Re: [topicmaps-comment] mapping topic maps on a relation database

[Murray Altheim <m.altheim@open.ac.uk>]

[attributions unclear]

Andreas Rittershofer wrote:
 >On 17 Apr 2002 at 9:32, Thomas B. Passin wrote:
 >[franck legoux]
 >>
 >>Does someone has a model to map "topic maps" on a
 >>relational database ?
 >>
 >This is possible, but why not to store it in an XML-database like
 >Xindice? See http://xml.apache.org

That's exactly what my upcoming software application Ceryle does.
My first release won't actually hook the topic map engine used to
display a topic map in touchgraph, but it does store the topic maps
in the database with the idea that a "node demander" will pull
them from it as needed. This is to allow really enormous topic maps
(and merges of same) to be processed via database rather than held
in memory.

To answer Franck's original question, because everything in an XTM
topic map document is addressable (either via ID or XPath), it's
a natural to use Xindice (which has a built-in XPath query mechanism).
As for models, I don't quite understand what you mean. Essentially,
since everything in Xindice (either Collections or Nodes) can be
addressed, there might be no need.

See this space later in the month for an announcement upon Ceryle's
first release.

Murray

......................................................................
Murray Altheim                         <mailto:m.altheim @ open.ac.uk>
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK7 6AA, UK

      In the evening
      The rice leaves in the garden
      Rustle in the autumn wind
      That blows through my reed hut.  -- Minamoto no Tsunenobu