[Task] Feature Request: Generate list/Excel export for data model

[tobzahn]

Is your task related to a problem? Please describe.
In some cases it would be helpful to export the data model to a list, for example as an excel spreadsheet. In the spreadsheet, you would have the list of all attributes. I would use that to send this as a requirement ('this is the data I would like to receive').

The problem I have today is that I need to discuss data models on a requirement level first, before discussing with more technical people. To do this, I need a list of attributes. It is beneficial if the other party can comment the list in an easy way. Business users often struggle with the generated images, also it is difficult to comment in HTML or SVG.

Describe the solution you'd like
I would like to be able to export the data model to Excel, with each attribute as one row in the excel.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Export to csv would also be an option.

[atextor]

Hi @tobzahn,
I think the possibility to document/discuss/review/comment on models would be valuable. I'm not convinced yet that Excel would be the best option for that though :-)

Let me first comment on the idea in general: A lot of effort in the ESMF went into making working with Aspect Models reasonably easy. This starts with the definition of SAMM using the RDF/Turtle syntax for Aspect Models, which is a format intended explicitly for human readability, much more so than e.g. XML, so it's intended to be approachable for "technical people". And it also includes the development of the graphical Aspect Model Editor (AME). In AME, you can directly see the names of Properties (= keys in the data) and the structure of the data, so when you say somebody wants to see the data they would like to recieve, this is exactly what the Aspect Model itself is meant for.

Now, let's assume we do implement such an Excel export functionality:
Since the data described by an Aspect Model is usually not a flat list of Properties but a nested structure, how would represent this in a tabular format? Furthermore, how should the way in the other direction work: Do you assume that after people have commented and discussed, the corresponding changes in the original model are then implemented manually?

[tobzahn]

Hi @atextor, thanks for your reply.
I am not a big fan of Excel either, don't get me wrong. I think the HTML files with SVG images that can be generate provide a very good overview. Unfortunately, users with a less technical background seem to struggle with it. Also, the HTML cannot be sorted, commented and so on.
The HTML does a good job of structuring the content in a flat format (list). Also, the structure stays intact (while duplicating some attributes). In an excel list, a similar structure as in the HTML could be used, with one line per property/entity.

Is there a file that is used for testing here? Then I could create an example if that helps.

[atextor]

I fully agree that HTML and SVG are - at least in their current form - unsuitable for any kind of review process or for collaborative editing. To be fair, it's also not what they are intended for. That's why I'm wondering if what is stopping you, or the people you're working with, from using the Aspect Model itself for exchanging information: It already contains all Properties, you can view and edit it graphically with the Aspect Model Editor (although there is no review/comment functionality), or you can even open it in plain Notepad and add comments there.

You could refer to AspectWithEntity.ttl as an example. You can read it from top to bottom and see that the Aspect itself has one Property (testProperty), which refers to one Entity which again has one Property (entityProperty). If you'd create a flat list of the Aspect's Properties, you'd miss entityProperty completely. However, if you'd create a flat list of all Properties in the file, you'd miss the information that entityProperty is not actually part of the Aspect, but is part of the Entity.

[tobzahn]

Sure, nothing stops me from working with the aspect models - but the business users are not too happy about it... Especially the users in other companies I work with have no understanding of aspect models and have no tools to view them. So the best I can do right now is to create the HTML files and give the HTML files to them. But as discussed, the HTML is difficult to work with as well - it cannot be filtered, commented, etc.