valeurvalue

valeurvalue is a theoretical construct in data representation that describes a value container pairing a primitive value with an accompanying metadata envelope. The term blends valeur, the French word for value, with the English word value, and is used in discussions about context-sensitive or multilingual data encoding. It is not a standardized data type in mainstream programming languages, but serves as a conceptual aid in modeling how values carry extra information.

A valeurvalue consists of two parts: the inner value and a metadata envelope. The envelope can include fields such as data type, locale or language, timestamp, provenance, precision or unit, and evaluation rules. Accessors separate the raw value from its envelope, while a normalization operation yields a canonical form suitable for comparison or storage.

In practice, a valeurvalue enables operations that depend on context. For example, a numeric value might be interpreted differently under different locales or measurement units, with the envelope guiding conversion and comparison. Query languages or data serialization formats may adopt wrappers that resemble valeurvalue to preserve provenance and semantics when values pass through heterogeneous systems.

Examples are usually expressed in pseudo-notation, e.g. valeurvalue { value: "42", envelope: { type: integer, locale: "en-US", unit: "count", source: "sensorA" } }. This illustrates how the inner value remains accessible while the envelope carries necessary qualifiers.

valeurvalue remains a niche concept and is not widely standardized; it is primarily used in theoretical discussions, data modeling, and pedagogy to illustrate value-with-context constructs. Related concepts include tagged values, value objects, and provenance metadata.