[om] query on binary encoding of OpenMath

Michael Kohlhase m.kohlhase at iu-bremen.de
Wed Apr 14 10:32:14 CEST 2004


Dear Richard,

thank you for your polemic question, which gives us the chance to address this 
common misunderstanding.

There are three levels of what 'OM' could mean in your question, the answer 
depends on which of the meanings.

"OM = abstract OM objects"
      this is just a data model (formula trees), here speed or compactness play
      no role, as this is a theoretical tool concerned only with unambiguous
      specification

"OM = XML-encoded OM"
       in the XML encoding, neither compactness nor parsing speed are of concern,
       just ease of interoperability, communication safety, legibility by humans
       (at least in principle).

"OM = OM in binary encoding"
       here parsing speed, compactness and (as of OM2) streamability are THE
       major concern. In fact the only legitimacy of the binary encoding derives
       from these concerns.

The OM standard distinguishes these three possible aspects of OM objects for 
exactly this reason.

Michael
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Richard Fateman wrote:
> Is OM concerned with speed of encoding or compactness?
> I thought that was not even close to a high priority.
> 
> 
> 
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