identifier
Identifiers and codes kept as text: UUIDs, counters and row numbers, all-digit codes whose leading zeros matter, and mixed letter-and-digit codes such as product codes.
4 identifier types: 3 a sibling also accepts and reads alike, 1 that decompose into parts, 3 in Meridian's open data.
The 4 identifier types
Each type's first registry sample, against every sibling's rule
| Type | Sample | Also accepted by |
|---|---|---|
Increment / Counter increment · BIGINT | 1 | numeric_code |
Numeric Code numeric_code · VARCHAR | 840 | increment |
UUID uuid · UUID | 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 | alphanumeric_id |
Alphanumeric Identifier alphanumeric_id · VARCHAR | SKU-12345 | — |
Which identifier type is it?
2 of 4 identifier types accept it, and read it alike.
| Type | Reads it as |
|---|---|
Increment / Counter increment | 1 |
Numeric Code numeric_code | 1 |
In Meridian's datasets
- Alphanumeric Identifiergleif
.legal_formhts.releaseschedule_b.releaseschedule_b.unit_1schedule_b.unit_2schedule_b.sitcschedule_b.hts_releasehcpcs.releasehcpcs.betosndc.releasendc.application_numberndc.product_id - Numeric Codeedgar
.cikhts.parent_codeschedule_b.parent_codeschedule_b.end_useschedule_b.hitechndc.parent_code - UUIDndc
.spl_id
How the engine tells them apart
- Increment / Counter — Difficult to distinguish from regular integers without column context.
- Numeric Code — Column-level disambiguation (header hints, consistent length, leading-zero presence) differentiates from plain integer_number.
Use it
Shell
printf '%s\n' '1' '2' > column.txt
finetype infer -f column.txt --mode columnDuckDB
SELECT ft_profile(v) FROM (VALUES ('1'), ('2')) t(v);After 2, 2 types remain: increment, numeric_code.