Classifications table (.CLS file)

In a rule set, the classifications table (previously called the .CLS file) contains a list of classification definitions. A classification definition assigns a value to a class.

The header of the classifications table includes the name of the rule set and the legend for the classifications. The legend indicates the classes that are used in the classification definitions and descriptions for those classes. All of the lines in the header are specified as comments by preceding any text with semicolons. For example, the header in a classifications table for a rule set that handles retail product data might include the following lines:

;--------------------------------------------------------
; Retail Product Classification Table                                                   
;--------------------------------------------------------
; Classification Legend                                                         
;--------------------------------------------------------
; B - Product Brand                                                                
; C - Product Color                                                            
; N - Product Name                                                               
; S - Product Size                                                              
; T - Product Type

After the header, the file contains the following strings:

;;ProductName vn.n
\FORMAT\ SORT=N

Do not include any other comments before these lines.

After the header and introductory strings, each line in the classifications table includes one classification definition. In the classifications table, classification definitions use the following format:


value standard value class [similarity-threshold] [; comments]

In the classifications table, each value must be a single word. Multiple or compound words, such as New York, North Dakota, or Rhode Island, are considered separate values.

Literals in the classifications table

Literals are characters that are entered instead of a string in one of the parts of a classification definition.

Some characters that function as literals are also used as labels for default classes. To specify one of these characters as a literal, you must enter an escape character before the character that you want to use as a literal.

When you enter a classification definition in the classifications table, you can use the literals and escape characters that are shown in the following table.

Table 1. Literals and escape characters in the classifications table
Character	Description
\&	The ampersand (&) is a class that indicates a single value of any type. However, you can type the backslash (\) escape character before the ampersand to use the ampersand as a literal.
/	Literal.
\/	You can use the backslash (\) escape character with the forward slash (/) in the same manner that you use the forward slash (/) character.
-	Literal.
\-	You can use the backslash (\) escape character with the hyphen in the same manner that you use the hyphen (-) character.
\#	Literal. You must use this character with the backslash (\) escape character, for example: \#.
()	Literal. The parentheses are used to enclose operands or user variables in a pattern syntax.
\( and \)	Use the backslash (\) escape character with the opening parenthesis or closing parenthesis to filter out parenthetical remarks.