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Subject: Re: [ubl] Re: [ubl-ndrsc] Proposal 3 in our CCTS feedback


Ooh!  Mikey likes it!

Thanks, Tim, for doing the research on this.

Tim McGrath wrote:

> Before we get too confrontational and Arofan starts opening the 
> armoury, let us take stock of what ISO 11179 says and how it has been 
> interpreted for CCTS.
>
> ISO11179-5 (many thanks to Mark who posted this.. 
> http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/ubl-lcsc/200201/msg00020.html ) 
> makes three key points about representation terms:
> 1. A representation term is a component of a data element name which 
> describes the form of representation of the data element. 
> 2. Each term is developed from a controlled word list or a taxonomy. 
> 3. This term describes the form of the set of valid values of a data 
> element. 
>
> The CCTS states:
> "A representation term defines the type of valid values for an 
> information entity. " (CCTS lines 1116 and 1239) and "The type of 
> valid values for a Basic Core Component." (CCTS Definition of Terms 
> line 2167)
> This changes "the form of the set of"(point 3.) to "the type of".  It 
> is actually quite a significant difference that dilutes the meaning of 
> ISO11179 and hence leads into the need for CC Types to be defined as well.
>
> So i am not convinced that CCTS is "using RT as defined in ISO11179" 
> as sacredly as Mike suggested - they have interpreted the definition 
> to suit their application.  What we are proposing is a change in this 
> interpretation.  I think they were nearer to the definition we mean 
> with ...
> "The Representation Term is the part of a Core Component name that 
> describes the form of valid values in which the business information 
> is expressed in a data item" (CCTS line 1313)
>
> In fact, looking at this again, I wonder if  just asking them to adopt 
> the original ISO 11179 definition is what we really mean!??
>
>
>
>
>
> Gregory, Arofan wrote:
>
>> Bill:
>>
>> I will play devil's advocate here for a moment.
>>
>> ISO 11179 is a sacred cow, and "Representation Term" is the thing 
>> that connects the CC work to 11179.
>>
>> CCT was invented by the CC group as a convenience, to describe the 
>> supporting properties of an RT.
>>
>> If you apear to be messing with RTs (say, by relegating them to an 
>> aspect of the naming conventions while replacing their technical 
>> function) then you will be violating the sacred donkey (ooops - 
>> sacred cow!)
>>
>> It's a damned-if-you-do & damned-if-you-don't situation. I recommend 
>> that we stick to our guns, and point out that CCTs are unneeded, and 
>> that RTs are both needed and need to be specifically extended and 
>> clarified for their application here.
>>
>> We do, after all, have some smart people in positions of power on the 
>> CC editing team, and they are ultimately the ones who will have to 
>> make it all fit together. I think we should submit what Eve has proposed.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Arofan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Burcham, Bill [ mailto:Bill_Burcham@stercomm.com ]
>> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 9:54 AM
>> To: ubl-ndrsc@lists.oasis-open.org
>> Subject: RE: [ubl-ndrsc] Proposal 3 in our CCTS feedback
>>
>>
>> I agree with Mike (that the UN folks might have strong reactions to
>> redefining "RepresentationTerm") and I've got an alternative that 
>> fits with
>> ISO 11179 and gives us a single set of semantic primitives at the 
>> expense of
>> possibly running afoul of the "original intent of Representation 
>> Terms" from
>> the old days of ebXML.
>>
>> Why don't we keep Core Component Type in the model and make it stand 
>> for the
>> "semantic primitives" (rather than throwing out CCT and keeping RT).  
>> Let's
>> keep Representation Term as part of the dictionary entry name. 
>>
>> ISO 11179 is a standard for naming "data elements".  Think: ** global
>> variables in a big ole FORTRAN program **  That standard gives no clear
>> guidance on naming types (which is what CC's, BCC's, ACC's, BIE's, 
>> ABIE's,
>> BBIE's are), nor does it give clear guidance on the relationship between
>> types and data elements.  (it does mention that it is applicable to 
>> naming
>> "data concepts" but on the mapping of those to classes in OO languages,
>> structures in languages like Pascal or C, and types in XSD, the
>> specification is completely mute.)  The ebXML folks extended/interpreted
>> that model to naming "types" as well.  That was a stretch, and it just so
>> happens they got it wrong when they made Representation _Term_ part 
>> of their
>> model.
>>
>> So... since RepresentationTerm is... a "term"... and it is defined by ISO
>> 11179 as part of the dictionary entry _name_ -- I don't see any
>> justification for making it stand for "the set of semantic primitives".
>>
>> The argument gets stronger when we consider the practice right now in 
>> LCSC.
>> They are using the RepresentationTerm only as a part of the 
>> dictionary entry
>> name -- not really as a "type".  In their current usage, that part of the
>> dictionary entry name, names a _property_ whose type is either a CCT 
>> or an
>> ABIE or a BBIE depending on which kind of property is being described.
>>
>> In current _practice_ there are three kinds of types in UBL: 
>> Aggregate Core
>> Components (ACC's), Basic Core Components (BCC's) and Core Component 
