dateRange

This rule validates the value of the specified date field against the range you specify. Used alone in the Data Cleanser, this rule rejects records that contain data that fails validation. You can also use this rule with conditional rules and operators to create more complex rules. When this rule is used with the Data Profiler, the frequency report includes all records that match the date range specified. Note that dates with a 2–digit year instead of a 4–digit year will have “00” appended to the front. For example, if the invalid year “54” is found in the data, it is considered to be “0054” and is converted to that value in the Data Cleanser output file. The Data Profiler does not check for valid day and month values, and they appear in frequency reports for your analysis. Days and months are validated in the Data Cleanser.

Enter the date arguments for this rule in the format specified for the master index application (defined in object.xml). The syntax for dateRange is:

<dateRange fieldName="name" min="minimum_date" max="maximum_date"/>

The parameters for dateRange are:

• fieldName – The qualified field name or assigned variable for the field to validate.

• min – The earliest date to include in the valid date range.

• max – The latest date to include in the valid date range.

Example 5 Sample dateRange Rule

This sample defines a rule that validates the date field against a range beginning 01/01/1900 and ending 06/01/2008. When used in the Data Cleanser, if a date of birth does not fall within that range, the record will be rejected and written to the bad data file. When used with the Data Profiler, any dates of birth that fall within the range are included in the frequency report.

<rule>
  <dateRange fieldName="Person.DOB" min="01/01/1900" max="06/01/2008"/>
</rule>