Character types (RQT)

[Leigh Dodds]

> Whether images/audio/video material etc. should be considered
> character, I am doubtful. I currently prefer to summarize them
> together with formatted text documents and database access
> (information systems/Identification or query interfaces) or any other
> URLs as "external resources".

I'd agree here. From the examples I've seen of DELTA files, using
characters (or at least their syntax) to describe images is just
a convenience - they're not naturally part of the model.

images/audio/video are supporting resources and certainly wouldn't
be embedded within the format (although this is possible). I could
envisage an audio clip being useful in identifying an item, but
a textual description to accompany the resource ought to be a requirement.

This means that anyone using the format 'offline' doesn't need to
access some resource storage (i.e. the net) to make a successful
identification.

> Vector graphics lie somewhere in between... I appreciated the recent
> contributions about the parameterizations of shapes, I think this
> will be helpful!

Yes, rendering a graphical representation of (say) a leaf onto the screen
would be a good application for vector graphics. However again some
additional
text describing the image/shape would be useful - for those applications
that don't support vector graphics, or indeed visually impaired users.

L.