Vintagedatum

Vintagedatum is a metadata concept used in data management to denote the point-in-time snapshot date of a dataset or record. It identifies the version of the data as it existed at a specific moment, enabling users to anchor analyses to a known historical context. Unlike timestamps that indicate when a record was created or last updated, the vintagedatum specifies when the data content itself was valid.

In practice, vintagedatum is assigned during data ingestion or transformation and can be applied at different granularity levels: a single vintagedatum for an entire dataset or an individual vintagedatum per row in slow-changing dimensions. It is commonly stored in a dedicated field or as part of a data lineage record. The value is typically an as-of timestamp in ISO 8601 format.

Vintagedatum supports longitudinal analysis, time-based auditing, and reproducibility of results by ensuring analyses refer to a specific historical data state. It is often used in data warehousing, archival systems, finance, and epidemiology where historical accuracy matters and data may drift over time.

Related concepts include as-of date, transaction time, and valid time. The vintagedatum can be complementary to version numbers and lineage metadata. Challenges include handling multiple vintages, time zone normalization, and ensuring consistency across sources. Clear governance and documentation improve data quality and auditability.