Changehas

Changehas is a term used to describe a formal marker attached to a state transition in data records and provenance systems. It denotes that a change has occurred and that the change is recognized or asserted by a particular source.

Origin and terminology. The word is a portmanteau of "change" and "has," echoing the grammatical construction "has changed." It emerged in mid- to late-2010s theoretical discussions about tracing and attributing changes in complex information flows.

Applications. In information governance, software versioning, and data lineage studies, changehas markers help distinguish corroborated changes from inferred ones. They can be used to encode the source of attribution (for example, a user, a process, or an automated monitor) and a timestamp.

Notation and examples. A changehas annotation might appear in logs as changehas(source='systemA', time='2024-10-12T08:15:00Z', change='update to value X'). In concept, it supports auditability by making attribution explicit.

Limitations and reception. Changehas is a theoretical construct with limited standardization. Critics argue that overreliance on attribution markers can obscure uncertainty and complicate data models. Proposals focus on interoperable schemas and clear semantics to avoid ambiguity.

See also. Provenance, data lineage, audit log, attribution theory.