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Subject: Re: [tm-pubsubj] Requirements oddity
Steve, Have replied separately on the "human-readable" and posted a new example in HTML that is a proposed answer based on your interpretation of "human-readable." Herein, of the dc:description and need for metadata about a Published Subject Identifier. Steve Pepper wrote: > * Patrick Durusau: > <snip> > | One problem I am wrestling with is how do machines discover information > | about Published Subject Identifiers? > > Why do machines need information about the identifiers? Isn't it > enough to *know* the identifier and have information about the > (corresponding) subject indicator? > > | If the semantics of metadata in a Published Subject Indicator were > | declared to be "about" the Published Subject Identifier, we could have: > | > | <rdf:RDF > | xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" > | xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"/> > | <rdf:Description > | rdf:about="http://psi.fruits.org/apple.html" > | dc:publisher="Johnny Appleseed" > | dc:description="Apple: Round firm fleshy fruit of a rosaceous tree" > | dc:type="Published Subject Indicator" > | dc:date="2003-09-14" /> > | </rdf:RDF> > > This is fine as it is ... except that dc:description is misplaced. > You have provided a description of the subject itself, not of the > subject indicator (or identifier). > I don't think "description of the subject itself" is quite right. Dublin Core defines description as: "An account of the content of the resource." With the comment: "Examples of Description include, but is not limited to: an abstract, table of contents, reference to a graphical representation of content or a free-text account of the content." Appears to refer to describing the content of the Published Subject Indicator (in our case) which I take to be something other than the "subject itself." (Conceding that my use to incorporate the definition is also an abuse as well. To have an "account of the content" is not the same thing as reproducing the content.) On the other hand, dc:type, which is defined as: "The nature or genre of the content of the resource." does seem to fit rather well. > | Which not only meets all the requirements and recommendations but is > | also machine-processable metadata "about" the Published Subject > | Identifier. (Actually since we suggested consistency between > | human/machine metadata, we could simply say it applies to both?) > > It meets the machine-readability recommendations, which are about > metadata for the subject indicator (with the except of the > dc:description property, as noted above). > > | While it is true that topic map processors will only "match" the > | Published Subject Identifiers for subject identity purposes, making it > | easy for other software to seek out and store metadata from Published > | Subject Indicators "about" Published Subject Identifiers, looks like a > | good strategy. > > I still don't understand why software needs metadata about identifiers > rather than indicators. > Hmmm, I suppose under the theory that each identifier is bound to an indicator (requirement for being a PSI), then it may be sufficient for the metadata to be "about" the indicator. It is by implication also about the identifier in some sense but it may not be necessary to go there. What I was envisioning was a circumstance where I have software that trusts some identifiers and not others. The bare identifier, without more, does not give me any basis on which to distinguish those I trust (apart from domain name) from those I don't. Having the metadata in the Published Subject Indicator be "about" the identifier, I can distinguish (assuming required) on the basis of date, publisher, other required metadata? I might trust identifiers from Idealliance but only those with dc:creator of "Jane Harnad." As I noted, it may be a distinction without any real difference. I could treat the metadata in the Published Subject Indicator as determining whether I trust the Published Subject Identifier. Hope you are having a great day! Patrick -- Patrick Durusau Director of Research and Development Society of Biblical Literature Patrick.Durusau@sbl-site.org Chair, V1 - Text Processing: Office and Publishing Systems Interface Co-Editor, ISO 13250, Topic Maps -- Reference Model Topic Maps: Human, not artificial, intelligence at work!
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