Move ActOfDataTransformation up to the Event Ontology about commoncoreontologies

[mark-jensen]

I agree these probably deserve a home in CCO-mid. Although I can see case for scoping a domain ontology for information processing. But until then, let's keep them here.

The definition for ActOfDataTransformation is circular. What it means to transform something needs to articulated. Presumably 'manipulated' in the parent class includes transformation.

Fist hit on google:
"Data transformation is the process of converting, cleansing, and structuring data into a usable format ...". It goes on to suggest four types:

• Constructive, where data is added, copied or replicated
• Destructive, where records and fields are deleted
• Aesthetic, where certain values are standardized, or
• Structural, which includes columns being renamed, moved, and combined

Wikipedia says "In computing, data transformation is the process of converting data from one format or structure into another format or structure."

Question is: do we cast a wide net and allow transformation to include generating new content, eg- when a table is "transformed" into a graph with added content provided by the semantic model is added, or, limit it to formatting and structural changes? If the former, then how do we reconcile transformation with statistical and ML processes?

[cameronmore]

Act of Data Transformation = An Act of Information Processing in which an algorithm is executed to act upon one or more input Information Content Entities into one or more output Information Content Entities.

Saying 'act upon' avoids the problem of enumerating the possibilities of transformation (conversion, restructuring, etc), and also (per the elucidation) allows for the possibility that the data is not changed, just acted upon. I may have a function that removes references to a certain word in a body of text, but if the text never contained that word, then the text data that was transformed never actually changed.