state of the art

[Sepmre]

Hi,

The expression you see below is a title of an article, the question is what the function of "state of the art" is? Is it an adjective for "open problems" or I must consider it as a noun?

Data warehousing and OLAP over Big Data: a survey of the state-of-the-art, open problems and future challenges

Any help will be apperciated.

 

[tedmc]

The hyphenated word, "state-of-the-art", is an adjective which modifies "problems". It means "the latest, most advanced". It is a noun without the hyphen.

 

[SoothingDave]

I think that the hyphens are incorrect. The phrase is not used as an adjective here. They are surveying three things:

1. The state of the art
2. Open problems
3. Future challenges

 

[tedmc]

I think that the hyphens are incorrect. The phrase is not used as an adjective here. They are surveying three things:

1. The state of the art
2. Open problems
3. Future challenges

I agree it is more likely to mean that as "state-of-the-art problems" does sound a bit odd. In which case, "state of the art" should not have been hypenated.

 

[teechar]

For what it's worth, I concur with tedmc's explanation in post #2. I do concede though that it's not the most natural sentence in the world.

 

[Matthew Wai]

For what it's worth, I think 'the state-of-the-art' is similar to 'the rich' and 'the poor' in construction, where 'the + adjective' functions as a noun.

 

[teechar]

Do you really think so, Matthew? The sentence is clearly technical; it's about IT, not the arts.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'the state-of-the-art' means 'the state-of-the-art stuff', which has nothing to do with the arts. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[GoesStation]

I've noticed that hyphens are increasingly used in noun phrases where they don't belong. The OP's sentence is a good example. I'm pretty certain the author meant a survey of the state of the art, and simply added the hyphens because sometimes state-of-the-art needs them and the author couldn't tell whether this was one of those times.

 

[SoothingDave]

I think 'the state-of-the-art' means 'the state-of-the-art stuff', which has nothing to do with the arts. Please correct me if I am wrong.

It's not "the arts" like painting and theater, but "the art" of doing whatever the "Data Warehousing and OLAP" is.

 

[teechar]

Fair enough, SoothingDave. Now I get your point. ;-)

 

[Matthew Wai]

It's not "the arts" like painting and theater, but "the art" of doing whatever the "Data Warehousing and OLAP" is.

If so, 'the state-of-the-art' here means 'the condition of the art'.

 

[Tarheel]

"The state of the art" is usually used to mean "the latest and the greatest". State of the art problems seems to me to be a peculiar usage.

 

[SoothingDave]

It's not describing the problems as "state-of-the-art." It is literally talking about the state of the art (of Data Warehousing).

 

[Sepmre]

I Tend to agree with what SoothingDave suggested, as "the state- of-the-art" as an adjective has a positive meaning while the problem conveys a negative concept so the "state- of-the-art problem" sounds odd enough to be rejected.