Re: Syntax Free Models - was: [Fwd: Oracle Input for Core ComponentsWG]

["Martin Bryan" <mtbryan@sgml.u-net.com>]

Kris
> >
> > The hierarchy of standards is actually a hierarchy of processes - we
need to
> > clearly distinguish this hierarchy from the hierarchy of message
components
> > (unfortunately these seem to be mixed in many cases)
>
> I don't entirely understand your comment. Where do you fit a message
component which describes (i.e. further refines) a process)?
> example: suppose you have a message called "order to buy or sell'. Within
that message, you specify (ie. refine) by saying it is for
> instance a 'buy'.

This is a "process chain switch". You will find details of process chains in
the paper I published this morning at http://www.sgml.u-net.com/neutral.htm.

> In other words, sometimes messages (and as such one or more of their
components) describe part of a process. This relates to
> defining how 'generic' a message will be.
> Or did I completely misunderstood your comment?

No, you have a valid point, and one of the points that my paper raises is
the need to record "dependencies" - i.e. when one message unit is dependent
on (or is a direct copy of) a message unit in a previous message. What I
have not included in that paper is the need to use the contents of the
component to control the process, but this is easy to do by adding a
qualifier of the form
   process-x/[information-unit-y="z"] or
process-x/information-unit-y[@property-z="a"]

> > I don't have time to answer these at present, but for 1-3 I would refer
you
> > to the draft CEN Working Agreement prepared as part of the ISIS European
> > XML/EDI Pilot Project last year.
>
> Can you tell me where I could find this documentation you refer to (URL?)?

http://www.tieke.html/isis-xmledi/deliver/d10.doc

Martin Bryan