endTemporal

endTemporal is a term used in temporal databases and time-aware data models to denote the endpoint of a temporal validity interval for a data record. It commonly appears alongside a startTemporal attribute and defines when the information represented by a row ceases to be applicable. EndTemporal can be a concrete timestamp or date, or a special value such as infinity to indicate ongoing validity. In many data models, records are stored as intervals with explicit start and end boundaries, enabling historical queries and reconstruction of past states.

In practice, endTemporal is used to constrain queries to the state of data at a given time. For example, to find records valid at time t, one might test that startTemporal <= t and t < endTemporal. Where endTemporal is null or set to a representation of infinity, the record is considered currently valid. The exact semantics of endTemporal—whether endpoints are inclusive or exclusive—vary by model and convention, so clear documentation is important for interoperability.

Implementation approaches differ. Some designs maintain endTemporal as a separate column alongside startTemporal, while others leverage system-versioned or bi-temporal tables that encode temporal boundaries at the database level. Open-ended intervals often use a null or a special value to indicate ongoing validity.

Related concepts include startTemporal, valid-time, transaction-time, and bi-temporal databases. endTemporal, together with its paired startTemporal, supports historical analysis, auditability, and the reconstruction of data states over time.