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Guideline Definition Language (GDL)

Issuer: openEHR Specification Program

Release: CDS latest

Status: STABLE

Revision: [latest_issue]

Date: [latest_issue_date]

Keywords: decision support, GDL, archetype

openEHR components
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The openEHR Foundation is an independent, non-profit foundation, facilitating the sharing of health records by consumers and clinicians via open specifications, clinical models and open platform implementations.

Licence

image Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/

Support

Issues: Problem Reports
Web: specifications.openEHR.org

Amendment Record

Issue Details Raiser Completed

CDS Release 2.0.0

2.0.0

SPECCDS-2: Add GDL and GDL2 specifications to CDS release.

SEC

20 May 2019

1.0.0

Initial Writing.

Rong Chen
Iago Corbal

29 July 2015

Acknowledgements

The work reported in this paper has been funded in by the following organisations:

  • Cambio Healthcare Systems, Sweden.

Trademarks

  • 'openEHR' is a trademark of the openEHR Foundation

  • 'Java' is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation

  • 'Microsoft' and '.Net' are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation

1. Preface

1.1. Purpose

This document contains the design specifications of the Guideline Definition Language (GDL). GDL is a formal language for expressing decision support logic. It is designed to be agnostic to natural languages and reference terminologies by leveraging the designs of openEHR Reference Model and Archetype Model.

Prerequisite documents for reading this document include:

1.3. Status

This specification is in the STABLE state. The development version of this document can be found at https://specifications.openehr.org/releases/CDS/latest/GDL.html.

Known omissions or questions are indicated in the text with a 'to be determined' paragraph, as follows:

TBD: (example To Be Determined paragraph)

1.4. Feedback

Feedback may be provided on the technical mailing list.

Issues may be raised on the specifications Problem Report tracker.

To see changes made due to previously reported issues, see the CDS component Change Request tracker.

2. Overview

2.1. Background

Expressing and sharing computerized clinical decision support (CDS) content across languages and technical platforms has been an evasive goal for a long time. Lack of commonly shared clinical information models and flexible support for various terminology resources have been identified as two main challenges for sharing decision logic across sites.

2.2. Scope

The scope of the GDL is to express clinical logic as production rules. Discrete GDL rules, each containing if-then statements, can be combined together as building blocks to support single decision making and more complex decision making process. The GDL rules can be used to drive at-point-of-care decision support applications as well as retrospective populational analytics.

2.3. An Example

The following is a simple GDL example that allows us to calculate CHA2DS2-VASc Score, a clinical instrument for stroke risk stratification in atrial fibrillation. The definitions for the GDL reserved words used here can be found on the later chapters. The meta-data in the GDL header is based on the openEHR’s ADL Description Section. The following GDL source code illustrates the current version of the guideline, the supported natural languages, to which it has been translated, authorship information, lifecycle state, keywords and the purpose, use and misuse of the guideline.

Guide or guideline is used as a short name for a GDL guideline document in the remaining of the document.

(GUIDE) <
    gdl_version = <"0.1">
    id = <"CHA2DS2VASc_Score_calculation.v1-Revised function">
    concept = <"gt0036">
    language = (LANGUAGE) <
        original_language = <[ISO_639-1::en]>
    >
    description = (RESOURCE_DESCRIPTION) <
        details = <
            ["en"] = (RESOURCE_DESCRIPTION_ITEM) <
                copyright = <"">
                keywords = <"Atrial Fibrillation", "Stroke", "CHA2DS2-VASc">
                misuse = <"">
                purpose = <"Calculates stroke risk for patients with atrial fibrillation, possibly better than the CHADS2 score.">
                use = <"Calculates stroke risk for patients with atrial fibrillation, possibly better than the CHADS2 score.">
            >
        >
        lifecycle_state = <"Author draft">
        original_author = <
            ["date"] = <"2012/12/03">
            ["email"] = <"rong.chen@cambio.se">
            ["name"] = <"Rong Chen">
            ["organisation"] = <"Cambio Healthcare Systems">
        >
        other_contributors = <"Carlos Valladares",...>
    >
>

The following block illustrates the archetype_binding within the guide_definition section, which binds data elements from the archetypes to variables used by GDL rules.

definition = (GUIDE_DEFINITION) <
    archetype_bindings = <
        [1] = (ARCHETYPE_BINDING) <
            archetype_id = <"openEHR-EHR-EVALUATION.problem-diagnosis.v1">
            domain = <"EHR">
            elements = <
                ["gt0107"] = (ELEMENT_BINDING) <
                    path = <"/data[at0001]/items[at0002.1]">
                >
            >
        >
    >
>

