[topicmapmail] eXchangeable Faceted Metadata Language

[Lars Marius Garshol]

* Lars Marius Garshol
|
| Anyway, what I wrote about faceted classification, which Murray
| objected to, is definitely valid for XFML. (My conclusion was that
| XFML doesn't represent faceted classification as Murray understands
| the term, and possibly not as it is generally understood either.)

* Murray Altheim
| 
| Well, I've been doing research into this for the last six months or
| so, and one thing is for certain: there's no canonical definition of
| "faceted classification".

That wouldn't surprise me. I guess that's why you wrote about
different models of faceted classification.

| My criticism of XFML is basically that I think it's unnecessary,
| that you could do XFML in a completely Topic Map-based framework
| (i.e., XTM based, if you like, or ISO 13250 if you want a different
| syntax). 

Very much agreed. I think the main motivation for it was that the
person behind it found topic maps hard to understand, and I think much
of what success it has achieved has come from its simplicity. XTM is
powerful, but it is also complex, and the complexity is a significant
hurdle in many cases. (Worse-is-better and all that.)

| If XFML were to become ISO 13250 compliant, I'd probably write
| importers and exporters to it.  As it's (IMO) a weaker syntax than
| XTM, I can at least writer importers for it, and probably will as it
| stabilizes (in usage).

It *is* a much weaker syntax, as I wrote in the posting I pointed to.
Generalized export from topic maps to XFML just isn't possible.

| I think it'd be useful if the XFML authors were to create that set,
| rather than somebody outside of their group. Then we'd have a shot
| at such interoperability. It would be a shame if such technological
| brethren as we both represent didn't get along.

I agree, and Peter van Dijck (who is the person behind XFML) has
actually said he's willing to do this, but that he needs input from
people more familiar with topic maps.

  <URL: http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.xml.xfml/44 >

-- 
Lars Marius Garshol, Ontopian         <URL: http://www.ontopia.net >
GSM: +47 98 21 55 50                  <URL: http://www.garshol.priv.no >