Re: Two examples of semi structured data.

From: Laconic2 <laconic2_at_comcast.net>
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 11:06:14 -0400
Message-ID: <euydnSL4mrn-mrfcRVn-qQ_at_comcast.com>


"Jan Hidders" <jan.hidders_at_REMOVETHIS.pandora.be> wrote in message news:pan.2004.08.21.17.01.49.551052_at_REMOVETHIS.pandora.be...

> Er, no. Note the "(from a particular viewpoint)" phrase, which is crucial
> here. Serge argues that sometimes, from a particular viewpoint of for
> example a certain type of user or a certain application, you are really
> not interested in any structure that may or may not be hidden in a
> particular stream of bits; they are just a stream of bits and that's
> it. That does certainly not exclude the possibility that from *another*
> point of view there certainly is some worthwile structure to be
> discovered there. Think of for example the payload in a package in some
> communication protocol. At one level of the protocol stack this is just a
> list of bits, at another level the same list of bits may be a certain
> service request with some parameters. Whether data is "raw" or not is in
> the eye of the beholder, it is not an objective quality of the thing
> itself.

This reminds me of the distinction between "content" and "conveyance" in an analysis of the information industry
some 24 years ago.

The distinction is obvious if you compare publishers and authors. It's less obvious, but still interesting (IMO) if you are talking about data, especially protocols and databases. Received on Mon Aug 23 2004 - 17:06:14 CEST

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