[xtm-wg] Re: [topicmapmail] Smalltalk Implementation of Topic Maps

["Martin Bryan" <mtbryan@sgml.u-net.com>]

Steve

> [Interesting issue that I've never heard raised before: Say we
> have two topics, A and B. A has a [scope] attribute on the
> topic element that specifies theme X. B has a characteristic
> Y, which might be a name or an occurrence. If A and B are merged
> due to the topic naming constraint or subject identity mechanism,
> does X get added to the scope of Y? My take on this is that it
> doesn't. Since this is a purely syntactic mechanism it should
> only have effect at the point in the processing at which the
> syntax is turned into the internal data representation. By the
> time merging takes place it should no longer be there.]

I would have said the opposite. The top level scope attribute applies to all
lower level objects. When the two topics are merged the top level scope
attribute applies to the merged result, and therefore to all lower level
objects.

Example: Topic A is assigned scope X to distinguish it from Topic C with
scope Z in the same map when both share the same name. Topic B, taken from
another map, is merged with A because it shares the same PSI. However it has
different topic names from A (perhaps its for a different language).
Therefore both sets of names apply to Topic AB, but there is still a need to
distinguish between the use of the name for A in scope X from the use of the
same name in scope Z.

Martin Bryan


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