[topicmapmail] Is the title the basename ?

[Thomas B. Passin]

[Sam Hunting]

> > | I got the vague impression that the idea of a title is different
> > | from the idea of a name,
> >
> > Not much, I'd say. It's an identifying label by which you may refer to
> > the subject. It all depends on your definition of 'name', of course,
> > but the topic map definition is pretty broad.
>
> "Name" vs "label" is contentious enough - let's not throw "title" into the
> mix!
>
> I'm sure in the mists of time on the list we've had this discussion -- but
> did we ever come to a principled distinction between "name" and "label"?
>

Wordnet has some interesting things to say.  For "label" as a noun, it gives
this:

"The noun label has 4 senses (first 4 from tagged texts)

1. (3) label -- (a brief description given for purposes of identification;
"the label Modern is applied to many different kinds of architecture")
2. (2) label, recording label -- (trade name of a company that produces
musical recordings; "the artists and repertoire department of a recording
label is responsible for finding new talent")
3. (1) label -- (a radioactive isotope that is used in a compound in order
to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction)
4. (1) label -- (an identifying or descriptive marker that is attached to an
object)"

Thus a label is some kind of a "brief" description or marker for the
purposes of identification, which fits senses 1,3, and 4 pretty well.

For "name", there are six noun senses but only the first seems cogent here:

"1. (698) name -- (a language unit by which a person or thing is known; "his
name really is George Washington"; "those are two names for the same
thing")"

So a name is also some kind of identifier, but not brief or necessarily
descriptive.  There is also a social or cultural implication, is there not -
"... is known"?  Wordnet gives for "known" the following sense -

"1. (37) known -- (apprehended with certainty; "a known quantity"; "the
limits of the known world"; "a musician known throughout the world"; "a
known criminal")"

Thus a name allows identification or understanding with some degree of
certainty.  For identify, the first two senses from Wordnet seem relevant,
especially (2):

"1. (33) identify, place -- (recognize as being; establish the identity of
someone or something; "She identified the man on the"wanted" poster")

2. (7) name, identify -- (give the name or identifying characteristics of;
refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property; "Many
senators were named in connection with the scandal"; "The almanac identifies
the auspicious months")"

It seems that, at least in English, a label is a kind of name, but generally
shortened and descriptive, suggesting that it could almost be a kind of
alias, the kind of thing that might be in a pick list for example.  It
almost seems as if a label should be a kind of Variant for a baseName, does
it not?

Wordnet is interesting.

Cheers,

Tom P