Synonyms
Constant span
Definition
A time span is fixed if it possesses the special property that its duration is independent of the assumed context.
Key Points
As an example of a fixed span, “one hour” always, assuming a setting without leap seconds, has a duration of 60 min. To see that not all spans are fixed, consider “one month,” which is a prime example of a variable span in the Gregorian calendar. The duration of this span may be any of 28, 29, 30, and 31 days, depending on the context, i.e., the specific month.
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Recommended Reading
Bettini C, Dyreson CE, Evans WS, Snodgrass RT, Wang XS. A glossary of time granularity concepts. In: Etzion O, Jajodia S, Sripada S, editors. Temporal databases: research and practice. LNCS, vol. 1399. Berlin: Springer; 1998. p. 406–13.
Jensen CS, Dyreson CE. A consensus glossary of temporal database concepts – February 1998 version. In: Etzion O, Jajodia S, Sripada S, editors. Temporal databases: research and practice. LNCS, vol. 1399. Berlin: Springer; 1998. p. 367–405.
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Jensen, C.S., Snodgrass, R.T. (2018). Fixed Time Span. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_1430
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