Re: Label for Top Node of "triangle diagram"

I believe that the reason that the triangle diagram is appealing is 
that it introduces the `players' in a simple context. However, by 
making it a triangle, and by having very similar links between the 
nodes engenders the confusion that we have witnessed re the labels of 
the nodes.

IMO, the diagram mixes up a couple of levels into an apparently single 
level; namely the act of communicating between partners and the 
process/act/mechanism of discovery. Here's the rub: publishing and 
discovery may be implemented by a registry that entities communicate 
with in a similar fashion to their communication with each other; but 
that doesn't make them `the same' or even `comparable'.

The reality is (IMO) that there are different aspects of entities 
communicating: the transport of messages and the mutual discovery of 
the partners in the communication.

This is partly communicated in the triangle diagram by making the 
registry a cloud; although I thought that that was to indicate its 
distributed nature.

The bottom line? On reflection, the diagram seems to cause more 
confusion than light. A while ago I sent out a diagram based on layers; 
I am not sure that that is the right thing to do here but it's merit is 
that it clearly  distinguishes the different kinds of activities and 
entities involved in interacting systems.
Frank

Received on Friday, 27 September 2002 14:22:58 UTC