Re: [wsdm] Editorial comments

[John Gerken <John_Gerken@us.ibm.com>]

I too find the UML diagrams useful/helpful
and would personally prefer that they not be removed.

Just as an alternative, I might mention
that there are also tools, such as EMF, that can cleanly generate XML from
UML and in fact some in my group have had good success on other standards
groups using it specifically for keeping the two in sync.

Thanks,
John Gerken
Technical Team Leader
Emerging Technologies Toolkit Development
IBM Emerging Technologies Software Group
John_Gerken@us.ibm.com

Mark Ellison <ellison@ieee.org>

10/12/2004 10:22 AM

To	"Sedukhin, Igor S" <Igor.Sedukhin@ca.com>
cc	wsdm@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject	Re: [wsdm] Editorial comments

+1

Igor- if you are concerned about the XML getting out of synch with the
UML.  Why don't you just generate the UML from the XML? 
Regards,

Mark

Mike Clements wrote:
It's easy for us to underestimate the value of the UML
models since we already understand the spec. I find UML more intuitive
and easier to read than XML. 
 
It was only a few months ago when I was reading these
specs for the first time. When I was doing that the 2 things that helped
me the most in understanding it were the written text and the UML. The
XML is an essential normative part of the spec, but it is virtually useless
in gaining understanding. XML is intuitively readable only to robots and
vulcans. 
 
Pictures are useful. If UML is too detailed and expensive
to keep up to date, let's replace it with some kind of non-normative block
diagram. That way we get the intuitive advantages of pictures without the
hassles of maintaining detailed and redundant UML. 
 
Just my $0.02. 
 
From: Sedukhin, Igor S [mailto:Igor.Sedukhin@ca.com]
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 1:13 PM
To: wsdm@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: [wsdm] Editorial comments

I suggest that we remove all UML models which define the capabilities throughout MUWS and MOWS specs because
        1) it is hard to keep XML and UML syncronized
        2) the information in UML is redundant to the normative definitions of the XML
        3) the value of these models is not incredibly useful for understanding the specs
        4) it makes sense to focus on XML information definitions and exchanges which is what gives us interoperability

-- Igor Sedukhin .. ( igor.sedukhin@ca.com )
-- (631) 342-4325 .. 1 CA Plaza, Islandia, NY 11788