Tom,
> I also tried to refine the concept of 'dumb-down' by
> splitting it into two different types of 'dumb-down'. One
> being being 'value dumb-down' which would be a process of
> taking what you are calling 'rich values' and converting them
> into 'value strings' or simple values. Because this process
> depends on the type of the 'rich value', there is really no
> set method for doing this.
I really like this separation of value dumb-down and element dumb-down.
(I would include how encoding schemes are handled as part of value
dumb-down, I think.) I think your point that the former may not be a
generic process, but one which depends on the nature of the rich value,
and (as you say below) the capacity of a processor to handle that rich
value, hits the nail on the head.
> I also defined 'element dumb-down' which is the process of
> mapping narrow, refined elements into their equivalent more
> generic elements.
Although you don't say so explicitly, I think you imply that element
dumb-down, on the other hand, can be generalised because it's a matter
of following a mapping specified by the
refinement/element-that-is-refined (rdfs:subPropertyOf) relation.
> Then the complete process of 'dumbing-down' becomes applying
> both 'value dumb-down' and 'element dumb-down' to a record.
Yes. I think making this distinction would be helpful in clarifying the
element refinement/encoding scheme distinction too.
> In your scenario, the 'value dumb-down' was essentially
> throwing away all the 'rich values'. However, it is
> conceivable that a dumb-down processor with some knowledge of
> different 'rich value' types could successfully convert some
> of those 'rich values' into 'string values'.
I also like your emphasis that what one processor treats as
"complex"/rich values, another processor may treat as "simple"/value
strings. (I think I read something by Roland making a similar point, but
I can't locate it just now.)
This suggests that somewhere in Andy's document maybe we need the notion
of "a DC metadata processor" or "a DC dumb-down engine", but I haven't
thought that through.
Pete
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