Re: [xtm-wg] A challenge on "the graph"

[Lars Marius Garshol <larsga@garshol.priv.no>]

* Murray Altheim
| 
| [...] in Austin, the central message *I* pulled from everything was
| that TMQL and the processing model both need a data model, that is,
| a formal description of the underlying structure of the various
| components in a topic map. 

Yes. This is precisely what I think as well.

| This can't be UML as this model cannot rely on notes. 

This I am far less sure of. UML is sufficiently formal, I think. My
main concerns with UML are:

 - it's not all that well known, though better than groves, and it's
   not too easy to find introductions to it on the net

 - it is very closely tied to implementation. In fact, UML is more
   suitable as documentation of implementations and designs than as
   anything else.

Question: does UML now have a concept of set properties? That is,
properties whose values are sets of objects or primitive values?  This
is needed all over for modelling topic maps, and is one of the things
that attracts me to EXPRESS. That, its formality and precision, and
the _very_ good standardized graphical representation of EXPRESS.

| The model must be in this sense "mathematical" and state explicitly
| the constitution of each component and its relations with other
| components. 

UML can do that, so this is no argument against it.

| Well, storm clouds are still milling about.

The storm clouds are far out in the periphery and only seem
threatening in the minds of those who were in Austin.
 
| The only way to get through a crisis, resolve a misunderstanding, or
| learn anything new is through *dialogue*,

I agree fully, and this is what I have wanted all the time. I produced
the strawman specifically in order to spark a discussion and to give
the discussion a more solid foundation. I seem to have achieved that,
at least. And it is now beginning to seem that people on both sides of
the discussion are willing to accept other solutions than the one they
started the debate with.

--Lars M.


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