IQSS / IQSS/dataverse

Feature Request: BCE dates

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Type: Feature
Dominant language
Java
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Overview of the Feature Request
As mentioned in this discussion (https://groups.google.com/g/dataverse-community/c/Bj_dbHTeu2o/m/fFyyWfAsBAAJ), it would be interesting if Dataverse could support BCE (Before Common Era) dates. This functionality would greatly benefit datasets related to fields such as ancient history or archaeology.

image

What kind of user is the feature intended for?
API User, Curator, Depositor

What inspired the request?
We have several research centers that work with archaeological data.

What existing behavior do you want changed?
Allowing negative dates to be added, particularly in the 'time period covered' field, would be very useful.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked Google Groups discussion and trace how Dataverse currently represents and validates the “time period covered” field for API users, curators, and depositors. Define the supported BCE date format and its behavior across those paths; done means negative dates can be added consistently without breaking existing dates.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
backend, data
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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