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Open Data User Mannual


Open Data Usage Guide


This guide aims to clarify the mechanism for using open data through different formats and extensions and to identify the requirements and supporting programs in addition to the API guide.​


Formats and Usage Mechanism:

Based on the Saudi Health Council's keenness to make open data available and accessible to beneficiaries and to adhere to the legislative requirements related to it in the two documents: Data Management and Governance Controls and Personal Data Protection (Version 5.1 - January 2021), and National Data Governance Policies (Second Edition - May 26, 2021) issued by the National Data Management Office, so that it is available to the beneficiary and researcher according to his needs and uses of it, the most important of which are: (JSON-XML-CSV-EXCEL). It has been provided in two mechanisms EXCEL and API according to local and international best practices, with the possibility of providing it in other formats upon request. The following is an explanation of each file format and how to benefit from it:​

FormulaExplanation

API​

It is a service provided to connect with the Council’s open data through application programming interfaces for developers who wish to write and program applications that use open data.​

EXCEL

(Microsoft Excel)

It is a Microsoft proprietary format that displays data in cells arranged in rows and columns, with each cell containing data or formulas, with relative or absolute references to other cells. These files can be opened with Microsoft Excel.

CSV

(comma-separated values)

They are simple text files, where each line of text corresponds to each row in the table, and columns are separated by a comma or semicolon, while rows are separated by line breaks. Quotation marks are used to keep data as a single value instead of separate fields, and the files can be opened by several programs such as Microsoft Excel, Notepad, and others.

XML

(Extensible Markup Language)

It is a file format for specifying data that is structured in a hierarchical manner, and this format is easily readable by many programming languages. XML files are simple text files and can be opened by various web browsers or by Microsoft Word or by Notepad.

JSON:

(JavaScript Object Notation)

It is a data format that allows the definition of complex data structures. It is used specifically in web programming. Although it is considered part of the JavaScript programming language, it is widely used as an alternative to the XML format, as it does not depend on a specific programming language. JSON files are simple text files and can be opened and edited in many text editors. The JavaScript file contains the names of the properties (data columns) where a value is assigned to each of them and the data rows are separated by brackets. These files can be opened by different web browsers or by Notepad.
PDFYou may need to install Acrobat Reader, which is available for free from Adobe.
TEXTYou can view these files with Notepad and many other tools.​ 

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