OFF LIST: Re: [tcs-lc] My comments on the draft

[Roger Hyam]

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for your comments in the TCS-LC discussions. I just thought I 
would say that I support the points you are making here. My opinion has 
changed recently in that I think I can see a compromise where we can 
have the functionality of LC embedded within "Taxa" rather than as a top 
level element (though maintaining the global complex type).

I would like to drop TaxonConcept as a term because we are designing a 
data structure for passing information that may be concept data or may 
be purely nomenclatural or all the mixtures between. I also want to see 
the introduction of a flag of some kind to indicate the nature of the 
nomenclatural data contained within a Taxon element - whether it is 
'authoritative' or not. There are certain implementation advantages over 
doing it this way than doing it with a separate top level 'Name' object 
such as avoiding the awkwardness of parsing more 'normalised' xml 
structures.

I hope to see Jessie again in the next week or two and get some of these 
changes in - though I think she may be off for an Easter break.

I am also suggesting that I write a friendly and readable "User Guide" 
to the TCS/LC. I hope that I can then illustrate how it can be used for 
different purposes simply and without data loss.  If I can't then we 
will have to get the schema changed!

Hope this is helpful. I am working towards having a single schema as I 
believe this will be the best thing for all of us.

Roger




Jerry Cooper wrote:

>>For example, nomenclaturalists, ... 
>>They interpreted the Name element to be the only way to store
>>    
>>
>information about names. 
>
>I don't think that. Please don't make assumptions on my behalf.  To
>re-state something I have said many times: we require an exchange schema
>that allows us to maintain the integrity of nomenclatural data upon
>which everything else is, or at least should be, based. 
>
>  
>
>>What TCS required of the nomenclaturalists was to forgo a precise model
>>    
>>
>of the
>  
>
>>rules specified in the Codes of Nomenclature regarding names but to
>>    
>>
>ensure that >they could represent all the data required to follow the
>rules to undertake their work 
>  
>
>>and capture data resulting from their work using the schema. 
>>    
>>
>
>Sorry, but I am not going to forgo the the precise model of the rules -
>that is precisely what I require in my work to maintain the data
>integrity of a nomenclator.
>
>  
>
>>If we model the schema to suit the nomenclaturalists then it will be
>>    
>>
>biased to their 
>  
>
>>view of the world and won't necessarily suit other users. 
>>    
>>
>
>Is this statement really true? ABCD is a complex schema but people pick
>and choose the bits appropriate for their domain. Why can't we achieve
>the same with an LC bonded into TCS? If we can't then I still think TCS
>is a good idea and worth promoting as a standard but maybe it won't
>satisfy the needs of the nomenclators and perhaps I will stick with some
>form of an LC for my needs (specifically transferring data between
>IndexFungorum and the national nomenclatural databases in New Zealand).
>I guess I won't know until I try. 
>
>Jerry
>
>Jerry Cooper PhD
>Landcare Research
>PO Box 40, Lincoln 8152
>New Zealand
>+64 3 325 6701 ext 3734
>CooperJ at LandcareResearch.CO.NZ
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 Roger Hyam
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