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Re: [ddlm-group] DDLm aliases (subject changed). .. .. .. .. .. .

Dear Colleagues,

>If it affects the logic that my programs must perform to correctly 
>validate a CIF, including a dictionary CIF, then it is a technical 
>issue.  If I can make a valid technical argument favoring one 
>position, then it is a technical issue.  It becomes a matter of 
>taste only if we make a technical decision that it should be so. 
>Herbert clearly prefers that we make such a decision, but he is not 
>empowered to declare it made.


   I have been trying to find out what the consensus decision is,
but I not only can declare a decision to be made with respect to my own
work, I have to do so.  Whether the result then is part of CIF or part
of something else (call it "yaxdf") is then a matter for future
consideration.  I have a new grant I need to get moving on.  I would
rather that the work I am doing be well-coordinated with CIF.  I
have been trying.  Unfortunately, we don't seem to be making progress.
So, my fallback is to simply do the work I need to do with prefixed
tags and show you the results in Madrid.  I hope you will like the
results and adopt them for CIF.  Perhaps you won't and will decide
to do something different for CIF.  Perhaps the results will be
a disaster and I will try something different myself, but I'll
never know if this is a good idea, a bad idea or something in between
unless until and unless I work it through with software and
examples.

   I'll post the prefixed-tag version that I will be starting with
to this list sometime soon for your information.

   Regards,
     Herbert


At 4:56 PM -0600 2/1/11, Bollinger, John C wrote:
>On Tuesday, February 01, 2011 9:55 AM, Herbert J. Bernstein wrote:
>>    There is no "point" in denormalizing for presentaion purposes. 
>>The normalized and denormailzed presentations carry the same 
>>information.
>
>As long as this is this is merely a presentation issue, that's true. 
>When the data model is denormalized in order to permit a 
>denormalized presentation, it is no longer true.  It is to the 
>latter that I object.
>
>>    This really is just a matter of taste.  John B. is wrong when he 
>>tries to settle it as a technical issue.
>
>If it affects the logic that my programs must perform to correctly 
>validate a CIF, including a dictionary CIF, then it is a technical 
>issue.  If I can make a valid technical argument favoring one 
>position, then it is a technical issue.  It becomes a matter of 
>taste only if we make a technical decision that it should be so. 
>Herbert clearly prefers that we make such a decision, but he is not 
>empowered to declare it made.
>
>>   If you, in working with the core want the alias information in 
>>denormailized form, that is fine.  If you, in working with the core 
>>are more comfortable with the alias information normalized, that is 
>>fine.  We don't need a uniform answer for all dictionaries.  It is 
>>easy to go back and forth and to combine information from both 
>>forms.
>>
>>    We already have multiple flavors of dictionaries because we are 
>>all different people and we have different work to do.
>The important issue is not that the dictionary styles be the same 
>but that they contain the necessary information in ways that allow 
>them to be combined in a consistent, interoperable manner.
>
>Inasmuch as this is about the appropriate requirements for 
>presenting parent and child categories in joined form, I find the 
>argument somewhat persuasive.  However, I'm still confused by the 
>emphasis that Herbert is placing on this issue.  If the language 
>provides an adequate way to do the job, then why is it of such 
>importance that it also provide alternatives?  Doing so makes the 
>language more difficult to process, which might overall outweigh any 
>benefit it provides to dictionary authors.  I'm not sure where the 
>balance lies, but I don't think anyone is well served by 
>insufficiently considered action.
>
>
>John
>--
>John C. Bollinger, Ph.D.
>Department of Structural Biology
>St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
>
>
>Email Disclaimer:  www.stjude.org/emaildisclaimer
>
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-- 
=====================================================
  Herbert J. Bernstein, Professor of Computer Science
    Dowling College, Kramer Science Center, KSC 121
         Idle Hour Blvd, Oakdale, NY, 11769

                  +1-631-244-3035
                  yaya@dowling.edu
=====================================================
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