Within guide_definition, it is possible to define a set of conditions that have to be met before the rules inside the guide can be executed. In the case of CHA2DS2-VASc score calculation, the guideline will not be executed unless the patient has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. In the example below, a pre-condition checks all the diagnosis of the patient (gt0107) for the existence of atrial fibrillation. Using predicate in the definition section the precondition is set to check against a local code (gt0105) which represents the meaning of atrial fibrillation. This code can be bound to a concept formally defined by external reference terminologies, e.g. SNOMED CT, later on in the term_bindings section.

definition = (GUIDE_DEFINITION) <
    archetype_bindings = <
        [1] = (ARCHETYPE_BINDING) <
            archetype_id = <"openEHR-EHR-EVALUATION.problem-diagnosis.v1">
            domain = <"EHR">
            elements = <
                ["gt0107"] = (ELEMENT_BINDING) <
                    path = <"/data[at0001]/items[at0002.1]">
                >
            >
            predicates = <"/data[at0001]/items[at0002.1] is_a local::gt0105|Atrial fibrillation|",...>
            template_id = <"diagnosis_chadvas_icd10">
        >
    >
    pre_conditions = <"$gt0107!=null",...>
>

The rule section makes exclusive use of the locally defined variables to express the clinical logic. Each rule has a name codified by a locally defined gt code, with which its natural language-dependent name and description are indexed in the term_definitions section. Also a priority can be assigned to ensure execution order of the rules. This example illustrates rules that inspect different diagnoses relevant to CHA2DS2-VASc score and set the values of the DV_ORDINALs inside a CHA2DS2-VASc score archetype, the rule gt0026 ("Calculate total score") sums up all the values and sets the total score in CHA2DS2-VASc score archetype.

rules = <
    ["gt0018"] = (RULE) <
        when = <"$gt0108!=null",...>
        then = <"$gt0014=1|local::at0031|Present|",...>
        priority = (11)
    >
    ["gt0019"] = (RULE) <
        when = <"$gt0109!=null",...>
        then = <"$gt0010=1|local::at0034|Present|",...>
        priority = (9)
    >
    ["gt0026"] = (RULE) <
        then = <"$gt0016.magnitude=( ( ( ( ( (gt0009.value+$gt0010.value)+$gt0011.value)+$gt0015.value)+$gt0012.value)+$gt0013.value)+$gt0014.value)",...>
        priority = (1)
    >
>

Finally we have the ontology section of the guideline, where all the terms are bond to user interface labels and description of the terms in supported natural languages.

term_definitions = <
    ["en"] = (TERM_DEFINITION) <
        terms = <
            ["gt0003"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Diagnosis">
            >
            ["gt0014"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Hypertension">
            >
            ["gt0102"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Diabetes">
            >
            ["gt0105"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Atrial fibrillation">
            >
            ["gt0018"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Set hypertension">
            >
            ["gt0019"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Set diabetes">
            >
            ["gt0026"] = (TERM) <
                text = <"Calculate total score">
            >
        >
    >
>

In addition, local defined terms are bound to concepts or refsets defined by external reference terminologies in term_bindings. In this sample, the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation is bound to a specific code in ICD10.

term_definitions = <
    ["ICD10"] = (TERM_BINDING) <
        bindings = <
            ["gt0105"] = (BINDING) <
                codes = <[ICD10::I48],...>
                uri = <"">
            >
        >
    >
>

3. Design

3.1. Requirements

This chapter describes detailed formal requirements of the GDL.

3.1.1. Clinical information models

  • It shall be possible to express clinical logic using archetypes both as input and output of the rule execution.

  • The rule language shall support archetypes based on different reference information models.

3.1.2. Natural language support

  • It shall be possible to author meta-data of the rules in any natural language.

  • The rule expressions shall be independent of any natural language.

  • The name of individual rules shall be independent of any natural language.

  • It shall be possible to add multiple language translations without changing the logical definitions in the rules.

3.1.3. Reference terminology support

  • It shall be possible to bind a locally defined term in the guideline to a single concept defined by one or several external reference terminologies.

  • It shall be possible to bind a locally defined term in the guideline to multiple concepts defined by external reference terminologies.

  • It shall be possible to bind a locally defined term in the guideline to terminology ref-sets defined externally.

3.1.4. Identification and meta-data

  • Each rule shall be uniquely identified for a given name space.

  • Each rule shall have explicit version information as part of the rule identification.

  • There shall be sufficient meta-data about the guideline with regards to authorship, purpose of the rules, version information and relevant clinical references.

3.1.5. Rule Execution

  • It shall be possible to chain the execution of several CDS rules in order to support complex decision making process.

