From: Massimiliano Mirra <list@...>
Date: 2002-06-19T00:07:03+09:00
Subject: Re: ZigZag (was: Re: [OT] Re: Application server & web developement enviroment)

On Sat, Jun 15, 2002 at 07:10:56PM +0900, Jean-Hugues ROBERT wrote:
> >> > If you change the hierarchy of the database, all the code written
> >> > for the old hierarchy will have to change to reflect the new
> >> > hierarchy.
> >> This is so, and why I don't like XMLDB and OODB systems. In my
> >> experience, data has value *outside* of how it is manipulated in a
> >> particular program. If the data is forced to be structured in a
> >> particular way because you've chosen a particular object model and
> >> that model is replicated in your data store, it is often difficult
> >> to turn that data upside down and look at it a different way.
> >
> >Which reminds me of ZigZag. [*] Anyone knows of real life uses of
> >ZigZag?  It looks like either an great solution or a bigger problem
> >(with nothing inbetween).

> I just could not figure out *any* case where a ZigZag would help
> me... 

The case brought up in this thread, for instance.  When a different
way of navigating through the database is needed, a new web of links
is created instead of reorganizing the database.

> Navigating in a ZigZag is not quite something you can relate
> to any other navigational experience you may have had before.

Why, it's relatively easy.  Think of browsing a hypertext by theme:
load it, choose ``Computer Science'' from a menu, and the words that
get activated as links are those that lead to documents in the
``Computer Science'' web; choose ``Politics'' and the words that get
activated are those that lead to documents in the ``Politics'' web.
In other words, each node (the document) of the web can have more than
just one group of ways out (links to other documents).

Massimiliano