Really nice process diagram, Sean.

I'm curious about the relationship between plans, profiles, and namespaces,
illustrated with an example:

To use your construction analogy, assume profiles x, y and z are Framing,
Electrical, and Plumbing and all have been deconflicted by the Architecture
Review Board and integrated into the model specification.  Now we have an
HVAC working group developing the HVAC Profile Plan.

They will re-use some material from the Electrical and Plumbing profiles,
because HVAC needs power and condensate drainage, but they also will create
new material that doesn't yet exist.   Within the model specification you
show "Namespace Specifications" but no reference to X, Y and Z.  I'd assume
that there is an SPDX Core (a default / universal / "well-known" namespace)
plus Namespace Specifications for at most X, Y and Z.   Each is optional,
some profiles may need nothing but the SPDX core.

If that is correct, I believe it answers Gary's question about conflicting
constraints.  If HVAC Profile Q needs a "Pressure" attribute, and the
Plumbing Profile Z defines Pressure as being 0-100 PSI, then the
architecture choices are:
1) relax the constraints on Z:Pressure so that they accommodate the HVAC
range of values, or
2) leave Z:Pressure as it is and define a new HVAC Q:Pressure that is 0-500
PSI.  There is no conflict, because the two attributes have no relationship
other than sharing the same unqualified name (and the same SI units :-).

Allowing distributed development without requiring coordination is the
purpose of namespaces.  Yes it's nice to harmonize as much as possible
to enable reuse, but when two profile working groups have fundamentally
conflicting requirements, deconfliction shouldn't be a blocking issue -
they can define what they need in their namespace without having to worry
about conflicts with other namespaces..

So: Is it correct to say that namespaces come from profile plans, and
therefore there cannot be a Q Namespace Specification unless somebody
created a Q Profile Specification?

If that is true, I'm not sure I see the difference between the Markdown
Namespace Specification and the Profile Specification.  The Formal Standard
consists-of both, so the material has to exist in files somewhere.  If the
Profile Specification is written in Human Readable Markdown, then it *is*
the Namespace Specification.

Cheers,
Dave


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#4048): https://lists.spdx.org/g/Spdx-tech/message/4048
Mute This Topic: https://lists.spdx.org/mt/82390442/21656
Group Owner: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: https://lists.spdx.org/g/Spdx-tech/unsub [[email protected]]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


Reply via email to