[xtm-wg] FW: XTM-UCS: USE CASE SURVEY #1

topicmaps-comment message

Subject: [xtm-wg] FW: XTM-UCS: USE CASE SURVEY #1

From: "Wrightson, Ann" <Ann.Wrightson@sweetandmaxwell.co.uk>

To: "'xtm-ucs@cog-tech.com'" <xtm-ucs@cog-tech.com>

Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 14:14:51 +0100

To Post a message, send it to: xtm-wg@eGroups.com

To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: xtm-wg-unsubscribe@eGroups.com

From: "Wrightson, Ann" <Ann.Wrightson@sweetandmaxwell.co.uk>
To: 'Peter Jones' <peterj@wrox.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 14:13:30 +0100

Peter...

"Rejection of a use case as not legitimately necessitating the application of TMs will occur."

If we apply so rigorous a criterion, none will pass!! I think that usecases should be differentiated into:

a. User-level characterizations of effective use of highly interlinked information (my recently uploaded ones are of this kind), with XTM implied as (part of) the mechanism, and the comparative utility of XTM vs other implementations, a possible issue.

b. Technical rationales for XTM solutions to specific design or implementation problems in various domains, where the main issue is the effectiveness or appropriateness of the TM concept (implied - in its XTM realization), possibly compared to or combined with other approaches.

My (b) possibly resolves into subtypes 1,2,3 as below.

Cheers

Ann W.

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Jones [mailto:peterj@wrox.com]
Sent: 23 August 2000 13:32
To: 'Bryan Thompson'; Peter Jones; ms@ms.lt; pdurusau@emory.edu; 'DDodds@lexica.net'; pconn@gca.org; 'pepper@ontopia.net'; 'Ann.Wrightson@sweetandmaxwell.co.uk'
Subject: RE: XTM-UCS: USE CASE SURVEY #1

Hi,

The survey looks like a good place to start.

I would like to contribute the following thoughts to our activities.

I consider that use cases fall into three types (not mutually exclusive):

1) Those that make use of the TM interchange format to solve a problem of the transfer/transmission of a complex data structure.

2) Those that make use of the complex (abstract) grove data structure of TMs to solve a problem.

3) Those that do both of the above. Possibly such a case will turn out to be an aggregate of lesser use cases of the types above.

There are several points to note about this. CARE must taken to observe that in most cases it will be possible for someone to say that an equivalent solution to a problem can be provided in ways that do not use TMs. We must then make every rational attempt to assess what the advantages of the use of TMs will be in such cases. (I suspect discussion of the advantages will always revert to referring to the power of the data model and interchange format combined in the wider context of a net (net; Net; .NET?).) Rejection of a use case as not legitimately necessitating the application of TMs will occur.

The opposite is also true. As advocates for this technology we must also be careful not to promote the use of TMs in realms that do not provide advantages. My suspicion is that the applicability of the data model to a vast variety of solution spaces _if forced_ is a definite concern here.

For example, we can all think of topic map applications that have topics that are the names of characters in Hamlet. But what do we think of an application that uses a data model logically isomorphic to that of a TM in which the 'topics' are binding points for the 'states' of 'objects' or some such?

cheers

Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan Thompson [mailto:bryan-pop@cog-tech.com]
Sent: 22 August 2000 14:30
To: bryan-pop@cog-tech.com; peterj@wrox.com; ms@ms.lt; pdurusau@emory.edu; DDods@lexica.net; pconn@gca.org
Subject: XTM-UCS: USE CASE SURVEY #1

All,

Please review this text. I’ll incorporate any comments that I get in the next 24 hours. I will post the survey to the XTM list Wednesday morning.

It was great working with all of you over the weekend.

Thanks.

-bryan

The Use Case Subgroup is conducting a series of BRIEF surveys in order to be able to identify and characterize the representative uses of XTM. This email message is the first such survey. Please take a moment to respond to these four questions. This information will help us all to make XTM a better specification, and one that is more widely adopted.

(1) Please identify one or more use cases. Indicate with a (*) any use case which is directly relevant to your anticipated application(s) of XTM.

     a) ___________________________________

     b) ___________________________________

     c) ___________________________________

(2) Please indicate one or more markets to which these use cases apply. (This is to separate the technology from the application.)

     a) ___________________________________

     b) ___________________________________

     c) ___________________________________

(3) Please indicate if you are willing to contribute a detailed use case for the XTM specification. (We need identify use cases for which there exists significant support within the XTM community.)

    (Yes/No): _____

  Use case: _____________________________________________

(4) Please indicate if you would like to join the Use Cases subgroup.

    (Yes/No): _____

All information given in response to this survey will be considered to be in the public domain. The information will be summarize by the use case group and posted back to the XTM list.

Thanks,

Bryan Thompson

bryan@cog-tech.com