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Subject: Re: [tm-pubsubj] Published subjects terminology
Lars Marius Thanks for that. I've posted your proposal at http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tm-pubsubj/docs/works/psterm-LMG.htm Comments to come Bernard ----- Message d'origine ----- De : "Lars Marius Garshol" <larsga@garshol.priv.no> À : <tm-pubsubj@lists.oasis-open.org> Envoyé : samedi 26 janvier 2002 23:57 Objet : [tm-pubsubj] Published subjects terminology > > Here's my attempt to describe the terminology of published subjects. > It's still a little rough, but I hope it still helps. With feedback I > may be able to improve it. > > > > PUBLISHED SUBJECT TERMINOLOGY > =============================== > > This is a working document for the PubSubj TC, which explains the > terminology relating to published subjects from one particular point > of view. There are other points of view within the TC, so this > document is in no way official. (Thanks to Sylvia Schwab for a very > helpful outside view.) > > > SUBJECTS AND THEIR PUBLISHERS > ------------------------------- > > (While reading it may be useful to keep an eye on this diagram: > <URL: http://www.ontopia.net/tmp/terms.png >.) > > Imagine that someone wants others to be able to refer to a certain > concept in an unambiguous fashion in a global context. In topic map > terms, concepts are called /subjects/, but they have no obvious > identifiers, in topic maps or out of them. So, what to do? > > One solution is to publish a /subject definition resource/ (SDR) for > the subject. This is an information resource[1] that defines clearly > (to a human reader) what the subject is. The publication of the SDR > makes the subject a /published subject/, and the interested party the > /publisher/ of that published subject. > > Note that the published subject is the real-world concept we want to > make statements about, not what the publisher publishes. That is the > SDR, and its role is to explain what the published subject is. Those > who want to refer to the subject can now do so by referring to the > SDR. > > > PUBLISHED SUBJECTS IN TOPIC MAPS > ---------------------------------- > > Now, someone wants to make a topic map where they make statements > about the published subject. To do this the topic map author needs to > make a topic in the topic map and give that topic a /subject indicator > reference/ (SIR), which points to the SDR. Doing so makes the SDR a > /subject indicator/ in this topic map. > > Note that any resource can be used as a subject indicator. All that's > necessary for this to happen is for someone to refer to it as a > subject indicator from some topic map. This is somewhat risky, > however, as the resource may not be completely unambiguous as to what > subject it defines, but for want of a formal SDR one may well use some > resource that seems reasonable. > > Part of the reason to use published subjects is so that topic maps > will merge correctly even when written by parties unaware of one > another. When merging topic maps the topic map software will not > download and compare the subject indicators, however, and therefore > it's vital that all references to SDRs use exactly the same SIRs. For > this reason the publisher must not only publish the SDR, but also > clearly define the URI to be used to refer to the SDR. > > > DOCUMENTING PUBLISHED SUBJECTS > -------------------------------- > > In practical terms, what this means is that the publisher needs to > publish more than just a set of SDRs. (We spoke initially of a single > subject, but subjects will rarely, if ever, be documented singly.) The > complete package of documentation published is called the /published > subjects documentation/ (PSD). This will generally contain metadata > about the publisher, the collection of published subjects and > references to each SDR. In addition, it should define the canonical > SIR to be used for each published subject, and perhaps also some > assertions about each published subject (such as names and topic > types). > > There are no definite rules for what PSDs must contain, though this TC > is working to define recommendations for their contents. > > > SUMMARY > --------- > > A published subject is a subject for which someone has published an > SDR. An SDR is an information resource published in order to clearly > define a subject for a human reader. Subjects which have no SDRs are > not published subjects. Publishers are recommended to establish sets > of published subjects by publishing a PSD package, in order to > establish the set of subjects, metadata about the set and the SIR of > each subject. > > >From the point of view of a topic map any information resource used to > indicate the identity of a subject is a subject indicator. The subject > indicator may be a SDR, if the subject is a published subject, or it > may not be. The URI used to refer to the subject indicator is known as > the SIR. > > [1] This is what is known in RFC 2396 as a network-retrievable > resource. > > > --Lars M. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > To subscribe or unsubscribe from this elist use the subscription > manager: <http://lists.oasis-open.org/ob/adm.pl> >
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