Discussion


Timestamp granularity is not an issue in the continuous model of time. The adjective ``timestamp'' is used to distinguish this kind of granularity from other kinds of granularity, such as the granularity of non-timestamp attributes (+E9,+E1). ``Time granularity'' is much too vague a term since there is a different granularity associated with temporal constants, timestamps, physical clocks, and the time-line clock although all these concepts are time-related. Each time dimension has a separate timestamp granularity. A time, stored in a database, must be stored in the timestamp granularity regardless of the granularity of that time (e.g., the valid-time date January 1st, 1990 stored in a database with a valid-time timestamp granularity of a second must be stored as a particular second during that day, perhaps midnight January 1st, 1990). If the context is clear, the modifier ``timestamp'' may be omitted, for example, ``valid-time timestamp granularity'' is equivalent to ``valid-time granularity'' (+E2).