In sociolinguistics, register refers to a variety of language used for a particular purpose or in a specific communicative situation. It’s the language people use in a meeting, for instance, that differs from the language they might use hanging out with friends. It can also be the vocabulary and terms used by a group of people that other people might find difficult to understand, such as the language of a law office or the jargon of a science research lab. The term is similar to tone, which describes the way a speaker modulates their voice, gestures and body language to match the formality of the situation.
Register can also mean the paper size for documents, ranging from A4 to Letter. It can also mean a list of names, dates and events. It is also a verb, meaning to record or enroll something in a register.
A register can be a useful tool to help with project management. For example, a risk register is a document that lists the possible risks associated with a given project, how to mitigate them and who will be responsible for what actions. This is a useful document to create for any project that might be at risk of going wrong.
There are many different types of registers, and they can be both a noun or a verb. A register as a noun can refer to a person’s name being recorded in a book or an official document. It can also refer to someone being enrolled in a class or course. Register is also a word that can be applied to writing styles, such as formal or informal.
The data in a register should be raw factual data rather than informational content and counts, statistics and other forms of derived data. It should also be easy to update and link to other information, with clear processes for challenging data and high standards of transparency, adjudications and the processing of issues discovered by users using the information. Registers should be published in a wide range of standard representations, such as JSON for Web developers and comma-separated values (CSV) for those working with tabular data tools like spreadsheets.
Lastly, the data in a register should be secure and stable. It should be immutable, addressable by a unique, permanent identifier that can be used to verify the authenticity of the data and to resolve conflicts between versions. It should also be accessible, with public registers providing APIs that can be accessed in a wide range of ways, including via JSON for Web applications, Comma-Separated Values for those who work with tabular data tools and RDF for those who need linked data. Wherever possible, registers should reuse standard names for fields to enable discovery and search. This is important for the long-term integrity of the data. It also makes it easier for people to incorporate the data in live services, and it allows for a streamlined workflow with the same data being used in multiple contexts.