Re: unmarked linkend awareness by XML engines

> >When you use the BOS concept, the only thing that matters is the
> >user's decisions as to which documents (and therefore, which link
> >sets) are known to the application.  As I said before, upon arrival at
> >any document, the user has the option of adding that document's BOS to
> >the actual BOS in effect for this session, or of replacing the active
> >BOS with that document's BOS (which means that the application will
> >"forget" about the links that exist in documents that are not present
> >in the new BOS).  At any time, the user can create and/or use *any*
> >BOS.  If the user fails to use any suggested BOS, the user does so at
> >his own risk.
> 
> How can the user (who have no overall view of the data they are using)
> assess such a risk?

Users are going to make these decisions on whatever basis they make
them.  Let me make this question a little more concrete.  "Do I want
to wait while this whole goddam recommended BOS is assembled, or do I
just want to see what's at the other end of this hyperlink, and to
hell with whatever may be linked to it by other things in the
recommended BOS?"  This is just like asking how a user can assess
whether to spend some unknown portion of his irreplaceable lifetime
traversing a hyperlink on the World Wide Wait.  Sometimes it's worth
it.  Sometimes it's not.  Usually such decisions are based on
extremely practical considerations, like the fact that a perfectly
good hot meal is getting cold.

> The scenarios you provided were great. The only problem I have is if I
> publish my annotations is monthly part, and my users subscribe to my
> annotations and choose one of these parts to start from. How can I arrange
> for them to see all of the annotations from all of the monthly commentaries
> unless I share an updatable BOS between them. If the BOS is separated from
> the annotations I have no problems. If it has to be part of the annotations
> I am in difficulty. 

So declare the BOS in a separate document that serves as the hub.
Sounds like that solves the problem, to me.


--Steve

             Steven R. Newcomb   President
         voice +1 716 271 0796   TechnoTeacher, Inc.
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Received on Tuesday, 31 December 1996 19:08:36 UTC