  • It shall be possible to reuse the CDS rules in different decision support applications in different clinical context.

3.2. Guide Object Model

3.2.1. Design background

openEHR archetypes are used both as input and output of GDL guidelines. This is the key to achieve natural language-independence and reference terminology-independence. Because of this design choice, openEHR specifications are reused substantially in the GDL design.

3.2.2. Packages Structure

The Guide Object Model, the object model of the GDL, consists of two packages, the guide package and the expressions package described in detail through the next two sections.

3.3. Guide Package

3.3.1. Overview

The overview of the guide package is illustrated in Figure 1. Note that classes in blue color are loosely based on the original design from the openEHR specifications.

Figure 1 – The Guide Package

3.3.2. Class Definitions

3.3.2.1. GUIDE

Main class of a discrete guide, which defines archetype bindings, rules and meta-information.

Attributes Signature Meaning

0..1

gdl_version: String

The version of the GDL the guide is written in.

1..1

id: String

Identification of this guide

1..1

concept: String

The normative meaning of the guide as whole. Expressed as a local guide code.

1..1

language: Language

Natural language resources of this guide. It includes an original language and optional list of translations.

1..1

description: RESOURCE_DESCRIPTION

Resources description of this guide including authorship, use/misuse, life-cycle and references.

1..1

definition: GUIDE_DEFINITION

The main definition part of the guide. It consists of archetype bindings and rule definitions.

1..1

ontology: GUIDE_ONTOLOGY

The ontology of the guide.

3.3.2.2. GUIDE_DEFINITION

The definition of the guide includes a list of archetype bindings and a list of rule definitions.

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

archetype_bindings: List<ARCHETYPE_BINDING>

List of archetype bindings, which define specific elements to be used by rules.

1..1

rules: Map<String, Rule>

Map of rules indexed by local gt codes.

0..1

pre_conditions: List<EXPRESSION_ITEM>

List of pre-conditions to be met before the guide should be executed.

3.3.2.3. ARCHETYPE_BINDING

The binding of list of elements from a selected archetype or template to local gt codes

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

archetype_id: String

The ID of the archetype, from where the list of elements is selected.

0..1

template_id: String

The ID of an optional template to be used for selecting elements.

0..1

domain: String

The space in which the rule variables reside. The value can either be “EHR” meaning the value is retrieved from the EHR, or “CDS: meaning the value is derived in the CDS engine. When missing, the assumption is either “EHR” or “CDS”.

1..1

Elements: Map<String, ELEMENT_BINDING>

Map of element binding indexed by local gt codes.

0..1

predicate_statements: List<EXPRESSION_ITEM>

List of predicates (constraints) that need to be fulfilled before the EHR queries can be performed

3.3.2.4. ELEMENT_BINDING

The binding between a specific element in an archetype and a local variable in the guide.

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

id: String

The local gt code of this element

1..1

path: String

The path to reach this element in the archetype.

3.3.2.5. RULE

A single rule defined in a guide

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

id: String

The local gt code of this element

1..1

when_statements: List<EXPRESSION_ITEM>

List of expressions to be evaluated before the rule can be fired.

1..1

then_statements: List<ASSIGNMENT_EXPRESSION

List of expressions to generate output of the rule.

3.3.3. Syntax Specification

The grammar and lexical specification for the standard GDL is entirely based on dADL and driven by the guide object model.

3.4. Expressions Package

3.4.1. Overview

The overview of the expressions package is illustrated by figure 2.

Figure 2 – The Expression Package

3.4.2. Class Definitions

3.4.2.1. EXPRESSION_ITEM

Abstract model of an expression item in the rule.

3.4.2.2. UNARY_EXPRESSION

Abstract model of an expression item in the rule. Inherit EXPRESSION_ITEM

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

operand: EXPRESSION_ITEM

The operand of this unary expression.

1..1

operator: OPERATOR_KIND

The operator of this unary expression.

3.4.2.3. BINARY_EXPRESSION

Concrete model of a binary expression item. Inherit EXPRESSION_ITEM

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

left: EXPRESSION_ITEM

The left operand of this binary expression.

1..1

right: EXPRESSION_ITEM

The right operand of this binary expression.

1..1

operator: OPERATOR_KIND

The operator of this binary expression.

3.4.2.4. ASSIGNMENT_EXPRESSION

Concrete model of an assignment expression. Inherit EXPRESSION_ITEM

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

variable: String

The gt code of the variable to assign the value to.

1..1

assignment: EXPRESSION_ITEM

The expression item, from which the value is derived from.

