[tmql-wg] RE: TMQL Proposal

[Steve Pepper]

Hi Kal,

| Graham and I have published a paper proposing a different approach to 
| topic map querying. Rather than define a new query language, we define 
| a relational view of the topic map data model which can then be queried 
| using a standard relational query language such as SQL.

Thanks for this contribution. It's a pity we didn't have it a year
ago, in time for the call for proposals that were analysed at the
May 2005 meeting of WG3 in Amsterdam (c'est la vie).

Having said that, the idea of basing TMQL on SQL *was* discussed at
that meeting (based on Rani Pinchuk's Toma proposal). The arguments
Lars Marius presented in his reply to your posting are pretty much
a summary of the near-consensus achieved in Amsterdam, that SQL was
ill-suited as a basis for TMQL.

As a result, the first draft of TMQL (which will hopefully go out
for ballot in a couple of weeks time) will be a kind of synthesis
based around tolog with features from AsTMa?, TMPath and Toma.

We look forward to having your comments on that draft.

Best regards,

Steve

[1] Meeting summary: http://www.jtc1sc34.org/repository/0502.pdf

--
Steve Pepper <pepper@ontopia.net>
Chief Strategy Officer, Ontopia
Convenor, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34/WG 3
Editor, XTM (XML Topic Maps 1.0)