[MOBY-dev] [moby] Re: Cleaning up the Object ontology - Inheriting from base Object

[Mark Wilkinson]

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 18:53:04 -0800, Martin Senger <senger at ebi.ac.uk> wrote:


>    * I prefer to have semantics (if I accept that they can be any
> semantics in computers) in the object names because they have mechanism  
> of inheritance and containment - while namespaces do not.

Could we find common ground if we made an API change that resulted in the  
Namespace ontology being hierarchical rather than flat?  If I understand  
the problem you are trying to solve, this would make a significant  
difference - but would it make *enough* difference that you wouldn't have  
to create more specific types of simple Objects?  You have thought through  
your solution from beginning to end, and I haven't, so I don't want to  
presume.  Though I agree that the "live and let live" solution doesn't do  
anyone any harm, it would enhance interoperability if we were all using  
the same philosophy to build the objects that we are supposed to be  
sharing...

M