Re: [xtm-wg] Topic Naming Constraint question

[Sam Hunting <sam_hunting@yahoo.com>]

>   <topic id="S_XMLQL">
>     <instanceOf>
>       <topicRef xlink:href="#TMTT_Standard"></topicRef>
>       </instanceOf>
>     <baseName>
>       <baseNameString>XML-QL</baseNameString>
>       </baseName>
>     <baseName>
>       <baseNameString>XML Query Language</baseNameString>
>       </baseName>
>     </topic>
> 
>   <topic id="S_XQL">
>     <instanceOf>
>       <topicRef xlink:href="#TMTT_Standard"></topicRef>
>       </instanceOf>
>     <baseName>
>       <baseNameString>XQL</baseNameString>
>       </baseName>
>     <baseName>
>       <baseNameString>XML Query Language</baseNameString>
>       </baseName>
>     </topic>
> 
> 
> They represent two different standards, with different acronyms, and
> yet they share a common base name (the expansion of the acronym).

The acronymns expand to the same string, but that doesn't mean that
they share the same subject. This is a general problem with all
acronyms -- the expansions are always (at least implicitly) scoped. In
each case, "XML Query Language" really means the language in the
particular specification where the acronym and the expansion both
occur. 

So my thought would be to scope both the basenames and the acronyms
with a PSI for the specification in which the acronym occurred. (No,
this doesn't prove that the TNC is broken; round up the usual
suspects...)

A more interesting way to do this -- and I don't really know what your
requirements are -- might be to do create a map spec by spec, and then
use mergeMap to add a scoping topic to each map/spec. That would
prevent the merge you don't want.

> The question is: what is an appropriate scope to use on these two
> base names to avoid having the topics forcibly merged?

I think that TNC forces a lot of issues to come to light at merge time,
but that doesn't mean that solutions to those issues are found within
TNC. It might make sense to ask ourselves how to give the developer
greater control over the merge process.

S.

P.S. Chris's suggestion that "XML Query Language" is really trying to
show a class/instance relationship is also a good one. Perhaps the
topic map wasn't designed that way, but perhaps it should be.+




=====
<!-- "To imagine a language is to imagine a form of life."
     - Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations -->

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices! http://auctions.yahoo.com/

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~>
eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups
Click here for more details
http://us.click.yahoo.com/kWP7PD/pYNCAA/4ihDAA/2n6YlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->

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

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

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/