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Re: [ontolog-forum] Topic Maps and OWL

To: "[ontolog-forum]" <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Jack Park <jackpark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2004 10:24:47 -0800
Message-id: <3FF5B76F.5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Bernard Vatant, who works for Mondeca, has written "OWL and Topic Map 
Pudding."    (01)

http://www.mondeca.com/owl/owltm.htm    (02)

Cheers
Jack    (03)

Peter Yim wrote:    (04)

> This looks like a discussion a lot of us will benefit from.
>
> Both Topic Maps and OWL became "front runners" for good reasons. While 
> there may be applications where both may be (almost equally) suitable, 
> each of these approaches would be better suited for certain applications.
>
> What are those reasons (for their adoption so far)?
>
> What are the applications (best suited to each)?
>
> Where are the areas where they are pitched against one another (as 
> well as other approaches)?
>
> Could those of you who are spending time on these issues throw some 
> light on the matter, please.
>
> -ppy
>
> P.S. I am separating this into another thread, with a more appropriate 
> subject (to ease future retrieval.)
> -- 
>
> ------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Re: [regrep-cc-review] What if? CCRIM => 
> CCOWL
> Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2004 23:27:06 -0700
> From: Michael Daconta <mdaconta@xxxxxxx>
> To: [ontolog-forum]  <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> The subject of Topic maps versus OWL is very important to work I am
> currently doing.  I am participating in a group that will be
> standardizing a DOD taxonomy framework and we will need to choose a
> representation format.  Clearly, topic maps and OWL are the two front
> runners.
>
> With regard to taxonomies, topic maps seem to have an advantage in
> simplicity, while OWL has the advantage in semantic validity.  Also,
> some of the semantic foundations are identical in that Topic maps do
> support class/subclass associations.  Unfortunately, the class modeling
> in topic maps is very weak.  Thus, one key judgement criteria is
> "how important is robust class modeling to effective classification?"
>
> Topic maps rely mostly on name-based classification (and merging) while
> OWL classes have robust properties, set theoretics and mapping.
> I plan on working through these details to support a recommendation in
> the next few weeks.  Comments, suggestions and insights are welcome.
>
> Best wishes,
>
>   - Mike
> -----------------------------
> Michael C. Daconta
> Chief Scientist, APG McDonald Bradley, Inc.
> www.daconta.net
>
>
> Jack Park wrote on 1/1/2004, 12:24 PM:
>
>  > Peter Yim wrote:
>  >
>  > >
>  > >>> Are topic maps out of the running?
>  > >>
>  > >>
>  > >>
>  > >> Some say you need both Topic Maps and OWL, though I cannot
>  > >> understand why. In my mind OWL supersedes Topic Maps..
>  > >
>  > Well, I can't let that one go uncommented.  There was an
>  > unfortunate "boxing match" between two Erics, one from topic
>  > maps and one from RDF.
>  > It was held as a humorous interlude at Extreme Markup 2000. When both
>  > Erics came on stage, they both sang praises of the other's "camp".
>  > Unfortunately, that's not what the press picked up on. Thus it was 
> that
>  > RDF and XTM became "at odds" with each other.
>  >
>  > In the end, no matter what is said and done, OWL, RDF, whatever, 
> and XTM
>  > or HyTM (sgml topic maps, the original ISO 13250 dtd) are 
> serializations
>  > with which you can ship information around and have it arrive in a
>  > decypherable form at the other end of whatever wire is used. At the 
> same
>  > time, each brings to the table some manner of underlying process model
>  > and semantics.  XTM, for instance, makes a minimalist ontological
>  > committment to objects necessary to capture topics, which are known as
>  > "the place you go to find out everything that is knowable about a
>  > particular subject" and a subject is "anything you can talk 
> about."  The
>  > topic maps underlying process model simply dicates that if two topics
>  > are about the same subject, they must be merged.  AFIK, OWL doesn't
>  > require such processing. I would therefore respectfully submit 
> that, if
>  > you happen to need the organizational power that comes with topic 
> maps,
>  > no matter how you construct them (yup, they have been written in OWL),
>  > then you must give due consideration to the one process requirement 
> that
>  > makes topic maps what they are: you must merge objects which talk 
> about
>  > the same subject. I therefore don't think that anything out there 
> today
>  > has superseded topic maps.
>  >
>  > In the end, there are ways to construct ontologies such that they are,
>  > by default, topic maps, and nobody needs to know you did that.
>  >
>  > 2004 is shaping up quite nicely already!
>  > Cheers
>  > Jack
>  >    (05)




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