3.4.2.5. FUNCTIONAL_EXPRESSION

Concrete expression models a function. Inherit EXPRESSION_ITEM

Attributes Signature Meaning

1..1

function: Kind

The kind of function used.

1..1

items: List<EXPRESSION_ITEM>

A list of parameters to the function.

3.4.2.6. OPERATOR_KIND

Enumeration containing all the operators used.

Type Name Symbol

Arithmetic

Addition

+

Arithmetic

Subtraction

-

Arithmetic

Multiplication

*

Arithmetic

Division

/

Arithmetic

Exponent

^

Logical

And

&&

Logical

Or

||

Logical

Not

!

Relational

Equal

==

Relational

Unequal

!=

Relational

Less than

<

Relational

Less than or equal

Relational

Greater than

>

Relational

Greater than or equal

>=

Assignment

Assignment

=

Terminological reasoning

Is a

is_a

Terminological reasoning

Is not a

!is_a

FUNCTION_KIND

Name Function

abs

Returns the absolute value of a double value.

ceil

Returns the smallest double value that is greater than or equal to the argument and is equal to a mathematical integer.

exp

Returns Euler’s number e raised to the power of a double value.

floor

Returns the largest double value that is less than or equal to the argument and is equal to a mathematical integer.

log

Returns the natural logarithm (base e) of a double value.

log10

Returns the base 10 logarithm of a double value.

log1p

Returns the natural logarithm of the sum of the argument and 1.

round

Returns the closest long to the argument, with ties rounding to positive infinity.

sqrt

Returns the correctly rounded positive square root of a double value.

max

Use for getting the maximum value of an element.

min

Use for getting the minimum value of an element.

3.4.3. Syntax Specification

The grammar and lexical specification for the expressions used by GDL is loosely based on the assertion syntax in the ADL specification. This grammar is implemented using javaCC specifications in the Java programming environment. The full source code of the java GDL parser can be found below.

4. Implementation

4.1. Drools

GDL is technology independent, so it can be implemented using different rule engines. We’ve chosen JBoss Drools, an open source technology, to develop our first implementation of GDL execution engine. Drools allows us to refer directly to our Java objects inside the rules. It provides support for a powerful expression language (MVEL) and has proven robust and efficient enough for our purposes. Our drools module will be able to translate our GDL language into Drools Rule Language (DRL).

The following list summarizes the considerations for the drools-based implementation:
  • Each rule in GDL will generate a new rule in DRL

  • Each rule will have as a title the guide id and the GT code (rule "CHADSVAS_Score.v1/gt0028")

  • Priority will be mapped to salience in DRL language

  • All rules will have a no-loop attribute, to disable the execution loops inside one rule

  • Current time variable will have to be defined using the DvDateTime class

  • All elements used inside the expressions will be checked for definition prior to execution

  • Modification of the elements will use the modify method to propagate the changes inside the knowledge base

  • General definition section: Drools does not support declaration of elements outside the rule’s scope. Each one of the elements had to be declared inside each rule.

  • Preconditions: there is no support for this type of conditions. All preconditions will be copied inside each one of the rules.

4.2. GDL Editor

An authoring tool for GDL is released as open-source software for the community. The GDL editor is a multiplatform desktop application and will allow users to create, edit and run GDL files. We implemented in the editor a feature capable of generating forms based on the archetype elements defined in the GDL. These forms can be used to take input from the user and trigger the rules. More information about this tool can be found in the GDL Editor Manual.

The home page of GDL Editor on GitHub is https://github.com/openEHR/gdl-tools.

The software binary download page is here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/gdl-editor.

4.3. Appendix A: Grammar

 /**
 * Expression parser
 *
 * @author rong.chen
 */
options
{
  JDK_VERSION = "1.5";

  LOOKAHEAD= 1;
  DEBUG_PARSER = false;
  DEBUG_TOKEN_MANAGER = false;
  DEBUG_LOOKAHEAD = false;
  UNICODE_INPUT = true;

  static = false;
}

PARSER_BEGIN(ExpressionParser)
package se.cambio.cds.gdl.parser;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import se.cambio.cds.gdl.model.expression.*;
import org.openehr.rm.datatypes.text.CodePhrase;
import org.openehr.rm.datatypes.quantity.*;
import org.openehr.rm.datatypes.basic.DataValue;

public class ExpressionParser
{
  private static final String CHARSET = "UTF-8";

  /* =========================  public interface ======================== */
  /* execute the parsing */
  public List < ExpressionItem > parseBooleanExpressions() throws ParseException
  {
    return expressions();
  }

  public List < ExpressionItem > parseArithmeticExpressions() throws ParseException
  {
    return expressions();
  }

  public ExpressionItem parse() throws ParseException
  {
    return expression_item();
  }

