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Re: [ontology-summit] The tools are not the problem (yet)

To: Ontology Summit 2014 discussion <ontology-summit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: "Barkmeyer, Edward J" <edward.barkmeyer@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 19:24:55 +0000
Message-id: <0c83f068425145a7b16f849eba76a9c3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Kingsley,    (01)

No Amens here.  I prefer to be tolerant of sinners.    (02)

I have just argued that RDF is not necessarily better.  (Let him who is without 
sin among you...) The XML form of spreadsheets is quite useful.  So let's not 
throw out the baby with the bathwater.
The simple syntax model in the XML specification is a structured expression 
language that is capable of expressing many things simply without prejudicing 
what can be said.      (03)

The problem with XML is mostly a problem with DTDs (a document structure 
language) and XML Schema (a data language trying to be a modeling language for 
SQL, Java, tree structures and oh yes, documents, and also a mapping language 
that relates all the concepts in these languages to XML syntax).  The 
requirement was to define modeling languages that say things about classes and 
properties and have a MAPPING to the XML structure.  Instead, XML Schema 
defines information concepts in data engineering terms for implementation 
features that XML does not have.  And somehow we allowed this half-modeling and 
half-mapping language to become the dominant data modeling language, even 
though it does neither job well.  At least the RELAX folk distinguished between 
defining structure and writing content rules, while XML Schema conflates them.  
So, IMNSHO, the problem with XML is XML Schema.      (04)

Yes, XML files are bloated in terms of character count, but that is a direct 
consequence of a perceived requirement:  exchange text that can be read by 
humans using Notepad (assuming you put CR/LF sequences after the closing 
brackets).  You can't debug your program if your need another (new, untrusted) 
program to look at the data.  (Of course, that logic does not apply to 
relational databases, but, also of course, they belonged to an earlier era of 
unfriendly software conventions, which no new software engineer should have to 
use, right?  ;-))    (05)

-Ed    (06)


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ontology-
> summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kingsley Idehen
> Sent: Friday, January 24, 2014 8:35 AM
> To: ontology-summit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] The tools are not the problem (yet)
> 
> On 1/23/14 8:55 PM, John F Sowa wrote:
> > I agree that tools are not the problem.  The major problem is the XML
> > mindset.  That turgid, bloated notation blinds people from seeing the
> > underlying simplicity.
> 
> Amen!
> 
> 
> --
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kingsley Idehen
> Founder & CEO
> OpenLink Software
> Company Web: http://www.openlinksw.com
> Personal Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
> Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/kidehen
> Google+ Profile: https://plus.google.com/+KingsleyIdehen/about
> LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kidehen
> 
> 
> 
>     (07)


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