>> Types
>> (CCT's).  Each of these needs a dictionary entry name.  Also each of the
>> properties of each instance of each of these needs a dictionary entry 
>> name.
>> Each of those dictionary entry names will need a "Representation 
>> Term" if we
>> are to apply ISO 11179.
>>
>> Please have a look at the attached diagram.  In it I show the mapping 
>> of ISO
>> 11179 naming to the proposed CC model.  Notice that an ISO 11179 
>> dictionary
>> entry name always has ObjectClassTerm, PropertyTerm, and 
>> RepresentationTerm.
>> A DataElementName (using ISO terminology here!) names a DataElement.  
>> From
>> the standpoint of ISO 11179 there are two kinds of DataElement in Core
>> Components:
>>
>> 1. a property of an Aggregate Core Component
>> 2. a property of a Core Component Type (i.e. its Content Component or 
>> one of
>> its Supplementary Components).
>>
>> These are the "data elements" that ISO 11179 allows us to name (with the
>> tripartite naming scheme).
>>    
>> My proposal provides a clean separation betwen the concepts that comprise
>> the dictionary entry name from the concepts that comprise the CC model.
>> This is appropriate since dictionary entry names must be applied to many
>> different parts of the model.  The names are separate from the things 
>> named.
>>
>> So an ACC, Contact can have a property called homeAddress of (ACC) type
>> Address.  We'd need three dictionary entry names to describe this 
>> situation:
>>
>> ObjectClassTerm PropertyTerm RepresentationTerm
>> --------------- ------------ ------------------
>> Contact                                   * this dictionary entry is 
>> for the
>> Contact ACC
>> Contact         homeAddress  Address      * this dictionary entry is 
>> for the
>> homeAddress property of Contact
>> Address                                   * this dictionary entry is 
>> for the
>> Address ACC
>>
>> Now let's say Address has a property called street which is of (BCC) type
>> Street which in turn is of (CCT) type StreetType (I hate the fact that we
>> have both BCC's and CCT's but one battle at a time!!).  We'd have 
>> something
>> like:
>>
>> ObjectClassTerm PropertyTerm RepresentationTerm
>> --------------- ------------ ------------------
>> Address         street       Street       * this dictionary entry is 
>> for the
>> street property of Address
>> Street          *content*    Text         * content
>> Street          *supp:x*     ...          * supplimentary goop...
>>
>> And we'd _infer_ the CCT type (StreetType) from the BCC type Street 
>> (that's
>> unambiguous since a BCC has exactly one CCT -- that much is undisputed).
>>
>> The point of this exercise was to show that we've got two kinds of data
>> element (per the ISO defintion), both of which will need dictionary entry
>> names, and both of which will need an attribute describing their "kind".
>> Applying ISO 11179, that attribute is called "RepresentationTerm".  
>> However,
>> the thing named is not the term.  In the first case, the thing named by
>> RepresentationTerm is the Address (ACC) type.  In the second case, 
>> the thing
>> named by the RepresentationTerm is the Street (BCC) type.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Bill
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Michael C. Rawlins [ mailto:mike@rawlinsecconsulting.com ]
>> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 10:20 AM
>> To: Eve L. Maler
>> Cc: ubl-ndrsc@lists.oasis-open.org
>> Subject: Re: [ubl-ndrsc] Proposal 3 in our CCTS feedback
>>
>>
>> This is an interesting proposition, and I agree with most of it except
>> for the bit that says that "the definition of Representation Term be
>> modified".  My guess is that the ebTWG CC team would flatly reject this
>> as worded on the basis that they are using RT as defined in ISO 11179.
>>  I don't have a better wording right off, but I think you want to convey
>> the idea that there must be a fully specifed set of supplementary
>> components that is associated with each type of RT.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> Eve L. Maler wrote:
>>
>> > I took an action to suggest revised wording for Proposal 3 in our CTTS
>> > feedback.  How's this?
>> >
>> > "We suggest that the definition of Representation Term be modified to
>> > encompass the function of both Representation Terms and Core Component
>> > Types, and that the notion of Core Component Types be removed, e.g. 
>> ..."
>> >
>> > I think we will also need to come up with an actual list of what the
>> > RTs would be (though perhaps this belongs in a separate Proposal 3a,
>> > or perhaps it should be associated with Proposal 4).  Please see my
>> > recent message for my proposed list.  We don't have to tackle the
>> > "inheritance" aspect at this time -- we can avoid it just by providing
>> > a flat list -- but if people familiar with the CCTS process think it
>> > will be well received, we can try it.
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> >     Eve
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Michael C. Rawlins, Rawlins EC Consulting
>> www.rawlinsecconsulting.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>-- 
>regards
>tim mcgrath
>fremantle  western australia 6160
>phone: +618 93352228  fax: +618 93352142 
>
>

-- 
Michael C. Rawlins, Rawlins EC Consulting
www.rawlinsecconsulting.com






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