[topicmapmail] starting with topic maps: resources <-> topics relationship?

[Josema Alonso]

Hello.

> I am not sure what you mean by "can't add ..." .  It is very feasible to
> create a topic map that is a sort of overlay to a set of web pages, one
> that can provide navigation for them.  By this means you can completely
> change the navigation of the site without actually touching the pages.
Well...sounds good...

> One way is to create a topic for each page (its URI would be an
> occurrence of the topic).  Then you can relate these topics to the rest
> of your IA work by means of associations.
Ok. That was my first thought. But consider that we are talking about
thousands of pages. The size of the topic map can increase very quickly.
Also, I should edit it by hand each time a page is designed and go online.
I'm afraid it is too much work. Of course, if done carefully could be a
wonderful IA solution.

> I think that, if the pages are created by some automation-assist, you
> could embed a little meta data in the data that defines a page for the
> build process.  That data could be used to automatically update the
> topic map when you rebuild the site.
Great. So, we are going to the same place Murray pointed. Maybe that would
be a possible solution. Some work for designers, some work for me. I like
it.
Again, I must think about the topic map and its large size.

> Once you get the thing constructed, it should be easy to maintain it
> with little effort, as long as you can give the page developers some
> help in embedding the right meta data.
Great, again. I think you have understood very well my point of view.

Let's elaborate more on how the large XTM data could be stored/retrieved.
I'm afraid it won't be easy...
Any thoughts?

Thanks a lot for your opinions. Before sending my first message I was afraid
I was being totally stupid. After Murray and you replied, I feel I'm not as
crazy as I thought and I can see the light...although it seems to be too far
still ;-)

Best,
    Josema.