Purpose
This document defines the COD-AB standard: the P-code format used to identify administrative units and how codes are assigned and maintained over time, and the field schema, data types, and layer structure required for a COD-AB dataset.
In this document
- 2P-code formatEvery administrative unit gets a P-code made of the country code followed by one three-digit number per level, separated by dots.
- 3Code assignmentCodes are numbered in a fixed sort order within each parent, never renumbered and never reused. The source's own codes are kept alongside.
- 4Change managementHow each kind of boundary or name change affects P-codes, and when a change produces a new dataset version.
- 5Field schemaThe fields every polygon layer carries, with their types. Each layer repeats its parents' fields, so it works on its own.
- 6MigrationHow datasets coded under earlier COD-AB standards move to this specification.