Abstract
The paper 'Objektorientert Dokumentdesign i XML - Obdok' approaches a
need for more refined and e cient ways to manage information at the
doorstep of the "Age of Information". It does so by suggesting an
analogy from object-oriented programming to information design. The
paradigm of object-orientation has for almost half a century, proven
its favorable quality of giving structure to program code. Information
and information processes lack this quality, and tends to be
characterized by being old-fashioned, one dimensional and linear.
These characteristics are traditional characters and reminders from
Guthenbergs book print machine, oral narration style, etc.
Information design is mainly in the same situation today as computer science was before objectorientation. Since structural qualities of information will gain more attention in the future, it is natural to try to change information in a way similar how object-orientation once changed system development. Also, when developments lately have
been released in Dino Karabegs 'Polyscopic Modeling', and
technologies based on 'Extensible Markup Language' (XML) of W3C the
path is opened for making an analogy between object-orientation and
document design. The fundamental thesis of this paper describes this
path how to design the object-orientated document language Obdok.
By studying the characteristic properties of object-oriented program
languages and by finding a way of representing these properties in
XML, Obdok has been designed as a language for composing object
documents. This model frames the theory of Polyscopic Modeling, and a
quantified understanding of information denoted as the 'infon', which
dates back to 'Beyond Truth and Falsehood'**. In Obdok, the concept of
infon is named by a information unit' that occurs in documents as di
erent 'information types'. These information types are represented as
XML elements and reflects in a way the 'data types' in
object-orientated programming. Information types, like data types, are
classified into two groups: primitive- and complex information
types. Generally, primitive information types cannot contain
subordinated element structures, as opposed to the complex ones.
Central in the composing of object documents is the complex
information type set. This is a heterogenious set that serves both as
the physical and the contextual frame for other information types. Compared to program languages, the set has the role of the object. By applying the di erent information types, this enables the
analogy to be followed closely, also to what superior structural
qualities may concern. Heritage and abstract data types are hence
transformed into heritage and abstract information types. The language
also specifies a hybrid solution for resource linking. These pointer
functionalities, vary in the treatments of internal resources and
external resources. Thus, documents are kept more holistic, preventing
spaghetti linking and unstructured information flows.
The fundamental basis for the language is held in a 'Document Type
Definition' (DTD). This defi- nes the di erent information- and
pointer types and decides the legal contents. There is a syntax
specially developed to declare Obdok documents related to this DTD. A
separate declaration gives the user the possibility to compose the
document structure within an object-oriented environment, as an
alternative to the environment of the writing phase or in a markup
context. Due to this syntax, it is also possible for the writer to
name and structure his chosen information types composing the
document. This structure is materialized by XML elements in a separate
XML file. Declaration and instances are kept separate by initiating
two di erent files.
The Obdok declaration and instance files are processed through a
Python script to convert and merge these structures into one unified,
standardized XML format. This XML structure is made visible through
XSLT transformation to HTML code.
**Jan Egil Hagen, Geir Amdal and Andreas Nergaard, 2000