[OBSOLETE. See MitchKapor20040426 for explanation. See ContentModelDashboard for current info.]

Content Model

Here is my consolidation of various issues relating to the content model. I have been guided by (1) the existing definitions, (2) conversation with Mimi about what's in the proposed UI, (3) the Content Model To Do list, (4) my own judgment.

It's incomplete in places, as it's intended to start in life as reminders to me for discussion. But maybe it can grow in completeness and rigor and be generally useful.

Content Item

• creator

attributes relating to change history

• creation date
• last modification date
• issue: how do we keep the item history?

attributes relating to global properties

• project
• subject � a general subject, such as might be found in a library card catalog [I am sticking this back in]

attributes relating to its collections and collection types

• mailboxes
• calendars
• sphere of life (* requires discussion)
• contact groups (* requires discussion)
• ad hoc (* requires discussion) Mimi says: auto-named, openable in place, renamable
• generic (* requires discussion) Mimi says: always user named, not openable in place
• participants / roles � * need to discuss how we might model this, need to elaborate whether roles can be restricted by sub-kind. Participant is a Contact. Role might be requestor, requestee (for tasks)

contained sub-items

• conversations
• contained notes

proposed additions to content item

• calendar date � * what is the relationship between this and an event's start time? collapse the two?
• recurrence
• tickler or reminder - * Can tickler be modeled as an item with an "action" attribute - what to do when the tickle date = now?
• @contexts - @home, @office, @office�
• importance - important, FYI
• ISSUE: can users add their own attribute values? delete pre-defined ones?

Event

For Sure We Need

• headline
• start-time
• end-time
• duration (* derived value � requires discussion)
• event status � , tentative, confirmed, cancelled
• ISSUE: discuss all-day events, multiple-day events, time zones

To discuss

* body � do we really need this. does iCal have one? * location � it has one, but how to model

• resources � does it have one?
• related mail message � for stamping? but then we have three ways to tie an email to an event. stamp the email, put a date on the email, make a collection. maybe calendar date can be a start time and an end time?
• what did we decide to do about participants and roles?

time transparency

• other attributes needed for compatibility
• ISSUE: what did Mimi and I conclude about meetings, organizers, and attendees?

Task

for sure

• headline
• task status � what are the attribute values?

To discuss

• body
• location � maybe we don't need this
• task roles � requestor, requestee
• related mail message � requires discussion

Instant Messages

* ISSUE: needs discussion

email

Attachment (probably a sub-kind of document?)

General Issues about the CM needing (possibly much) discussion

• item histories
• CM for notification and logging
• ad hoc attributes
• sharing-related issues
• interoperability-related issues
• which layer things fit in

DM-related issues to Content Item Modeling

• collection-related modeling issues (Katie)
• collections of collections - needed to use collections to expose hierarchical public addresses
• derived attributes, e.g., duration as derived attribute of start time and end time
• sub-attributes
• the "alias" feature needed for AnyContact^?
• anything about strings

Non Content Item Kinds (placeholder to remember not to forget)

• Contact, including the "me" contact
• Group
• Permission
• Certificate
• Document
• Principal
• Parcel
• Caplet
• full modeling of dates, times, durations, time zones -- bug #1149

"Helper" Items we will need to model

• participant
• recurrence
• tickler

other other

• what does it mean for content model to support CPIA?

-- MitchKapor - 25 Apr 2004