What Information TBX Can Carry

TBX (ISO 30042) can carry more than just terms. It can represent concepts, definitions, languages, term status, context and metadata – depending on structure and tool support.

TBX is often treated as a “term list format”. In reality, TBX can represent much richer terminological information – provided that the data is structured and the receiving system can interpret it.

This page explains what TBX can carry in principle, how information is distributed across levels, and why data sometimes appears to be “lost” during exchange.

The three information levels in TBX

Following its concept-oriented design, TBX organizes information on three levels:

• Concept level (termEntry)
• Language level (langSet)
• Term level (tig)

1. Concept-level information (termEntry)

The termEntry represents the concept itself. Information stored here is language-independent and applies to all languages.

Typical concept-level information includes:

• Definitions
• Subject fields or domains
• Conceptual relations (e.g. broader/narrower concepts)
• Sources and references
• Editorial notes

This level answers the fundamental question: What is the concept we are talking about?

2. Language-level information (langSet)

Each langSet groups all information related to one language.

Typical language-level information includes:

• Language identification via xml:lang (e.g. en-US, en-GB)
• Language-specific notes or usage restrictions
• Regional or market-specific guidance

Not all information is language-neutral. TBX explicitly allows this differentiation.

3. Term-level information (tig)

The term information group (tig) contains information about a specific term.

Typical term-level information includes:

• The term itself
• Status (preferred, admitted, deprecated, etc.)
• Context sentences or examples
• Usage notes
• Grammatical information (optional)

Multiple tig elements per language make it possible to distinguish synonyms, variants or product names cleanly.

A simplified example

<termEntry id="c002">
  <descrip type="definition">
    Optical element used to block specific wavelengths.
  </descrip>

  <langSet xml:lang="en-US">
    <tig>
      <term>laser safety filter</term>
      <termNote type="status">preferred</termNote>
    </tig>
  </langSet>

  <langSet xml:lang="de-DE">
    <tig>
      <term>Laser-Sicherheitsfilter</term>
      <termNote type="status">preferred</termNote>
    </tig>
  </langSet>
</termEntry>

What TBX deliberately does not prescribe

TBX is flexible by design. The standard does not prescribe:

• mandatory data categories
• required definition length or style
• fixed status value sets
• mandatory metadata fields

This is intentional. TBX is meant to be tool-independent and adaptable to different workflows.

Why information may “disappear” during import

When information seems to be missing after import, the reason is usually not TBX itself. Typical causes include:

• The target system does not support certain data categories
• A simplified TBX profile is used
• Missing or incorrect field mapping

TBX can only transfer what is both structurally present and interpretable by the receiving system.

A robust minimal set for exchange

For reliable data exchange, a minimal but effective TBX set typically includes:

• Concept ID (termEntry @id)
• Language (xml:lang)
• Term
• Status
• Definition (highly recommended)

What comes next

Once you understand what TBX can carry, the final step is learning how to move data safely between systems.

Continue with: TBX export & import in practice .

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