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Working with term(inologie)s comprises both the definition of terms, underlying concepts, and their interrelationships, as well as the use of such terms in documents, such as whitepapers, specifications and standards. The CTWG aims to facilitate different groups within ToIP to do both of these things, aiming to make life easier for authors and readers/audiences alike. The CTWG realizes that different (groups of) people typically have their own terminology (vocabulary, jargon, etc.) that they want to keep using as they author documents, and therefor makes it an objective to facilitate that. However, members of other groups are likely to understand such terms in a different way (i.e.: their own way). ThereforIn order to enable them to understand the intended meaning of such texts, CTWG provides means to document the actual meaning of words so that different kinds of audiences may understand what is written:
- provides ToIP groups with easy ways to define the terminology of their group, that is the set of terms, the underlying concepts, the relations between such concepts, examples of various kinds, etc. (whatever turns out to be needed and used);
- provides authors (e.g. of whitepapers, specifications, standards etc.) with easy notations/syntax they can use in their documents to help their different audiences to better/actually understand the intended meaning; such notations/syntax may be references to definitions, the underlying concepts, examples and other properties that terms may have.
- provides ways to render such texts into various formats (e.g. web, pdf, 'digital' (JSON), thereby ensuring that the notations/syntax used to refer to some attribute of a term will be appropriately rendered for the kind of rendering that is being used. This means: provides a non-intrusive way for readers to better/actually understand the intended meaning, such as a popup for web-based documents.
CTWG does NOT provide the actual content of terminologies (meanings, documents). Its focus is on the process (and supporting tools) for allowing others to author and understand texts as they are intended. Participants of CTWG may however provide such content as part of another ToIP group. Also, CTWG (members) may actively help various ToIP groups to understand the various terminological issues they may want to address, teach them how to author texts (including texts that define terminology and their properties), how to use the notations/syntax to help their audiences, etc.
The below figure shows the lifecycle of texts from their raw authoring (INGEST stage) to the production of ToIP-style texts in various renderings (PRODUCE). It also shows how groups can create additional renderings, e.g. using their own styles and formats that are outside the CTWG scope.
Where the various stages are as follows:
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