# Unencoded > in exported OPT for generic RM types

**Category:** [CKM](https://discourse.openehr.org/c/ckm/89)
**Created:** 2025-01-08 10:54 UTC
**Views:** 60
**Replies:** 5
**URL:** https://discourse.openehr.org/t/unencoded-gt-in-exported-opt-for-generic-rm-types/6123

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## Post #1 by @borut.jures

Generic types like `DV_INTERVAL<DV_DATE_TIME>` have inconsistently converted `<...>` for the generic part. Only the `<` is converted to `&lt;`. The ending `>` is not encoded to `&gt;`.

In CKM on "OPT" tab:

```
 <rm_type_name>DV_INTERVAL<DV_DATE_TIME></rm_type_name>
```

OPT downloaded from CKM "Export Template" tab:

```
<rm_type_name>DV_INTERVAL&lt;DV_DATE_TIME></rm_type_name>
```

Notice that the ending `>` is not converted to `&gt;`.

Examples (search for `DV_INTERVAL`): 
- https://ckm.openehr.org/ckm/templates/1013.26.291/opt
- https://ckm.openehr.org/ckm/templates/1013.26.376/opt

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## Post #2 by @sebastian.garde

In the OPT Tab, `&lt;` is rendered as < by the browser.

This is the same if I just type it in discourse, it will be rendered as < if I don't use preformatted text.

If you copy or download and view in a text editor it will show you the `&lt;` as you have noted. However if you open the exact same document in a browser etc. e.g. with an xml extension instead of opt it will also render it as >.  Probably most xml editors would behave similarly and make this transparent to the user.

< must be escaped in text within an xml document, whereas for > this is not required (within text) as far as I know. So this is what we are doing. We could make it more ugly by using `&gt;` but this is not a requirement as far as I know.

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## Post #3 by @borut.jures

I would prefer ugly but consistent (`&lt;...&gt;`) :blush:

But as you say the current variant is a valid XML :man_shrugging:

I have updated my XML parser to handle the current format. Thank you for explaining that this is the expected output in OPT files.

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## Post #4 by @borut.jures

I did some more research :blush:

When the same OPT is exported from the Archetype Designer, it encodes both `&lt;` and `&gt;`.

When the archetype with `DV_INTERVAL<DV_DATE_TIME>` (https://ckm.openehr.org/ckm/archetypes/1013.1.614/export) is exported from CKM as XML, it also encodes both `&lt;` and `&gt;`.

Only export to OPT from CKM leaves the `>` unencoded.

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## Post #5 by @sebastian.garde

In my understanding both are correct, any xml parser should deal with this transparently?

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## Post #6 by @borut.jures

@sebastian.garde I'm not saying it is a bug :blush:  As you mentioned, it is a valid XML.

I first stumbled on this with CKM OPTs but wanted to document it in case others stumble on the same thing. It took me some time debugging my code before I noticed that `>` is part of `DV_INTERVAL`:

```
<rm_type_name>DV_INTERVAL&lt;DV_DATE_TIME></rm_type_name>
```

However it would be interesting to check the code used to export archetypes to XML and the one that exports to OPT. I would expect the same code to be used for `rm_type_name` :thinking:

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**Canonical:** https://discourse.openehr.org/t/unencoded-gt-in-exported-opt-for-generic-rm-types/6123
**Original content:** https://discourse.openehr.org/t/unencoded-gt-in-exported-opt-for-generic-rm-types/6123