Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Faceted classifications and thesauri [Last modified: 1997]. Available
at:
http://is.gseis.ucla.edu/impact/f95/Papers-projects/Papers/perles.html
In part a description of faceted classification and thesauri which
attempts to draw a relationship between the two and show how they can
be use post-coordinately and pre-coordinately, respectively, contrary
to their traditional roles. Thesauri can be seen as a process of facet
analysis and thesauri can be used in the process of creating
categories for facet analysis.
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This was one of the most confusing descriptions of faceted
classification I've read in quite some time. In fact, if the labels
and proper names weren't there I don't know I would have been able to
identify it. This is a shame because faceted classification rocks (as
they say in the biz).
I can no longer read anything to do with thesauri or faceted
classification without thinking of Ted Nelson's latest brainchild:
zigzag:
http://xanadu.com/zigzag/
In typical fashion Ted and crew have gone out of their way to obscure
the simple grace of zigzag by trying to explain what it can be used
for instead of what it is.
Zigzag is a representation system that allows for the easy creation of
multidimensional hierachies. Information objects are contained in
cells. Cells are arranged in dimensions. Any cell may be in many
dimensions. Dimensions may be traversed in a forward or reverse
direction. All the dimensions a cell is in may be traversed at any
given time. Dimensions may be cells.
So, for example, the set:
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
could be 26 cells in a dimension (d1) that orders them as shown. The set
chris
d2 is defined as d1(2,7,16,8,17). d3, d4 and d5 are similarly defined
to represent:
a eats cow
d6 is defined as d3,d2,d4,d3,d5 to represent:
a chris eats a cow
d7 is:
a cow eats a chris
and is the same data arranged as:
d3,d5,d4,d3,d2
(From a computer science standpoint, there is nothing particuarly
revoultionary about the base of Nelson's architecture: these are
simply doubly linked lists. What makes this interesting is the notion
of dimensions and the explcit inclusion of reuse and recursions. AND:
representation is completely separate from the data; everything is a
reference.)
Switching back to classification for a moment: zigzag could be a very
helpful tool for creating dynamic citation orders for faceted
classification systems. Documents are cells. Facets are dimensions.
Citations orders are dimensions of dimensions.
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