Before things go out of hand.
I (Gerard Freriks) have NOT written these papers on Unites of Measure and
Datatypes.
I submitted them because they are being used in health care in the USA in
HL7 (www.HL7.org) and CEN/TC251 (www.Centc251.org) in Europe.
The author is Gunther Schadow.
My opinion is that they deserve to be studied and used outside of the
healthcare domain.
With regards,
Gerard Freriks
|-----Original Message-----
|From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Folkerts,
|Robert
|Sent: maandag 8 mei 2000 16:56
|To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
|Subject: RE: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|
|
|Ron, Brian, Gerhard et al,
|
|Gerhard- I read the papers. Wow :^) I'm impressed with the clarity &
|detail.
|
|Both of the discussions about my post (orientation & apples vs.
|oranges) are
|valid, but perhaps out of scope. There are indeed variety of ways to
|specify orientations & the closely related 'point transformations' of a
|rigid body. My personal favorite is to use the 'bivector' notation used in
|'Clifford algebras'. This elegant formalism has been applied in a variety
|of fields from optics to quantum mechanics to orbital calculations. As you
|may guess from the name 'bivector', this description of orientation does
|work by specifying two points. However, I would be careful about
|'inflicting' my somewhat eccentric tastes on others in the form of a
|universal DTD :-) The point about the apples != oranges is also
|well taken,
|the context is critical in determining if an operations if valid. (This is
|why I chose apples and oranges, since the phrase 'you can't add apples to
|oranges' comes to mind, at least for US readers.)
|
|Dimensional analysis is a general technique that can be applied to
|any 'real
|world' relation. Adding square feet to gallons is NEVER correct, you need
|at least one conversion factor (as in the problem: I have an inch of water
|in my basement. If my basement has 804 sq. ft., how many gallons of water
|to I need to pump out? :-( ). But adding cubic feet to inch-acres is a
|dimensionally valid operation. (As in: As I pumped out the basement, how
|well did I irrigate my neighbor's garden - irrigation is often measured in
|inch-acres of water.) The use of dimensional analysis has been invaluable
|tool for a variety of scientific & engineering disciplines. I feel that it
|should be considered in any universal scheme to describe units of measure.
|A critical feature of any unit is to know what its 'dimensionality' is.
|
|Garhard Freriks has written two well researched papers that carefully
|discuss many issues that will be involved in determining an XML
|microstandard to describe measurements and the units of measure. After
|reading this paper, I highly recommend it to anyone else that is interested
|in working on such a microstandard. My major suggestion would be to make
|the 'dimensionality' a stronger feature in any system of units. In XML,
|there should be an effort to determine a set of something like 'dimensional
|groups' that have a set of 'basis vectors' like mass, length, time, charge.
|Nearly all units encountered in science, engineering and commerce have a
|dimensionality of the form mass^A1 *length^A2 *time^A3 *charge^A4.
|Thus, the
|dimensionality units are located in an N-dimensional space. In any given
|unit, most of the exponents are likely to be zero. Most commonly, the
|exponents are integers in the range -4 < Ai < 4. There are examples of
|units with non-integral exponents (square roots and the like) and number
|outside of this range, but they are not as common. This 'dimensional
|analysis' is discussed in Freriks' paper, but I would like to make this the
|core of the standard, since it is truly universal and can be expressed in a
|way that computers can readily utilize.
|
|In summary, get the dimensionality correct is a necessary but certainly not
|sufficient check of a measurement or a relationship between measurements.
|Adding apples to oranges is dimensionally correct, but it may violate other
|business rules. This sort of rule is dependent on the context, and is not
|universal. Garhard Freriks has presented two papers that lay a foundation
|to develop a robust XML microstandard for units of measure. This should be
|of interest to this group, I would be happy to work with anyone on such a
|standard. The standard should also involve representatives from
|groups like
|NIST & ISO, since they are the 'keepers' of such standards.
|
|Bob Folkerts
|
|-----Original Message-----
|From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
|Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 8:09 AM
|To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED];
|[EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|Subject: RE: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|
|
|Brian,
|
|I believe you can also get orientation either from "angle" or by specifying
|two "coordinates" in space.
|
|Ron Schuldt
|
|
|> ----------
|> From: Brian Densmore[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
|> Reply To: Brian Densmore
|> Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 10:27 AM
|> To: 'Ian Galbraith'; 'Folkerts, Robert';
|> '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
|> Subject: RE: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|>
|> I would tend to agree.
|> 5 Apples + 5 Oranges = 10 fruit. Is a high intelligence conclusion, very
|> few
|> digital computers would make that connection. I also agree that the 17
|> property words are not mutually exclusive.
