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diff --git a/proposals/20190509_schema_tweaks.md b/proposals/20190509_schema_tweaks.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7e372959 --- /dev/null +++ b/proposals/20190509_schema_tweaks.md @@ -0,0 +1,142 @@ + +# SQL (and API) schema changes + +Intend to make these changes at the same time as bumping OpenAPI schema from +0.2 to 0.3, along with `20190510_editgroup_endpoint_prefix` and +`20190510_release_ext_ids`. + +Also adding some indices to speed up entity edit history views, but those are +just a performance change, not visible in API schema. + +### Structured Contrib Names + +`creator` entities already have "structured" names: in addition to +`display_name`, there are `given_name` and `surname` fields. This change is to +add these two fields to release contribs as well (to join `raw_name`). + +The two main motivations are: + +1. make various representations (eg, citation formats) of release entities + easier. CSL and many display formats require given/surname distinctions +2. improve algorithmic matching between release entities, raw metadata (eg, + from GROBID), and citation strings. Eg, biblio-glutton wants "first author + surname"; we can't provide this from existing `raw_name` field + +The status quo is that many large metadata sources often include structured +names, and we munge them into a single name. + +Some arguments against this change are: + +1. should be "normalizing" this structure into creator entities. However, + display/representation of a contributor might change between publications +2. structure isn't always deterministic from what is visible in published + documents. AKA, raw name is unambiguous (it's what is "printed" on the + document), but given/sur decomposition can be ambiguous (for individauls, or + entire locales/cultures) +3. could just stash in contrib `extra_json`. However, seems common enough to + include as full fields + +Questions/Decisions: + +- should contrib `raw_name` be changed to `display_name` for consistency with + `creator`? `raw_name` should probably always be what is in/on the document + itself, thus no. +- should we still munge a `raw_name` at insert time (we we only have structured + names), or push this on to client code to always create something for + display? + +### Rename `release_status` to `release_stage` + +Describes the field better. I think this is uncontroversial and not too +disruptive at this point. + +### New release fields: subtitle, number, version + +`subtitle`: mostly for books. could have a flat-out style guide policy against +use for articles? Already frequently add subtitle metadata as an `extra_json` +field. + +`number`: intended to represent, eg, a report number ("RFC ..."). Not to be +confused with `container-number`, `chapter`, `edition` + +`version`: intended to be a short string ("v3", "2", "third", "3.9") to +disambiguate which among multiple versions. CSL has a separate `edition` field. + +These are somewhat hard to justify as dedicated fields vs. `extra_json`. + +`subtitle` is a pretty core field for book metadata, but raises ambiguity for +other release types. + +Excited to include many reports and memos (as grey lit), for which the number +is a pretty major field, and we probably want to include in elasticsearch but +not as part of the title field, and someday perhaps an index on `number`, so +that's easier to justify. + +TODO: + +- `version` maybe should be dropped. arXiv is one possible justification, as is + sorting by this field in display. + +### Withdrawn fields + +As part of a plan to represent retractions and other "unpublishing", decided to +track when and whether a release has been "withdrawn", distinct from the +`release_stage`. + +To motivate this, consider a work that has been retracted. There are multiple +releases of different stages; should not set the `release_stage` for all to +`withdrawn` or `retracted`, because then hard to disambiguate between the +release entities. Also maybe the pre-print hasn't been formally withdrawn and +is still in the pre-print server, or maybe only the pre-print was withdrawn +(for being partial/incorrect?) while the final version is still "active". + +As with `release_date`, just `withdrawn_date` is insufficient, so we get +`withdrawn_year` also... and `withdrawn_month` in the future? Also +`withdrawn_state` for cases where we don't know even the year. This could +probably be a bool (`is_withdrawn` or `withdrawn`), but the flexibility of a +TEXT/ENUM has been nice. + +TODO: + +- boolean (`is_withdrawn`, default False) or text (`withdrawn_status`). Let's + keep text to allow evolution in the future; if the field is defined at all + it's "withdrawn" (true), if not it isn't + +### New release extids: `mag_id`, `ark_id` + +See also: `20190510_release_ext_ids`. + +- `mag_id`: Microsoft Academic Graph identifier. +- `ark_id`: ARK identifier. + +These will likely be the last identifiers added as fields on `release`; a +future two-stage refactor will be to move these out to a child table (something +like `extid_type`, `extid_value`, with a UNIQ index for lookups). + +Perhaps the `extid` table should be implemented now, starting with these +identifiers? + +### Web Capture CDX `size_bytes` + +Pretty straight-forward. + +Considered adding `extra_json` as well, to be consistent with other tables, but +feels too heavy for the CDX case. Can add later if there is an actual need; +adding fields easier than removing (for backwards compat). + +### Object/Class Name Changes + +TODO + +### Rust/Python Library Name Changes + +Do these as separate commits, after merging back in to master, for v0.3: + +- rust `fatcat-api-spec` => `fatcat-openapi` +- python `fatcat_client` => `fatcat_openapi_client` + +### More? + +`release_month`: apprently pretty common to know the year and month but not +date. I have avoided so far, seems like unnecessary complexity. Could start +as an `extra_json` field? |