[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Re: A certain difficulty

• From: Len Bullard <cbullard@h...>
• To: Jeff Sussna <jeff.sussna@q...>
• Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 18:42:44 -0600

Jeff Sussna wrote:
> 
> ... inventions are only useful to
> the extent to which they are used. If an invention is brilliant but
> incomprehensible, no one will use it. 

Inventions are used to the extent they are needed once you get above 
the new, different, opportunistic threshholds.  If RDF orSomethingLikeIt 
meets a clearly understood requirement, it will get used.  XML is a good
example 
of a technology disregarded until implementors discovered they needed it 
Eg, SGML worked well.  HTML worked great.  HTML quit being adaptible. 
Selling a project to subset SGML was easy after that. Now it is a 
huge success story instead of a CALS cause celebre.

> I worry sometimes that RDF will fall
> prey to a similar history as Lisp and Smalltalk.

There is a pretty good chance that will be the case.  Meanwhile, 
simplified versions of the ideas it attempts to standardize can 
thrive, a la HTML.

If as stated, it is as easy as a URI used as a primary key in 
a relational database, we are already doing that and publishing 
relational schemas.  Works great.  So why, again, do I need RDF? 
What will it do today?  Can I buy a product faster that does it 
better?

len


***************************************************************************
This is xml-dev, the mailing list for XML developers.
To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@x...&BODY=unsubscribe%20xml-dev
List archives are available at http://xml.org/archives/xml-dev/threads.html
***************************************************************************

• References:
  • RE: A certain difficulty
    • From: Jeff Sussna <jeff.sussna@q...>

• Prev by Date: Re: A certain difficulty
• Next by Date: Re: XML Schemas
• Previous by thread: Re: A certain difficulty
• Next by thread: RE: A certain difficulty
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread