[topicmapmail] Re:Re: modelling synonyms

[Lars Marius Garshol]

* racker17@gmx.de
| 
| If I choose to model the synonyms the way Jean suggests (each
| synonym as a topic linked to the descriptor with an association like
| "usage"), isn't there the danger that this will blow up my topic map
| too much? Especially considering the point of navigating the map.

I wouldn't expect so. For navigating the topic map you could show this
any way you wanted, provided you develop your own navigation interface.
If you can't do that you might indeed end up with a not very navigable
topic map.

But unless you plan to make separate statements about each of the
descriptors for a synonym I wouldn't model things this way. If you
consider the descriptors to simply be different names for the same
thing that is best captured as a single topic with multiple names.

| In connection with the last point I have the question if you can
| recommend any free topic map engine where I can test the different
| effects caused by different modelling strategies. 

You seem to have tried most of the software that is available for
this. TM4J does have a visualization, but according to the web site it
is pre-alpha.

<URL: http://www.tm4j.org/visualizations.html >

| I know that many of you work for different companies and I don't
| want to cause any irritation in this mailing list.

Don't worry about that. I don't think it will be a problem. :)

-- 
Lars Marius Garshol, Ontopian         <URL: http://www.ontopia.net >
ISO SC34/WG3, OASIS GeoLang TC        <URL: http://www.garshol.priv.no >