Parts Level:  BeginDate

Definition:  Behind-the-scenes field that responds automatically to the entry of the date in roman numerals+superscript in the Date field.

Comment:  The purpose of this field is to allow a simpler search engine, since computer programs do not readily recognize roman numerals as such, but treat them as letters. The superscript letters/numbers used to designate fractions of a century caused additional headaches to the computer.

Example:

• s. XV in the Date field, producing "1400" in the BeginDate field and "1499" in the EndDate field

Properties:  Data type: number as long integer.

Required?:  Yes, in that this field fills in automatically in response to the Date field which is itself required, but in fact neither BeginDate nor EndDate are required by the program (because of the possibility that "Date" may be entered as "Undetermined").