[tmql-wg] Proposed changes to existing requirements

[Robert Barta]

On Wed, Apr 16, 2003 at 03:14:53PM +0200, Lars Marius Garshol wrote:
> | I totally agree, that there has to be a 'standard' way of creating a
> | 'virtual' (temporary) map. And, yes, TMQL should only operate on
> | that result.
> | 
> | Saying this, I hope that this can be handled _outside_ TMQL as such
> | a facility has wide-ranging applications.
> 
> This is my goal as well: that TMQL should be able to support a wide
> range of usage scenarios, rather than assume that it will be used in a
> specific context. In other words, in my mind the TMQL work has this
> implicit requirement:
> 
>   "TMQL shall make as few assumptions about the context within which
>   it is being used as possible. All interactions with its environment
>   must be clearly defined in general and abstract terms."
> 

This feels more like a general engineering principle to me. Ockam's razor.

> | I do not think that we can easily add this to TMQL. I have some work
> | done in this area, though.
> 
> Do you think we should? Isn't it better to make sure that the core
> language allows you to do this by adding some extra candy on top?

My current thinking is that this sounds like a separate document:

   "Topic Map Expressions, A functional approach to TM engineering"

Something like this.

I had/have this problem when I wrote

   http://astma.it.bond.edu.au/astma%3F-spec.dbk?section=6

I stole myself away by defining a minimalistic subset of what can be
done within AsTMa?

\rho