Re: [xtm-wg] The XTM data model: the wheel has already been invented

[Sam Hunting <sam_hunting@yahoo.com>]

Geir Ove--

More creative ferment! This is good! Thanks...

S.

P.S. While you're at it, do the same thing for UML, won't you? Then we
can use Jack Park's free tools to display UML diagrams that are also
topic maps.

--- Geir Ove Grønmo <grove@ontopia.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi all!
> 
> I've been following the data/processing model discussions lately.
> It's
> rather interesting to see the directions in which it has moved. The
> target is certainly narrowing, but we're IMHO spending too much time
> [and bandwidth] on the formalism in which it is to be represented.
> 
> Therefore I'd like to propose another alternative. :)
> 
> - - -
> 
> But first my view on things:
> 
> What _I_ would most like to have is a data model that describes the
> types of things that exists in a topic map and the valid
> relationships
> between them, including constraints on those relationships. 
> 
> I would also like to have a standardized API, but that'd have to wait
> until after the data model has been created.
> 
> The most important thing being a rich as possible ontology for
> describing the model; the more types of things the better. This makes
> distinctions easier to recognize for readers of the model. 
> 
> T-nodes, A-nodes and S-nodes makes it hard to really understand the
> real
> life implications of representing topic maps in computers. The model
> is
> IMO too flat - too blurred - a bit too abstract/conceptual - the
> really
> fine details are missing. It's a really nice document - I like it,
> but
> it doesn't tell me the important things if I were to implement a
> topic
> map system.
> 
> The formalism in which the data model is represented isn't all that
> important. What's important is what goes into that model. So far we
> haven't discussed that at all - except for the proposals that has
> been
> put forward. Even the proposals haven't been discussed in any detail.
> 
> It surprises me that nobody has mentioned the specification that
> we've
> ourselves been developing in this discussion -- XTM. Topic maps are
> there to describe knowledge, so why not describe XTM's data model
> using
> itself?
> 
> Some advantages:
> 
>   - Readers don't have to learn a new formalism.
> 
>   - The navigation tools available for navigating the model are
>   exceptional - and they're really great learning tools.
> 
>   - The objects in the data model are addressable. If the data model
>   topic map is given a fixed location on the topicmaps.org web
> server,
>   or topics given PSIs, it would allow others to refer to it or
>   retrieve its contents.
> 
>   Addressability allows us to further extend the knowledge stored in
>   the model, by refering to the model topics from other topic maps.
> 
>   - Topic maps have a self-documenting feature!
> 
>   - Information resources [occurrences] of any notation can be
>   attached to the objects in the model. This would allow UML diagrams
>   and OCL constraints to be easily integrated. In fact nothing is
>   preventing nobody to do whatever they'd like.
> 
> I'll post a sample XTM data model topic map document really soon.
> 
> All the best,
> Geir O.
> 
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