Meeting Notes 1997-Aug-08

1. Murty gave a short overview of the new structuring of the TSIMMIS code using CVS. The main idea is to have a main release line which will always be providing a stable release to be used for demos and hand-overs to project partners. Each developer has its own branch(es) on which (s)he can develop new modules, do testing etc. After modules have been completed and tested, they can be merged into a new release. Murty will be responsible to look after the main release line and to do the merging. He is/will be preparing a short description of how to use the CVS system which will be added to the TSIMMIS implementor web pages.

2. We discussed the aims of the wrapper demo and how the demo should/can emphasise them. We identiified the following points:
   1. Logistics: What are the demo tools: Programs, Posters, Machines, WWW-Browsers

      Using the CVS based code management, it should be possible to always have one working demo-release available.

      A demo script which describes the demo allows that the demo can be given by anybody in the team if the need arises.

      We identified at least three kinds of demos which should be supported logistically:

      • Local demos at Stanford for Visitors It would be nice to have some standard wall posters and slides which give an overall picture before demonstrating the live system.
      • Planned demos outside Stanford (eg conferences) Could also use above posters/slides. Would benefit from an easy access pver WWW. May need a local copy (Potemkin-village?) if net access is too slow.
      • Spontaneous demos outside Stanford (eg, visits) Have the demo available over WWW.

   2. Aim and content of the demo

      We assume a general introduction of the aims of TSIMMIS and the reason for using MSL.

      The goals of the wrapper demo are:

      1. We can talk in MSL to sources that do not talk MSL
      2. We can talk to multiple sources
      3. We can talk to heterogeneous sources
      4. We can enhance the query capabilities of the sources.
      5. We can generate and/or enhance wrappers without a lot of effort.

      Each query of the demo should emphasise one of the points. The demo should incorporate an easy enhancement of a source capability by changing the template. For an audience interested in more technical details, we should be able to demonstrate the generation of a simple wrapper.

   3. Visualisation of the demo

      Demo audiences love colorful icons flashing on the screen. Thus, in the long term it would be nice to have some nice graphical interface which animates the control flow and the actions in the system (could be a student task). At the moment, we decided to use the current interface, but to make sure, that the wrappers produce screen output when they received a query which tells what is going on.

   As a starting point, Murty will use the Tuesday demo as a starting point to come up with such a goal-oriented, portable demo.