comment on Artifact Identification Requirements

[Matthew MacKenzie <mattm@adobe.com>]

I'd like to reiterate my comment [1] to the "chairs" list made October 
6, 2004 regarding the Artifact Identification Requirements being put out 
by the OASIS TAB.  I do not feel that it is appropriate to embed so much 
metadata into a file name, and instead prefer  an approach that is 
something like what Norm Walsh lays out  in [2].  When I look across the 
OASIS community at all of the specifications, I notice that most of them 
do not take advantage of the benefits afforded to us by hypertext -- 
which includes numerous ways of embedding critical metadata into an 
easily accessible and indexable part of the document.  The solution, 
IMO, is not to avoid the tough, and unpopular decision to standardise on 
an open publication format and shove all of the metadata into a file name.

Ideally, all OASIS specifications would be published in at least one 
format: XHTML which would be run through a validation tool prior to 
publication to make sure the proper metadata has been added to it.  
Other formats such as PDF (for print fidelity) and Word/OpenOffice (for 
editing, perhaps) can be optional.  The OASIS infrastructure can easily 
be improved to work hand-in-hand with metadata embedded into the documents.

Respectfully,

Matt MacKenzie
Software Development Manager
Adobe Systems Incorporated


[1] http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/chairs/200410/msg00002.html
[2] 
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/entity-resolution/200506/msg00024.html