"SpecLite" proposal

QAWG --

Here is a first-cut proposal for a seriously stripped down SpecGL/ET 
component ("SpecLite").

As a result of earlier work, I realized that most of what we wanted to do 
in the 46 checkpoints of CR SpecGL could be located, at least in part, in a 
good Conformance Clause.  So I wrote a "FooML Conformance Clause" in 
outline/skeleton form [1].  It's a template that's a stripped-down version 
of what I did for NIST and posted in January.

Having got a version of a conformance clause that I would be happy to see 
in FooML, then I took a version of CR SpecGL's checklist and chopped it 
down to a set of rules that might lead to the Conformance Clause as a good 
fulfillment of the rules [2].

Some overall principles:

1.) I think much (most?) of what we did in CR SpecGL is good stuff, but 
need to be "layered".  First exposure to users should only reveal a 
fraction of the detail.  So there will be at most 1/4 - 1/3 as many "rules" 
at the top level of SpecLite-GL and SpecLite-template.

2.) Most of the rest of our stuff is still useful, but ought to become 
techniques in SpecLite-ET, or reference articles that can be drilled down 
to and found by the curious "advanced user".

3.) Accordingly, I usually tried to "hide" jargon like DoV, CoP, etc, while 
preserving the important concepts.  (We did get feedback that the DoV 
concepts were a useful and unique contribution.  So we need to make 'em a 
little less fierce looking.)

4.) I think that all the stuff that survives in the top level of SpecLite 
could probably be grouped under 3-4 principles (Modules for SpecGL).  But I 
didn't try to go there and define the modularization (too abstract for me 
at this point).

Apologies that it is rough and unfinished, and probably there are some 
inconsistencies between [1] and [2] -- but hopefully the basic ideas come 
through, sufficient for discussion.

-Lofton.

[1] http://www.w3.org/QA/WG/2004/03/SpecLite-template.html
[2] http://www.w3.org/QA/WG/2004/03/SpecLite-checklist.html

Received on Monday, 8 March 2004 18:33:28 UTC