Re: TMCL: tmcl:see-also vs. rdfs:seeAlso

On 20/09/10 19:40, Khalil Ahmed wrote:
> I think its a bad idea as the definition of tmcl:see-also states that
> it is intended for use in documenting TMCL constructs, but the
> application of rdfs:seeAlso is much broader.
>
> I think your first option is the wisest and makes the least
> ontological commitment, but still provides all the information
> necessary for a consumer to make the inferences that suit their
> application.
>
> I thin your second option confuses the meanings of the different
> subjects and could lead to confusion in consuming processes that see a
> TMCL documentation occurrence on a topic that is not a TMCL construct.
>
> A third option might be to treat rdfs:seeAlso as a statement about
> merging and so convert it to a subject identifier (I say subject
> identifier because the definition of rdfs:seeAlso is that the value is
> the address of a resource with more information about the subject, not
> the address of the subject itself). This makes more of a commitment
> about what you believe rdfs:seeAlso to mean, but IMO it is closer than
> tmcl:see-also.

Hi Kal,

I'd thought about replying to this thread earlier and had assumed my
response was too far afield, but on retrospect it's perhaps apropos.

When 'see also' is a statement about a relationship between subjects
rather than between TMCL constructs or between the rather poorly
defined "resources" (RDF), there's another, more appropriate
controlled vocabulary in wide use, namely the ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005
standard, "Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management
of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies" [1][2]. I certainly don't
need to tell you about this [3] but it bears mentioning for those
who may not be aware.

Along with 'see' and 'see also' are terms and predicates suitable
for hierarchies (e.g., 'less than' and 'broader than'), and more
importantly, the standard defines in very clear language the types
of relationships to use in various situations, and defines them
well. The first Z39.19 standard was from way back in 1993 and of
course has a much older history in libraries, so there is plenty
of usage experience. This may come from the library world but it is
completely suitable for describing relationships between real-world
entities.

Murray

[1] Z39.19 from NISO: http://tinyurl.com/aaxfr6
[2] Z39.19 Primer: http://www.niso.org/publications/press/Z3950_primer.pdf
[3] http://www.ontopia.net/topicmaps/materials/tm-vs-thesauri.html
...........................................................................
Murray Altheim <murray10 at altheim dot com>                       = =  ===
http://www.altheim.com/murray/                                     ===  ===
SGML Grease Monkey, Banjo Player, Wantanabe Zen Monk               = =  ===

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