Re: MARCXML to Topic Maps implementation!

Lars Heuer kirjoitti:
> Hi Aki,
>
> I uploaded your topic map to Maiana:
> <http://maiana.topicmapslab.de/u/lars/tm/marc-tm-akis-example>
> (using your
> <http://www.wandora.org/wandora/download/other/marc2topicmap_example.zip>)
>
>   

Hi Lars

Thank you for uploading the sample conversion to Maina.

> I know that this is meant as prototype but I think without a proper
> ontology this translation makes not much sense. You put MARCXML into a
> a Topic Maps envelope and that's it.
>   

Well, you are partly right. Resulting topic map is a blueprint of 
MARCXML document and you have to know MARC in order to understand the 
topic map. As I wrote, translation tries not to loose any information, 
and therefore nothing has been dropped out, and field datas are intact.

If you look the topic map in Mainan, one should note that most 
associations in resulting topic map are not binary but have 4, 5 or even 
six members. In Maiana, it may be difficult to read such associations. 
At least I had difficulties in understanding associations while looking 
at the topic map in Maiana. But this is a question of representation.

You have to be more specific with the ontology request as it really 
depends on what you are looking for. I could image several possible 
filtering/adjustment schemas for the blueprint conversion that are 
equally valid. Also, one should note that the topic map actually commits 
to a MARC ontology. All association types and roles are concepts in MARC 
vocabulary. You can even open association type's subject identifier with 
a WWW browser and you'll be quided to LoC's page describing that type.

> I suspect that the topic map provides any advantage over the MARCXML
> records.
>   

Well, I wouldn't make such conclusions yet. Time will tell if this kind 
of mapping has any applications, and it's beyond my and your hands.

One obvious application came immediately to my mind. Say, you have been 
assigned to build a website promoting library collections and you'll get 
a MARCXML dump as a source. Needless to say, you want to build a site 
based on Topic Map technologies. Now, you can build your own conversion 
from MARCXML to Topic Maps that does all the required 
filtering/fixing/ect. or you can convert the whole MARCXML to a Topic 
Map blueprint, and then do all the required modifications with your 
Topic Maps tools. Surely you can transform this blueprint topic map to a 
better one with clever topic map operations. It's a matter of taste 
which path you'll take but at least the second route is now a little 
less rocky as it was.

> Don't get me wrong, I back your effort and I think it is good to see
> that someone does actually something, but the advantages of Topic Maps
> remain unclear if you translate MARCXML literally to Topic Maps.
>   

Comments are always welcome :)

Kind Regards,
Aki / Wandora team

> Best regards,
> Lars
>