Re: Contexts (was Classes vs. Instances)
- To: Rich Cooper <rcooper15@COMCAST.NET>
- Subject: Re: Contexts (was Classes vs. Instances)
- From: "John F. Sowa" <sowa@BESTWEB.NET>
- Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 01:57:04 -0400
- Cc: Avril Styrman <Avril.Styrman@helsinki.fi>, Rolf Schwitter <rolfs@ics.mq.edu.au>, standard-upper-ontology@listserv.ieee.org, cg@CS.UAH.EDU, Nigam Shah <nigam@psu.edu>, "'Paul Prueitt'" <psp@virtualTaos.net>, "'Alan Ruttenberg'" <alanruttenberg@GMAIL.COM>, "'Paul J. Werbos'" <pwerbos@nsf.gov>, bniemann@COX.NET, Susan Turnbull <susan.turnbull@gsa.gov>, Cory Casanave <cbc@enterprisecomponent.com>
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Rich and Avril,
I've been busy with some pressing deadlines, so I haven't
had time to write detailed comments on this exchange.
But the issues you raise illustrate a fundamental principle:
semantics is the foundation for everything. You can't solve
a problem in semantics for one component, such as the database,
or web services, or software design and development.
My major complaint about the Semantic Web is the word "Web".
You can't have independently developed semantics for the WWW,
the database, the applications, the services, the programming
languages, the design and development tools, the user interfaces,
the specification languages, etc., etc., etc....
Semantics cuts across everything. You have to address the
*system* semantics. And you need to consider migration paths
to and from legacy systems, current systems, and anything
that might ever be planned or proposed for the future.
John