[tmql-wg] Re: TMQL Problem (scoping occurrences).

[Lars Marius Garshol]

Hi Michael,

* Michael Chapman
|
| As before this is more a TM problem than a TMQL problem, but if I
| can't get a good TM I won't be able to query it, so ... ...
| 
| Also this may (but I doubt) be unique to LTM, but as LTM is so
| intertwined with TMQL now, then that seems to make it a general
| problem (if problem it really is).

I think this is really more of a question for TOPICMAPMAIL than for
tmql-wg, where we really want to discuss TMQL more than other things.
At the moment it doesn't seem that there will be any direct connection
between LTM and TMQL, BTW.
 
| I can't be the only person to have hit this problem, can I ? If so
| is it real and what do others do?

Michael, I have to admit that I'm a bit confused. What is the problem?
Where do you experience the problem (in the Omnigator, a custom
application, or what)? And are you using queries here at all?

If you have

  {rodin, description, [[...]]} / lang-fr
  {rodin, description, [[...]]} / lang-en
  {rodin, description, [[...]]} / lang-en

then obviously if you filter by English you'll get two descriptions.
There has to be some criterion for choosing between the two English
descriptions if you are to avoid this.

Your second LTM example isn't valid LTM (or even topic maps), but I
think what you really want to say there is

  {rodin, short-description, [[...]]} / lang-fr
  {rodin, short-description, [[...]]} / lang-en
  {rodin, long-description,  [[...]]} / lang-fr
  {rodin, long-description,  [[...]]} / lang-en

This would provide what was missing before: a way to choose between
the two English alternatives.

| PS Obviously real examples with several languages in the database
| (but not consistently), complex language preferences of users and
| all, get much more complicated, but I hope the trite example is
| enough to make the point.  As with all trite examples one can see
| easy 'work arounds' ... but that is another matter.  The problem is
| also -obviously- more general than just languages.

It is, but I'm not sure I understood from the example what it is you
are asking.

-- 
Lars Marius Garshol, Ontopian         <URL: http://www.ontopia.net >
GSM: +47 98 21 55 50                  <URL: http://www.garshol.priv.no >