|> Volume is just 3 dimension values. In fact 3 dimension values are
|> preferable, after all if you want a container for your soda
|would you want
|> to put it in a 16 oz. saucer or a 16 oz glass? There is one other word
|> missing from the list:
|>
|> Orientation - a unit vector measurement from the center of the
|base in the
|> direction of the top of the object.
|>
|> A very useful property if you want to pour soda into a glass, or put up
|> architecture.
|>
|> Brian Densmore
|>
|> -----Original Message-----
|> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Ian Galbraith
|> Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 3:42 AM
|> To: Folkerts, Robert; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> Subject: Re: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|>
|>
|> >5 apples + 5 oranges would be ok since both are 'counts'
|>
|> Really? I would disagree with that fundamentally. 5 fruit items + 5
|> fruit
|> items = 10 fruit items; OK. But I cannot imagine that any
|> supplier/purchaser of fruit would be too happy to receive apples instead
|> of
|> oranges.
|>
|> Not a trivial point, I suggest.
|>
|>
|> Ian Galbraith
|>
|> -----Original Message-----
|> From: Folkerts, Robert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
|> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
|> Date: 04 May 2000 04:11
|> Subject: RE: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|>
|>
|> >Oh well, here I go again...
|> >
|> >I disagree that this list is complete or mutually exclusive. There are
|> only
|> >a few basic physical quantities that can be tracked. they are:
|> > mass,
|> > length,
|> > time,
|> > electrical charge,
|> > temperature.
|> >Charge doesn't appear on your list. A rigorous physicist may even argue
|> >that time and length are redundant ( 1 nanosec = 30 cm, more or
|less) and
|> >that temperature is just an energy per particle, angles are just numbers
|> >(measured in radians, of course). This would drop us down to mass,
|> length
|> >and charge. The physicist would then add 'exotic' measures like charm
|> and
|> >strangeness for completeness.
|> >
|> >The quantities listed (above)will provide us with the building blocks to
|> >specify the dimension of any physical quantity.
|> > area = length^2 ( hence the list is not mutually exclusive)
|> > volume = length^3
|> > energy = mass *length^2/(time^2)
|> > electrical potential = energy / charge
|> > specific heat capacity = energy/(mass * temperature)
|> > speed = length/time
|> > weight = force = mass * length / time^2
|> > pressure = force / area = mass / (length^2 * time^2)
|> > etc ...
|> >Any commonly encountered physical quantity can be reduced to the list of
|> >five basic quantities in the first list. I would agree that adding
|> angle,
|> >amount (capital), and quantity (count) are also useful as we
|move beyond
|> >the physicist's set of units. I will accept the 'text', 'identifier' and
|> >'code' types as they have been proven useful.
|> >
|> >I would like to generalized the unit type 'rate' has been
|replaced by the
|> >exponents to which the 'fundamental' units have been raised.
|> >
|> >I find the coordinate type problematic. This is a rather different
|> concept
|> >(component of vector vs. scalar) than dimensional analysis. It is
|> clearly
|> >important to take this into account at a low level, but the choice of
|> >coordinate values depends upon coordinate system. This is more like a
|> >'collection' than a dimensional type.
|> >
|> >We must also specify a measure and a unit for any physical
|quantity. This
|> >idea is tied to the difference between 'time' and 'date'. Both are
|> measures
|> >of time, but they use different units. By sticking with 'time' fewer
|> types
|> >are needed. We do need to be able to convert between various 'units'
|> >(seconds, hours, days) of the same 'quantity' (time).
|> >
|> >In short, I feel that XML should be used to specify measured quantities
|> in
|> >terms of a number and a unit. The 'unit' should be tied to a underlying
|> >'dimensional group'. Measurements with the same 'dimensional group' may
|> be
|> >added ( 10 seconds + 100 days is ok since both are time, 5 USD
|+ 10 FF is
|> ok
|> >since both are money, 10 pounds + 10 Kg is wrong since force is
|not mass,
|> 5
|> >apples + 5 oranges would be ok since both are 'counts'). Computers can
|> be
|> >programmed to multiply units & manage dictionaries of standard
|units ( so
|> >that you see force in 'Newtons' rather than Kg m /s^2.) Based on locale
|> and
|> >other aspects of the context, you could even change the display of a
|> >quantity to suit the user.
|> >
|> >This is indeed a great place for an XML 'microstandard'.
|> >
|> >Bob Folkerts
|> >
|> >-----Original Message-----
|> >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
|> >Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 11:58 AM
|> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> >Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED];
|> >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> >Subject: RE: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|> >
|> >
|> >David, XML/EDI list,
|> >
|> >The 17 property words of DoD 8320.1-M-1 were carefully selected over the
|> >course of many years within DoD's data administration function.
