Eimuutettavat

Eimuutettavat is a Finnish term used in information technology and archival contexts to describe items or data elements that are not subject to modification after their initial creation. The term is a compound of ei (not) and muutettavat (editable), effectively meaning "not editable" or "immutable." In English, the concept is commonly described as immutability or immutable objects.

Definition: An eimuutettavat object remains fixed once written; changes are achieved only by creating a new version or by appending an entry to a log. The original instance remains intact to preserve integrity and traceability.

Contexts: In databases and data storage, eimuutettavat designates append-only logs, write-once storage, or cryptographically signed documents. In software, immutable data structures store values that cannot be altered after construction, supporting referential transparency. In digital preservation, eimuutettavat objects help ensure fixity and authentic provenance; blockchain and other distributed ledgers provide immutability guarantees through consensus and cryptography.

Implementation considerations: while immutability improves auditability and integrity, it introduces storage overhead and requires versioning strategies, governance policies, and clear retention rules. Access controls and signature mechanisms are often employed to certify authenticity of eimuutettavat items.

Examples: a signed digital contract stored in a write-once repository; a blockchain transaction; an immutable configuration object in a functional programming language; archival digital files with fixity checks.

See also: immutability, immutable data structures, append-only log, cryptographic hash, blockchain, data integrity, versioning.