  /* re-initial the parser */
  public void reInit(File file) throws IOException
  {
    ReInit(new FileInputStream(file), CHARSET);
  }

  /* re-initial the parser */
  public void reInit(InputStream input) throws IOException
  {
    ReInit(new BufferedInputStream(input));
  }

  public static void main(String args []) throws ParseException
  {}
}

PARSER_END(ExpressionParser)

<* >
SKIP : /* WHITE SPACE */
{
  " "
| "\t"
| "\n"
| "\r"
| "\f"
}

<* >
SPECIAL_TOKEN : /* COMMENTS */
{
  < SINGLE_LINE_COMMENT : "--" (~[ "\n", "\r" ])* >
}

<* >
TOKEN : /* SYMBOLS - common */
{
  < SYM_MINUS : "-" >
| < SYM_PLUS : "+" >
| < SYM_STAR : "*" >
| < SYM_SLASH : "/" >
| < SYM_CARET : "^" >
| < SYM_DOT : "." >
| < SYM_SEMICOLON : ";" >
| < SYM_COMMA : "," >
| < SYM_TWO_COLONS : "::" >
| < SYM_COLON : ":" >
| < SYM_EXCLAMATION : "!" >
| < SYM_L_PARENTHESIS : "(" >
| < SYM_R_PARENTHESIS : ")" >
| < SYM_DOLLAR : "$" >
| < SYM_QUESTION : "?" >
| < SYM_L_BRACKET : "[" >
| < SYM_R_BRACKET : "]" >
| < SYM_INTERVAL_DELIM : "|" >
| < SYM_EQ : "==" >
| < SYM_GE : ">=" >
| < SYM_LE : "<=" >
| < SYM_LT : "<" >
| < SYM_GT : ">" >
| < SYM_NE : "!=" >
| < SYM_NOT : "not" >
| < SYM_AND :
    "and"
  | "&&" >
| < SYM_OR :
    "or"
  | "||" >
| < SYM_FALSE : "false" >
| < SYM_TRUE : "true" >
| < SYM_NULL : "null" >
| < SYM_IS_A : "is_a" >
| < SYM_IS_NOT_A : "!is_a" >
| < SYM_FOR_ALL : "for_all" >
| < SYM_MAX : "max" >
| < SYM_MIN : "min" >
| < SYM_CURRENT_DATETIME : "currentDateTime" >
| < SYM_ASSIGNMENT : "=" >
| < SYM_MODULO : "\\" >
| < SYM_DIV : "//" >
| < SYM_ELLIPSIS : ".." >
| < SYM_LIST_CONTINUE : "..." >
}

<* >
TOKEN :
{
  < #V_LOCAL_CODE_CORE : "g" [ "c", "t" ] ([ "0"-"9", "." ])+ [ "0"-"9" ] >
| < V_LOCAL_CODE : < V_LOCAL_CODE_CORE > >
| < V_QUANTITY :
    (
      < V_REAL >
    | < V_INTEGER >
    )
    "," ([ "a"-"z", "A"-"Z", "µ", "°", "%", "*", "0"-"9", "[", "]", "/" ])+
        ([ "a"-"z", "A"-"Z", "µ", "°", "%", "*","0"-"9", "[", "]", "/" ])*
        ([ "a"-"z", "A"-"Z", "µ", "°", "%", "*","0"-"9", "[", "]"])* >
| < V_PROPORTION :
    (
      < V_REAL >
    | < V_INTEGER >
    )
    ","
    (
      < V_REAL >
    | < V_INTEGER >
    )
    ","
    (["0"-"4"]) >
| < V_INTEGER :
    (< DIG >)+
  |
    "(-" (< DIG >)+ ")"
  |
    (< DIG >)
    {
      1, 3
    }
    (
      "," (< DIG >)
      {
        3
      }
    )+ >
|
  < V_ISO8601_DURATION: ("-")? "P"((<DIG>)+["y","Y"])?((<DIG>)+["m","M"])?((<DIG>)+["w","W"])?
  ((<DIG>)+["d","D"])?("T"((<DIG>)+["h","H"])?((<DIG>)+["m","M"])?
  ((<DIG>)+["s","S"])?)?>
|
  < V_ISO8601_DURATION_CONSTRAINT_PATTERN: "P"(["y","Y"])?(["m","M"])?
  (["w","W"])?(["d","D"])?"T"(["h","H"])?(["m","M"])?(["s","S"])?
  |"P"(["y","Y"])?(["m","M"])?(["w","W"])?(["d","D"])?>
|
  < V_DATE: (["0"-"9"]){4} "-" ( "0"["1"-"9"] | "1"["0"-"2"] ) "-"
            ( "0"["1"-"9"] | ["1"-"2"]["0"-"9"]|"3"["0"-"1"] ) >
|
  < V_HHMM_TIME: <HOUR_MINUTE> >
|
  < V_HHMMSS_TIME: < HOUR_MINUTE> <SECOND> >
|
  < V_HHMMSSss_TIME: < HOUR_MINUTE> <SECOND> <MILLI_SECOND> >
|
  < V_HHMMSSZ_TIME: < HOUR_MINUTE> <SECOND> <TIME_ZONE> >
|
  < V_HHMMSSssZ_TIME: < HOUR_MINUTE> <SECOND> <MILLI_SECOND> <TIME_ZONE> >
|
  < V_TIME: <HOUR_MINUTE> <SECOND> >
|

