[osis-core] reference systems: my thoughts - issues

[Todd Tillinghast]

If you are creating Bible.TEV I would hope that your are not creating
the equivalent of another reference system that requires a
transformation but simply a work named Bible.TEV that simply adopts the
"Bible" reference system!  

As previously discussed, a translator is most often NOT creating a new
reference system when creating a translation but simply using an
existing "general" reference system.  As such the osisIDs in MOST works
that are Bibles should be Bible:Matt.1.1 not Bible.TEV:Matt.1.1.  There
is no reason to use (and to "invent") a more specific
namespace/reference system when the more general one applies. 

We should not assume that all uses of osis documents will be with
"Bible" software that can that was developed to accommodate
transformations for every identifier and reference.  We should work
diligently to provide a 
standard that requires no transformation in most cases. 

I would hope to see almost all references as Bible:Book.Chapter.Verse
unless the encoder intends to specify the additional meaning of
Bible:Book.Chapter.Verse in a specific work.  In references (osisRef)
there is a different meaning to Bible.TEV:Matt.1.1 that there is to
Bible:Matt.1.1.  Encoders should ONLY use Bible.TEV:Matt.1.1 if the mean
that specific Matt.1.1 in only the TEV.

Todd

> 
> 
> > 3) It seems unfortunate that the default reference system
> > becomes the work when something other than the work is
> > declared in <osisText> attribute osisWork.  For example if we
> > declare osisWork to be Bible.TEV then the full form of all
> > references becomes Bible.TEV:Matt.1.1 rather than
> > Bible:Matt.1.1, when a reference to the general reference
> > system is likely intended rather than to the specific work.
> > Is there a way we can separate the "default namespace" from
osisWork?
> 
> If I am creating the Bible.TEV document, I _should_ be defining
> Bible.TEV:Matt.1.1 osisIDs, shouldn't I?  Of course, I will also
> have to define a transformation between Bible.TEV and Bible
> if I want to use the "Bible.TEV" osisWork, but it may just
> be the identity transformation (which should be easy to specify).
> 
> -Harry
>