[topicmapmail] graphic language for describing TopicMaps

[Murray Altheim]

Thomas B. Passin wrote:
> Thomas Schwotzer wrote:
>>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)
>>
>>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.
> 
> My take on this is that a TM association should not be compared to a 
> single RDF triple.  Instead, a TM association is almost exactly like an 
> RDF bnode that has a number of triples hanging off it.  Well, it does 
> not _have_ to be a bnode (anonymous node), it could have an identifier, 
> but typically it wouldn't have one, just like most associations don't 
> seem to have universal identifiers.

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

> The only real difference is that in RDF, the bnode is a Resource, just 
> like all the other nodes.  However, if we regard an association as a 
> specialized variety of topic, the two cases are nearly isomorphic.  And 
> why not consider an association to be a specialized variant kind of 
> topic?  Then you wouldn't have to create a topic to reify an 
> association, it would be its own topic already.

Actually, that road has been travelled. I think Steve Pepper
wrote a paper on everything being a Topic a few years ago. But
at this point, the TM paradigm wouldn't necessarily benefit
from this simplification, I'm certain the community wouldn't,
and my take on things is that it's far better to concentrate
on the existing semantics -- I mean, we have an ISO standard
behind us -- it's not like we should push for a change to that.

IMO.

[This kind of discussion has no real point, unless, as they
say in the midwest (and in parts of the Canadian prairie as
well), we're just shootin' the shit. When I was a kid we used
to do that with a .22 caliber rifle. It was fun. Those that
know me say I'm still good at it.]

Murray

......................................................................
Murray Altheim                    http://kmi.open.ac.uk/people/murray/
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK7 6AA, UK               .

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