Re: [higgins-dev] IdAS: metadata on attribute values

["Jim Sermersheim" <jimse@xxxxxxxxxx>]

These changes are in, so things are now unstable.  I can start looking at other projects and send out some diffs

>>> "Jim Sermersheim" <jimse@xxxxxxxxxx> 5/10/07 10:37 AM >>>

Given that no objections have surfaced -- especially in light of repeated prompts for feedback, I assume people are ok with this change.

 

As this is holding up the CP-writer's job of implementing updates, I suggest this change be committed this afternoon.  I'll do that unless I hear otherwise.

 

Jim

>>> "Jim Sermersheim" <jimse@xxxxxxxxxx> 5/9/07 4:16 PM >>>

Two things: 1) I made a difference between the terms "type" and "ID" in the proposal below to make more sense.

2) I like this proposal because it's very familiar to any XML-aware users. A Digital Subject is like an XML element, and Attributes are like XML sub-elements of the subject element. Metadata is like XML attributes.

 

Jim 

>>> "Jim Sermersheim" <jimse@xxxxxxxxxx> 5/9/07 3:56 PM >>>

(oops, I didn't mean to say IMetadataValue extends IValue)

 

Anyway, now a small refinement on proposal 3.  Here we combine IMetadata and IMetadataValue, the rest is just like Proposal 3

 

I think I like this the best (but I'm assuming people will accept the notion of metadata being constrained to single, simple values)

 

Proposal 4:

 

public interface IMetadata {
 public URI getID() throws IdASException; // the metadata ID (creationTime, creatorName, etc.)
 public URI getType() throws IdASException; // The simple type (string, integer, etc.)
 public String getLexical() throws IdASException;
 public String getCanonical() throws IdASException;
 public Object getData() throws IdASException;
 void setData(Object data) throws IdASException;
 void remove() throws IdASException;
 public IMetadataModel getModel() throws IdASException;
}

 

public interface IHasMetadata {

 public Iterator getMetadataSet() throws IdASException; // Iterator of IMetadata

 public IMetadata getMetadata(URI metadataID) throws IdASException;
 IMetadata addMetadata(URI metadataID) throws IdASException, InvalidMetadataException;

 IMetadata addMetadata(IMetadata copyFrom) throws IdASException;
}

 

/**

 * not intended to be instantiated (only used as a super-interface)

 */

public interface IValue extends IHasMetadata {
 public boolean isSimple() throws IdASException;
 public URI getType() throws IdASException; // like string, int, address
 void remove() throws IdASException;
}

public interface ISimpleValue extends IValue {

 public String getLexical() throws IdASException;
 public String getCanonical() throws IdASException;
 public Object getData() throws IdASException;
 void setData(Object data) throws IdASException;
}

 

public interface IComplexValue extends IValue, IHasAttributes {

}

 

public interface IAttribute extends IHasMetadata {

 public URI getAttrID() throws IdASException; // like hobbies, hatSize, homeAddress
 public Iterator getValues() throws IdASException;
 IValue addValue(URI type) throws IdASException, InvalidTypeException;
 IValue addValue(IValue copyFrom) throws IdASException;
 ISimpleValue addSimpleValue(URI type, Object data) throws IdASException, InvalidTypeException;
 IComplexValue addComplexValue(URI type) throws IdASException, InvalidTypeException;
 void remove() throws IdASException;
 public IAttributeModel getModel() throws IdASException;
 public boolean isSingleValued() throws IdASException;
}

 

public interface ISingleValuedAttribute extends IAttribute {
 public IValue getValue() throws IdASException;
}

 

public interface IHasAttributes
{
 public Iterator getAttributes() throws IdASException;
 public IAttribute getAttribute(URI attrID) throws IdASException;

 IAttribute addAttribute(URI attrID) throws IdASException, InvalidAttributeException; 
 IAttribute addAttribute(IAttribute copyFrom) throws IdASException; 
}

 

public interface IDigitalSubject extends IHasMetadata, IHasAttributes
{
 public IContext getContext() throws IdASException;

 public String getSubjectID() throws IdASException;
 public URI getType() throws IdASException;

 void remove() throws IdASException; 
 void applyUpdates() throws IdASException; // this is moving to IContext
 public IDigitalSubjectModel getModel() throws IdASException;
}


<snip>