|This list
|> of
|> >17 words appears to enable semantics conflict resolution in the simplest
|> >manner. By forcing any data element concept (see ISO/IEC 11179
|Part 1 for
|> a
|> >definition) to a common starting point (one of 17 properties) it appears
|> to
|> >be a viable way of aligning data element concepts that are semantically
|> >equal but have been assigned different names.
|> >
|> >It has been my experience within industry and shared by those within the
|> DoD
|> >data administration function that the 17 property words are intuitive,
|> >mutually exclusive, and seemingly exhaustive. The committee I chaired
|> within
|> >the CALS Industry Steering Group was tasked with defining a means for
|> >integrating the data within the enterprise. The UDEF was the result.
|> >
|> >The 17 UDEF property words (class words within DoD 8320.1-M-1) are as
|> >follows:
|> >
|> >* Amount - A monetary value.
|> >* Angle - The rotational measurement between two lines and/or planes
|> >diverging from a common point and/or line.
|> >* Area - The two dimensional measurement of a surface expressed in
|> >unit squares.
|> >* Code - A combination of one or more numbers, letters, or special
|> >characters substituted for a specific meaning.
|> >* Coordinate - One of a set of values which identifies the location of
|> >a point.
|> >* Date - The notation of a specific period of time.
|> >* Dimension - A one dimensional measured linear distance.
|> >* Identifier - A combination of one or more numbers, letters, or
|> >special characters which designates a specific object and/or entity, but
|> has
|> >no readily definable meaning.
|> >* Mass - The measure of inertia of a body.
|> >* Name - A designation of an object and/or entity expressed in a word
|> >or phrase.
|> >* Quantity - A nonmonetary numeric value.
|> >* Rate - A quantitative expression that represents the numeric
|> >relationship between two measurable units.
|> >* Temperature - The measure of heat in an object.
|> >* Text - An unformatted character string generally in the form of
|> >words.
|> >* Time - A notation of a specified chronological point within a
|> >period.
|> >* Volume - A measurement of space occupied by a three dimensional
|> >figure.
|> >* Weight - The force with which an object is attracted toward the
|> >earth and/or other celestial body by gravitation.
|> >
|> >Based on experience, it appears that any data element concept property
|> can
|> >be mapped into one of these 17 property words. For example,
|velocity is a
|> >type of "rate" and part number is a type of "identifier"
|> >
|> >Ron Schuldt
|> >
|> >
|> >
|> >
|> >
|> >> ----------
|> >> From: David RR Webber[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
|> >> Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 9:53 AM
|> >> To: INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> >> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED];
|> >> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> >> Subject: RE: "Tower of Babel" or Bizcodes, UDEF (standard tag IDs)
|> >>
|> >> Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|> >> >
|> >> The UDEF naming convention conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC
|> 11179
|> >> and
|> >> uses the same 17 property words (class words) as those
|specified by DoD
|> >> 8320.1-M-1. Each data element within DoD's data dictionary (based on
|> DoD's
|> >> Enterprise-wide Data Model) uses one of the 17 property words. Each
|> data
|> >> element within MIL-STD-2549, Configuration Management Data Interface
|> was
|> >> named based on the UDEF naming convention. See Appendix C to
|> MIL-STD-2549
|> >> at
|> >> http://www.acq.osd.mil/io/se/cm&dm/cm&dm_pubs.htm
|> >> <<<<<<<<<<<<<
|> >>
|> >> Ron,
|> >>
|> >> Perhaps it would clarify if you could pen some lines on the purpose
|> behind
|> >> the
|> >> idea of having 17 property words - and how this is applicable more
|> >> generally?
|> >>
|> >> Obviously in a global context you can translate the 17 words
|into local
|> >> usage.
|> >>
|> >> As we wrestle with the issues of BPR and Core Components within ebXML,
|> >> I'm seeing the top down can often get very confusing for the
|lay person
|> -
|> >> or
|> >> someone who just understands the business domain - but not the
|> >> technobabble!
|> >>
|> >> I'm always trying to distill out what will work at the bottom up - so
|> that
|> >> the two
|> >> world can co-exist without tripping each other up. The Army seems to
|> >> avoid
|> >> words at all cost afterall - its that A317-B12 you are needing, etc!
|> >>
|> >> At the end of the day some Army Quartermaster has to
|understand how his
|> >> warehouse is organized, and where that actual physical part really is!
|> >>
|> >> DW.
|> >>
|> >>
|> >
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