Re: [xml-dev] Word of the day: upconversion

[James Fuller <james.fuller.2007@gmail.com>]

enrichment is probably a more widely used term for this process.

Jim Fuller

On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:59 PM, Costello, Roger L.<costello@mitre.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> Recently I read an article [1] by Michael Kay and learned a fabulous word:
>
>    upconversion
>
> The word originates in the broadcasting industry, where it is used to mean the conversion of a low resolution image to an equivalent high resolution image.
>
> In the XML world, the word refers to taking unstructured text and adding structure (markup) to create a richer, structured document. Here's how Michael Kay describes it:
>
>   Upconversion is the generation of a format
>   with detailed markup from a format with
>   less-detailed or no markup, where it is
>   necessary to generate the additional markup
>   by recognizing structural patterns that are
>   implicit in the textual content itself.
>
>
> EXAMPLE #1
>
> Upconvert this fixed-field, comma-separated text:
>
>    Origin of Wealth, Eric D. Beinhocker, 2006,
>    1-57851-777-X, Harvard Business School Press
>
> to this XML format:
>
>    <Book>
>        <Title>Origin of Wealth</Title>
>        <Author>Eric D. Beinhocker</Author>
>        <Date>2006</Date>
>        <ISBN>1-57851-777-X</ISBN>
>        <Publisher>Harvard Business School Press</Publisher>
>    </Book>
>
>
> EXAMPLE #2
>
> Upconvert this prose:
>
>    Level 1 managers may sign off on purchase requests
>    that do not exceed $10K.
>
> to XML by mapping nouns to markup and adjectives to data:
>
>    <Request id="purchase">
>        <signoff manager="level1" LE="10000" />
>    </Datatype>
>
>
> QUESTION
>
> Consider the spectrum from random text to well-designed XML:
>
>
> <------------------------------------------------->
>  random                                       XML
>
>               upconversion --------->
>
>
>
> Suppose we place prose somewhere between random text and XML:
>
>
> <------------------------------------------------->
>  random         prose                         XML
>
>               upconversion --------->
>
>
>
> Where would you place XPath?
>
>
> For example, consider these three ways of expressing a business rule:
>
> (a) Prose
>
>    Level 1 managers may sign off on purchase requests
>    that do not exceed $10K.
>
> (b) XPath
>
>    not(purchase-request[number(cost) gt 10000])
>
> (c) XML
>
>    <Request id="purchase">
>        <signoff manager="level1" LE="10000" />
>    </Datatype>
>
>
> Where would you place the XPath expression in this spectrum:
>
>
> <------------------------------------------------->
>  random         prose                         XML
>
>               upconversion --------->
>
>
> Would you place it close to the XML side? Would you place it close to the random side? Would you place it to the left of prose? Would you place it to the right of prose?
>
>
> /Roger
>
> [1] http://www.saxonica.com/papers/ideadb-1.1/mhk-paper.xml
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