[topicmapmail] graphic language for describing TopicMaps

[Thomas Schwotzer]

Are Gulbrandsen wrote:

> I'm used to conceptual data modelling in ORM (Object Role Modelling) 
> (also refered to as NIAM), and think in some respects this modelling 
> technique is closer to the TM model than UML. (For more info on ORM 
> http://www.orm.net/ is a good source of information)
> 
> The article "Networked Knowledge Representation and Exchange using UML 
> and RDF" is interesting. In chapter 2.1, "Ontologies as class diagrams: 
> the family ontology" the author explains how to use UML to model 
> ontologies:
> http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v01/i08/Cranefield/

I have doubts that RDF visualization can easily be applied to
Topic Maps. The RDF triples can be visualized as graphs.
That's straightforward.

In Topic Maps, associations define relations between an arbitrary
number of topics. TMs are hypergraphs.

> I think neither UML or ORM is a perfect match for Topic Maps, so I have 
> kind of developed my own diagram notation, mostly inspired by ORM. It's 
> only a sketch, but this might be a good opportunity to see if anybody 
> think it's interesting enough to comment on it.
> 
> Compared to Figure 1 in the mentioned article, I think my "TORM" diagram 
> is much easier to read. (Maybe not surprising since I made it, but a 
> more interesting question is what you think.):
> http://folk.uio.no/areg/topicmaps/graphicalTM.html

Very good. Very readable. It's interesting, you also
draw associations as arcs. This is possible, if
only two topics are members of an association.

BTW, associations don't have a direction. The arc should be a
line, shouldn't it?

Can you draw the relation e.g. between three topics which are
members of the same association playing different roles?
The arc would become a triangle?

Thanks for the inspiring figures!

Cheers, Thomas
-- 
Thomas Schwotzer
University of Technology Berlin
Intelligent Networks and Management of Distributed Systems
http://ivs.tu-berlin.de/Schwotzer
fon: +49-30-314-79833 fax: +49-30-314-24573