  < V_DATE_TIME_MS: <DATE_TIME> <MILLI_SECOND> >
|
  < V_DATE_TIME_Z: "("<DATE_TIME> <TIME_ZONE> ")" >
|
  < V_DATE_TIME: "("<DATE_TIME> ")" >
|
   < V_DATE_TIME_MSZ: <DATE_TIME> <MILLI_SECOND> <TIME_ZONE> >
|
   < #DATE_TIME: <V_DATE>"T"<V_TIME>>
|  < #TIME_ZONE: ["-","+"](["0"-"9"]){2}":"(["0"-"9"]){2} | "Z" >
|
  < #SECOND: ":" ["0"-"5"]["0"-"9"] >
|
  < #MILLI_SECOND: "."(["0"-"9"]){2, 3} >
|
  < #HOUR_MINUTE: ["0"-"9"]["0"-"9"] ":" ["0"-"5"]["0"-"9"] >
| < V_CODE_PHRASE : "[" (< LET_DIG_DUDSLR >)+ "::" (< LET_DIG_DUDS >)+ "]" >
| < V_CODE_PHRASE_RAW : (< LET_DIG_DUDSLR >)+ "::" (< LET_DIG_DUDS >)+ >
| < V_ORDINAL : < V_INTEGER > "|" < V_CODE_PHRASE_RAW > < V_LABEL > >
| < V_ATTRIBUTE_IDENTIFIER : [ "a"-"z" ] (< LET_DIG_U >)* >
| < V_LABEL : "|" (~[ "|" ])* "|" >
| < V_REAL :
    (< DIG >)+ "./" ~[ ".", "0"-"9" ]
  | (< DIG >)+ "." (< DIG >)* [ "e", "E" ] ([ "+", "-" ])? (< DIG >)+
  | (< DIG >)* "." (< DIG >)+
    (
      [ "e", "E" ] ([ "+", "-" ])? (< DIG >)+
    )?
  | "(-" (< DIG >)* "." (< DIG >)+
    (
      [ "e", "E" ] ([ "+", "-" ])? (< DIG >)+
    )? ")"
  | (< DIG >)
    {
      1, 3
    }
    (
      "_" (< DIG >)
      {
        3
      }
    )+
    "./" ~[ ".", "0"-"9" ]
  | (< DIG >)
    {
      1, 3
    }
    (
      "_" (< DIG >)
      {
        3
      }
    )*
    "."
    (
      (< DIG >)
      {
        1, 3
      }
      (
        "_" (< DIG >)
        {
          3
        }
      )*
    )?
    [ "e", "E" ] ([ "+", "-" ])? (< DIG >)
    {
      1, 3
    }
    (
      "_" (< DIG >)
      {
        3
      }
    )*
  |
    (
      (< DIG >)
      {
        1, 3
      }
      (
        "_" (< DIG >)
        {
          3
        }
      )*
    )?
    "." (< DIG >)
    {
      1, 3
    }
    (
      "_" (< DIG >)
      {
        3
      }
    )*
    (
      [ "e", "E" ] ([ "+", "-" ])? (< DIG >)
      {
        1, 3
      }
      (
        "_" (< DIG >)
        {
          3
        }
      )*
    )? >
| < V_STRING :
    "'"
    (
      (
        "\\\"" (~[ "\'", "\n", "\\" ])*
      )
    |
      (
        "\\\\" (~[ "\'", "\n", "\\" ])*
      )
    |
      (
        "\n" ([ "\r", " ", "\t" ])*
      )
    | (~[ "\\", "\n", "\'" ])*
    )*
    "'" >
}

