Avointaulukkoa

Avointaulukkoa is a Finnish neologism that denotes an openly accessible table of values, typically a tabular dataset published in machine-readable formats such as CSV, JSON, or Parquet. The term is formed from avo- (open) and taulukko (table), with the -ko suffix marking the object form in Finnish.

Usage and scope: In data governance and open-data contexts, avointaulukkoa refers to the public availability and reusability of tabular data. An avointaulukkoa is usually published under an open license, accompanied by metadata and documentation to enable reuse and interoperability. It emphasizes openness of both the data content and the data structure.

Design and quality: Key principles include machine readability, stable identifiers, clear schema, versioning, licensing, and thorough metadata (data dictionary, provenance). Accessibility considerations include selecting widely supported formats and hosting with reliable access.

Applications: Governments, research institutions, and organizations publish avointaulukkoa to support transparency, reproducibility, and data-driven decision making. It is commonly used in open-data portals and as a building block for data analyses, dashboards, and public APIs.

Relation to other concepts: The term is closely related to open data, open formats, and tabular data standards. It can be used interchangeably with phrases like “avoin taulukko” or “avoin taulukko datamuodossa” in Finnish discussions, though avointaulukkoa as a label is not yet standardized.

Examples: A municipal open-data portal might offer an avointaulukkoa exporting population by age groups in CSV. Another example is an environmental dataset published with an explicit open license and accompanying metadata.

Limitations: As a neologism, its precise meaning can vary by context, and recognition may be limited outside Finnish-speaking open-data discussions.