date

a required Date property specifying the date of this block of procedures, as it is inherited from Procedure.

procedures

a required array consisting of Procedure objects (can contain none), specifying the list of sub-procedures in this block of procedures.

order

an optional array consisting of temporal Relationship objects, specifying the order of individual sub-procedures in this block.

start-time

an optional Time property specifying the starting time of this block of procedures, as it is inherited from Procedure.

end-time

an optional Time property specifying the ending time of this block of procedures, as it is inherited from Procedure.

setup

an optional (but recommended) Setup property representing what setup is used for this block, as it is inherited from Procedure.

If the setup differs between individual child procedures in this block, the setup property may be better described there.

reference

an optional string or [ string ] property inherited as an Entity instance.

Phase

For an example, refer to this section.

class Phase

Phase is a subclass of Block (i.e. a group of procedures), and represents a operational phase, or an experimental session consisting of one experimental procedure or more..

type

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance. This field must hold "Phase" or the name of one of its subclasses.

description

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance.

date

a required Date property specifying the date of this block of procedures, as it is inherited from Procedure.

procedures

a required array consisting of Procedure objects (can contain none), specifying the list of sub-procedures in this block of procedures. This is a property inherited from Block.

order

an optional array consisting of temporal Relationship objects, specifying the order of individual sub-procedures in this block. This is a property inherited from Block.

start-time

an optional Time property specifying the starting time of this block of procedures, as it is inherited from Procedure.

end-time

an optional Time property specifying the ending time of this block of procedures, as it is inherited from Procedure.

setup

an optional (but recommended) Setup property representing what setup is used during this phase, as it is inherited from Procedure.

If the setup differs between individual child procedures in this block, the setup property may be better described there.

reference

an optional string or [ string ] property inherited as an Entity instance.

Specific types of actions

Anesthesia

TODO

describe what this is:

  • content: material used, probably with concentration
  • route: i.p., s.c., etc.

Acquisition

For an example, refer to this section.

Acquisition allows to link an Action entity (i.e. an atomic procedure) with specific acquisition configurations.

class Acquisition

a subclass of Action.

type

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance. This field must hold "Acquisition" or the name of one of its subclasses.

description

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance.

date

a required Date property specifying the date of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

sequencer

an optional Sequencer property for better describing what task/protocol/sequence is used during this acquisition.

start-time

an optional Time property specifying the starting time of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

end-time

an optional Time property specifying the ending time of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

setup

an optional (but recommended) Setup property representing what setup is used for this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

reference

an optional string or [ string ] property inherited as an Entity instance.

ChronicPreparation

Introduction or removal of some component from the subject.

class ChronicPreparation

a subclass of Action.

type

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance. This field must hold "ChronicPreparation" or the name of one of its subclasses.

description

a required string property inherited as an Entity instance.

date

a required Date property specifying the date of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

manipulations

a required array with manipulation-related Relationship describing what material is introduced to / removed from the subject, with what parameters / coordinates.

start-time

an optional Time property specifying the starting time of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

end-time

an optional Time property specifying the ending time of this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

setup

an optional (but recommended) Setup property representing what setup is used for this action, as it is inherited from Procedure.

reference

an optional string or [ string ] property inherited as an Entity instance.