<* >
TOKEN : /* LOCAL TOKENS */
{
  < #DIG : [ "0"-"9" ] >
| < #LET_DIG : [ "a"-"z", "A"-"Z", "0"-"9" ] >
| < #LET_DIG_DD :
    < LET_DIG >
  | "."
  | "_"
  | "-" >
| < #LET_DIG_U :
    < LET_DIG >
  | "_" >
| < #LET_DIG_DU :
    < LET_DIG_U >
  | "-" >
| < #LET_DIG_DUDS :
    < LET_DIG_DU >
  | "."
  | "\\" >
| < #LET_DIG_DUDSLR :
    < LET_DIG_DUDS >
  | "("
  | ")" >
| < V_LOCAL_TERM_CODE_REF : "[" < LET_DIG > (< LET_DIG_DD >)* "]" >
| < #PATH_SEGMENT : < V_ATTRIBUTE_IDENTIFIER > (< V_LOCAL_TERM_CODE_REF >)? >
| < V_ABSOLUTE_PATH : < SYM_SLASH > < PATH_SEGMENT > (< SYM_SLASH > < PATH_SEGMENT >)* >
}

List < ExpressionItem > expressions() :
{
  List < ExpressionItem > items = new ArrayList < ExpressionItem > ();
  ExpressionItem item = null;
}
{
  item = expression_item()
  {
    items.add(item);
  }
  (
    LOOKAHEAD(2)
    < SYM_COMMA > item = expression_item()
    {
      items.add(item);
    }
  )*
  {
    return items;
  }
}

ExpressionItem expression_item() :
{
  ExpressionItem item = null;
}
{
  (
    LOOKAHEAD(4)
    item = expression_node()
  | LOOKAHEAD(4)
    item = expression_leaf()
  )
  {
    return item;
  }
  {
    return item;
  }
}

CodePhrase code_phrase() :
{
  Token t;
  String lang = null;
  String langTerm = null;
  String langCode = null;
}
{
  t = < V_CODE_PHRASE >
  {
    lang = t.image;
    int i = lang.indexOf("::");
    langTerm = lang.substring(1, i);
    langCode = lang.substring(i + 2, lang.length() - 1);
  }
  {
    return new CodePhrase(langTerm, langCode);
  }
}

CodePhrase code_phrase_raw() :
{
  Token t;
  String lang = null;
  String langTerm = null;
  String langCode = null;
}
{
  t = < V_CODE_PHRASE_RAW >
  {
    lang = t.image;
    int i = lang.indexOf("::");
    langTerm = lang.substring(0, i);
    langCode = lang.substring(i + 2);
  }
  {
    return new CodePhrase(langTerm, langCode);
  }
}

/* ----------------------- expressions ----------------------- */
ExpressionItem expression_node() :
{
  ExpressionItem ret = null;
  ExpressionItem item = null;
  ExpressionItem item2 = null;
  OperatorKind op = null;
  List<AssignmentExpression> assignmentExpressions = null;
  boolean precedenceOverridden = false; // TODO
  Token t = null;
  String attrId = null;
}
{
  (
    (
      < SYM_FOR_ALL > item = expression_leaf()
      {
        op = OperatorKind.FOR_ALL;
      }
    | < SYM_MAX > item = expression_leaf()
      {
        op = OperatorKind.MAX;
      }
    | < SYM_MIN > item = expression_leaf()
      {
        op = OperatorKind.MIN;
      }
    )
    {
      return new UnaryExpression(item, op);
  	}
  |
    (
      item = expression_leaf()
      (
        < SYM_EQ >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.EQUALITY;
        }
      | < SYM_NE >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.INEQUAL;
        }
      | < SYM_LT >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.LESS_THAN;
        }
      | < SYM_GT >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.GREATER_THAN;
        }
      | < SYM_LE >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL;
        }
      | < SYM_GE >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.GREATER_THAN_OR_EQUAL;
        }
      | < SYM_PLUS >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.ADDITION;
        }
      | < SYM_MINUS >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.SUBSTRATION;
        }
      | < SYM_STAR >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.MULTIPLICATION;
        }
      | < SYM_SLASH >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.DIVISION;
        }
      | < SYM_CARET >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.EXPONENT;
        }
      | < SYM_AND >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.AND;
        }
      | < SYM_OR >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.OR;
        }
      | < SYM_IS_A >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.IS_A;
        }
      | < SYM_IS_NOT_A >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.IS_NOT_A;
        }
      | LOOKAHEAD(4)
        < SYM_ASSIGNMENT >
        {
          op = OperatorKind.ASSIGNMENT;
        }
        item2 = expression_leaf()
        {
          return new AssignmentExpression((Variable) item, item2);
        }
      | assignmentExpressions = assignmentExpressions()
        {
          return new CreateInstanceExpression((Variable) item, assignmentExpressions);
        }
      )
      item2 = expression_leaf()
      {
        ret = new BinaryExpression(item, item2, op);
      }
    )
  )
  {
    return ret;
  }
}

