Re: PROV-ISSUE-516: Data Model Section 5.2.1 [prov-dm]

Dear all,

I have drafted a response to ISSUE-516 on the wiki at:
http://www.w3.org/2011/prov/wiki/ResponsesToPublicComments#ISSUE-516_.28DerivationAsBundle.29
It is copied below for your convenience.

Feedback appreciated.
Thanks,
Luc


      ISSUE-516 (DerivationAsBundle)

    * Original email:
      http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-prov-wg/2012Sep/0106.html
    * Tracker: http://www.w3.org/2011/prov/track/issues/516
    * Group Response:
          o A derivation is not an activity, a derivation is a
            transformation of an entity to another. A derivation may be
            realized by one or more activities.
          o If a derivation (between e2 and e1) is realized by one known
            activity, then that activity generated e2 and used e1.
          o All this is formalized in the constraints document (see
            references).
          o The reason why derivation can refer to a usage and a
            generation is that we wanted to be able to express the
            derivation path in full. This is particular important in a
            number of use cases, including result reproducibility.
          o So, derivation is a construct that refers to two entities,
            an activity (similarly to other relations in the model) and
            in addition to a usage and a generation, by means of their
            identifiers. (Reminder: these identifiers identify
            entity/activity/usage/generation and not statements).
          o A bundle is a set of provenance statements. (Reminder:
            statements do not have identifiers.)
          o Hence, a derivation is not a bundle, it does not contain
            statements.

    * References:
          o derivation expandable parameters:
            http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-prov-constraints-20120911/#expandable-parameters-fig
          o derivation constraint:
            http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-prov-constraints-20120911/#derivation-generation-use-inference_text
    * Original author's acknowledgement:


    [edit
    <http://www.w3.org/2011/prov/wiki/index.php?title=ResponsesToPublicComments&action=edit&section=26>]



On 10/09/2012 09:45, Provenance Working Group Issue Tracker wrote:
> PROV-ISSUE-516: Data Model Section 5.2.1   [prov-dm]
>
> http://www.w3.org/2011/prov/track/issues/516
>
> Raised by: Luc Moreau
> On product: prov-dm
>
>
>
> http://www.w3.org/2011/prov/wiki/LC_Feedback#Data_Model_Section_5.2.1
>
> ISSUE-463
>
> See comments for 2.1.2, as well as the text that indicates that a derivation is an activity ("underpinning activities performing the necessary actions resulting in such a derivation"). However, it seems the intended concept of a derivation is a summary of information that describes how the creation of one entity was informed by another. If this is correct, is a derivation a type of bundle? Or would a bundle contain statement(s) regarding a derivation? Please clarify the relationship between these concepts.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>    

-- 
Professor Luc Moreau
Electronics and Computer Science   tel:   +44 23 8059 4487
University of Southampton          fax:   +44 23 8059 2865
Southampton SO17 1BJ               email: l.moreau@ecs.soton.ac.uk
United Kingdom                     http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~lavm