[topicmapmail] (no subject)

[H. Holger Rath]

Hi Andreas,

You wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> within my diploma thesis about Topic Maps, I want to write a chapter about
> Topic Map Query Languages. That's why I have a few questions:
> 
> 1. what is the latest trend in the development process of TMQL --- is there
> just the requirement specification and the official proposal published by
> SC34+Topicmap.org or anything else?

Yes, the reqs document is the latest official report created
by the ISO TMQL editors (Lars Marius Garshol and myself).

Next step will be to gather use cases and to derive from that
the functional spec.

For details specs TMQL has to wait for SAM - the Standard
Application (Data) Model for Topic Maps as all TMQL operations
have to e described in terms of functions on-top of SAM.

> 2. is the purpose of TMQL just to define a standard of requirements or is
> it developed to be an explicit query language (I suppose the latter)?

Of course the latter.

> 3. is it right that TMQL is integrated in empolis k42 (in a special form
> called eTMQL --- I suppose that stands for "empolis TMQL")?

Yes. empolis developed its TMQL (eTMQL) on-top of k42. But this
was done *before* the TMQL reqs document was finsihed - in fact 
eTMQL is available since January 2001.

> 4. in what way are TMQL and Ontopia's Tolog related to each other, what are
> the special benefits of Tolog and where are possible disadvantages compared
> with TMQL?

Well, better someone from Ontopia answers here. But I can say that
tolog is an early vendor specific implementation of the ISO TMQL
(concenpts, ideas, reqs) as empolis TMQL is. Both use different
syntaxes and have slightly different functionality.

> 5. do you have any information of the development of other topic map query
> languages and their features and possible advantages (e.g. AsTMa? from the
> Bond University of Australia ...)

Yes, there is AsTMa and there might be something RDF-related
from Nikita Ogievetsky <nogievet@cogx.com>.

The ISO committee will take a close look at all proposed "TMQL"s
as soon as we have the bandwidth to do that.

Regards,
--Holger

-- 
Dr. H. Holger Rath
- Head of Consulting -

empolis * GmbH
arvato knowledge management
part of arvato: a Bertelsmann company
Technologiepark Pav. 17
97222 Rimpar, Germany

phone :  +49-172-66-90-427
fax   :  +49-9365-8062-250

<mailto:holger.rath@empolis.com>
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