ExpressionItem expression_leaf() :
{
  ExpressionItem item = null;
  Token t = null;
}
{
  (
    < SYM_L_PARENTHESIS >
    (
      LOOKAHEAD(expression_node())
      item = expression_node()
    | LOOKAHEAD(variable())
      item = variable()
    | LOOKAHEAD(constant_expression())
      item = constant_expression()
    )
    < SYM_R_PARENTHESIS >
  | item = constant_expression()
  | item = variable()
  )
  {
    return item;
  }
}

AssignmentExpression assignmentExpression() :
{
    ExpressionItem item = null;
    ExpressionItem item2 = null;
}
{
    (
     item = expression_leaf()
     < SYM_ASSIGNMENT >
     item2 = expression_leaf()
    )
    {
        return new AssignmentExpression((Variable) item, item2);
    }
}

List < AssignmentExpression > assignmentExpressions() :
{
    List < AssignmentExpression > items = new ArrayList < AssignmentExpression > ();
    AssignmentExpression item = null;
}
{
    (
     < SYM_L_PARENTHESIS >
     item = assignmentExpression()
     {
     items.add(item);
     }
     (
      LOOKAHEAD(2)
      < SYM_SEMICOLON > item = assignmentExpression()
      {
      items.add(item);
      }
     )*
     < SYM_R_PARENTHESIS >
    )

    {
        return items;
    }
}


ConstantExpression constant_expression() :
{
  Token t = null;
  CodePhrase code = null;
  String text = null;
  String units = null;
  Integer order = null;
}
{
  (
    t = < V_STRING >
    {
      String str = t.image;
      return new StringConstant(str.substring(1, str.length() - 1));
    }
  | t = < V_ORDINAL >
    {
      String value = "DV_ORDINAL," + t.image;
      DvOrdinal ordinal = (DvOrdinal) DataValue.parseValue(value);
      return new OrdinalConstant(ordinal);
    }
  | t = < V_REAL >
  | t = < V_INTEGER >
  | t = < V_PROPORTION >
  | t = <V_DATE>
  | t = <V_DATE_TIME_Z>
    {
      text = t.image;
      text = text.replace("(","");
      text = text.replace(")","");
      return new DateTimeConstant(text);
     }
  | t = <V_DATE_TIME>
    {
      text = t.image;
      text = text.replace("(","");
      text = text.replace(")","");
      return new DateTimeConstant(text);
     }
  | t = <V_TIME>
  | t = <V_ISO8601_DURATION>
  | t = < SYM_NULL >
  | t = < SYM_TRUE >
  | t = < SYM_FALSE >
  | LOOKAHEAD(2)
    code = code_phrase_raw() [ text = label() ]
    {
      if (text != null)
      {
        return new CodedTextConstant(text, code);
      }
      else
      {
        return new CodePhraseConstant(code);
      }
    }
  | t = < V_QUANTITY >
    {
      text = t.image;
      text = text.replace("(","");
      text = text.replace(")","");
      DvQuantity q = new DvQuantity("m",1,0).parse(text);
      return new QuantityConstant(q);
    }
  )
  {
    return new ConstantExpression(t.image);
  }
}

Variable variable() :
{
  Variable v;
  Token t;
  String code = null;
  String path = null;
  String label = null;
  String attribute = null;
}
{
  (
    < SYM_DOLLAR >
    (
      t = < V_LOCAL_CODE >
    | t = < SYM_CURRENT_DATETIME >
    )
    {
      code = t.image;
    }
    [ label = label() ]
  | t = < V_ABSOLUTE_PATH >
    {
      path = t.image;
    }
  )
  [
    < SYM_DOT > t = < V_ATTRIBUTE_IDENTIFIER >
    {
      attribute = t.image;
    }
  ]
  {
    return new Variable(code, label, path, attribute);
  }
}

String label() :
{
  Token t;
  String label = null;
}
{
  t = < V_LABEL >
  {
    label = t.image;
    label = label.substring(1, label.length() - 1);
    return label;
  }
}

double real() :
{
  Token t;
  String value = null;
}
{
  t = < V_REAL >
  {
    value = t.image;
    return Double.parseDouble(value);
  }
}

int integer() :
{
  Token t;
  String value = null;
}
{
  t = < V_INTEGER >
  {
    value = t.image;
    return Integer.parseInt(value);
  }
}