Re: Thinking About Data (was RE: Enlightenment via avoiding the T-word)

[Rick Jelliffe <ricko@allette.com.au>]

From: "Champion, Mike" <Mike.Champion@SoftwareAG-USA.com>
 
> > From: Tim Bray [mailto:tbray@textuality.com]
 
> > There's scope for a nice general essay here about the 
> > differences between ways of thinking about data; basic WF XML, 
> > OOP, and RDBMS represent instructively different thought 
> > patterns.  PSVI and DTDs and SOAP and so on fit into this 
> > pattern in interesting ways.  -Tim
> 
> That sounds like an interesting topic ...  

> Well-Formed XML -- Obviously this is "just" a syntax and nobody has defined
> anything like an authoritative theory of how XML "thinks about data" ... but
> there are a lot of free-floating ideas out there 

What about the view that there is no XML "way of thinking about data" because
it is just a rinkytinky syntax for data transfer which should not pretend to
get involved in the issues of data modeling?  The thing it needs are tools to
allow validation of messages at the low end, and mappings from conceptual models (such as RM) at the high end.

If we accept that view, we can either view XML Schemas  as
 - overkill for validation and inadequate for modeling
 - a nice intermediate layer which provides considerable power to help in both directions.

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Personally, I hope for the latter but suspect the former.

Cheers
Rick Jelliffe