Re: [xtm-wg] The Future of TopicMaps.Org

[Murray Altheim <altheim@eng.sun.com>]

"Mason, James David (MXM)" wrote:
> 
> Although I can hardly claim to be impartial in this matter, I also have a
> lot at stake in the success of the Topic Map paradigm. I also have a lot
> riding on XTM as an expression of the Topic Map paradigm
> 
> I think that some combination of Steve's proposed opitions might be useful.
> 
> In the first place, the primary responsibility for the Topic Map paradigm,
> as defined by ISO/IEC 13250, lies in ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34, and the actual work
> is done in SC34/WG3, which Steve convenes. In SC34, the specific
> responsibility for Topic Maps lies with the editors, Michel Biezunski,
> Martin Bryan, and Steve Newcomb. Anything that purports to represent the
> whole of the Topic Map universe needs to work through the SC34 structure if
> it is to make much claim to be authoritiative. SC34 has several resources
> available for bringing in the obviously very valuable work that has been
> done by TM.org. In particular, I sense near unanimous agreement on the XTM
> 1.0 DTD. The DTD could easily be added to ISO/IEC 13250 and thus have the
> full weight of an ISO/IEC standard behind it, in addition to its being
> something we agree among ourselves about. Putting the work in JTC1 has other
> advantages. JTC1 has liaison with the W3C that has been used in the past for
> joint development projects (e.g., Web CGM, SVG). I think that most of us
> want the W3C to pay attention to XTM. Having it come from JTC1 would add a
> lot of emphasis to XTM.

XTM never made claim to "represent the whole of the Topic Map universe,"
merely one possible XML representation of it, arrived at by the community
of interest. I don't see that piecemeal approval by ISO (such as merely the
XTM DTD and not the whole XTM specification) would help matters much. While
the work on XTM was done independently of ISO, it could go through an ISO 
process or jointly via W3C just as any other joint development could. But
is that what would serve the community best? I note that XML, RDF, and other
specs have been quite successful without ISO standardization. I advocated at
the beginning of the XTM effort that the emphasis be on moving Topic Maps
into the Web community, and I take movement back into ISO as a step away
from this direction. If all further work on XTM is done within ISO, I 
believe its visibility and momentum in the Web community will vanish. I 
don't think of this as a slur on ISO so much as a statement on the 
exigencies of the Web community. I also believe that moving all further 
work on XTM into W3C (at this time) would likely result the destruction
of both the technology (it would get eaten) and its community (it would
be dispersed).

While involvement via the ISUG certainly lowers the cost to involvement,
I don't think cost (so long as it's not really prohibitively high) is 
not the issue here. One of the costs you didn't mention is the cost of
purchasing the standard we'd all create. Distribution of TopicMaps.Org,
OASIS or W3C documents is free, not several hundred dollars as per ISO.

Perhaps my biggest objection is not so much any bias but merely the
foreknowledge that should all further work on XTM be done in ISO, I'd
simply not be involved, so I must admit a portion of my argument here
is personal. I know if XTM ends up at OASIS I'll more likely be able to 
attend meetings, and it seems a neutral-enough place that we could 
possibly get back to what we all do best: work.

Murray

...........................................................................
Murray Altheim, SGML/XML Grease Monkey     <mailto:altheim&#64;eng.sun.com>
XML Technology Center
Sun Microsystems, 1601 Willow Rd., MS UMPK17-102, Menlo Park, CA 94025

      the wood louse sits on a splinter and sings to the rising sap
      ain't it awful how winter lingers in springtimes lap -- archy

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