[sc34wg3] TMQL Enterprise Information Integration

[Rani Pinchuk]

Dear Patrick,

I cannot see how this feature is related to TMQL.

If I understood what you mean, we call it Integration Layer. So to 
create a Topic Maps "view" over (for example) several different 
relational databases. That means that at least part of the data in the 
topic map comes from different data stores.
I know that Lutz Maicher is interested in this. Robert Barta called this 
Topic Maps bridges (as far as I recall). We also played with this idea 
in one project, and plan to go a bit further with this in the future.

However, the whole point in the integration layer is that it does not 
affect the Topic Maps tools and APIs you use. So you keep using the very 
same TMQL you used to use over your topic maps, just that behind the 
scenes, parts of the topic map are spread over different data stores.

Kind regards,

Rani



Patrick Durusau wrote:
> Greetings!
> 
> There is also a wealth of useful TMQL information in the use case 
> document: http://www.itscj.ipsj.or.jp/sc34/open/0449.htm.
> 
> One in particular that I would like to single out goes by the unlikely 
> term *immaterialized topic map.*
> 
> Fortunately the reader doesn't stumble over that bit of phraseology 
> until fairly late in 3.4, Enterprise Information Integration.
> 
> In a nutshell this section restates the obvious point, lost on a number 
> of other data integration strategies, that converting existing archives 
> to some new format to achieve data integration works, but at great cost 
> and risk to the original data. So much so that it happens but not often.
> 
> The point here is that existing information archives can be viewed "as 
> though" they were topic maps and so subject to the same merging rules as 
> any other topic map, up to and including additional merging rules.
> 
> There was a recent post about the use of topic maps in libraries to 
> FRBRize their catalogs. Given that most such catalogs are already held 
> in deeply embedded data structures on which other systems rely, the 
> ability to view them "virtually" as topic maps offers an low threat 
> level way to demonstrate the value add that topic maps brings to an 
> information system.
> 
> I would rank this in the "must have" requirements for TMQL.
> 
> Hope everyone is having a great week!
> 
> Patrick
> 

-- 
Rani Pinchuk
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