Re: [tm-pubsubj] Published subjects terminology

[Bernard Vatant <bernard.vatant@mondeca.com>]

Lars Marius

Basically I agree on most of your prose, and I think it fits 95% with the glossary we have
so far.
The last point I am uneasy upon is the use of "subject indicator reference", for previous
quoted reasons.
Now that -I think- I have understood the (subtle) distinction Murray made, the subject
indicator reference is the URI "used in context". On the other end, the URI itself (the
character string) will be used as an identifier of the subject, through the resource that
indicates (at least) or defines (in best cases) the subject. That's why I suggested to
call the URI itself a subject identifier.

OTOH, I disagree with two points of your diagram at http://www.ontopia.net/tmp/terms.png

1. I don't think the SDR "identifies" the subject. It *defines* or at least *describes*
it.
2. The URI does not appear in your diagram, although it seems essential. The URI is the
identifier.

To sum up, I would explain it that way now (will add that as a note in the recommendations
draft) ...

<p>
A subject can be:

-- *represented* (or *reified*, for those who still dare use that dangerous word) by a
topic in a topic map
-- *indicated* by a subject indicator (in a topic map, by a topic map author through a
subject indicator reference)
-- *defined* or *described* in a subject definition resource (by a published subjects'
publisher)
-- *published*  ... if a publisher has taken care to do it
-- *identified* by an URI (wrapped in the subject indicator reference by the topic map
author, or declared in the published subject documentation by the publisher)
</p>

I should try try to put that in a diagram, too.

Hold on - We're almost there


----- 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.
>
>
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