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Re: patterns vs. identifiers

• To: Mike Champion <mc@x...>
• Subject: Re: patterns vs. identifiers
• From: Uche Ogbuji <uche.ogbuji@f...>
• Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 00:15:43 -0600
• Cc: xml-dev@l...
• In-reply-to: Message from Mike Champion <mc@x...> of "Sun, 25 Aug 2002 23:16:41 EDT." <WRIETQMIWS97ZTSM42CBKFZLGDB95M.3d699d99@MChamp>
• Sender: uche.ogbuji@f...

> 8/25/2002 9:32:54 PM, Uche Ogbuji <uche.ogbuji@f...> wrote:
> 
> 
> >
> >Identity in RDF is what the processing system makes of it.  Period.
> >
> >Paul is right: RDF is far more about patterns than it is identity.  We were 
> >able to design a pattern-match-based language for RDF: Versa, with no 
> >unnatural contortions.
> 
> OK, that makes sense.  But why the years and years (literally!) of discussion
> about URIs, ostensibly in order to make them more suitable for the
> needs of RDF?  

I think this is a distorted impression that comes from observing one sub-group 
of RDF users.  Luckily nothing in RDF itself does anything to enshrine URI 
schizophrenia.


> If RDF is a red herring in this discussion, so be it ... or if there is
> an interpretation of RDF that is agnostic to the agonizing about URIs, then
> clearly Simon's point about identities is irrelevant to it.  But if so, 
> what's the big deal about whether URIs represent the identity of some abstraction
> or are merely keys to retrieve data somehow associated with the abstraction?

Well, I'm a hard-core RDF user, and I ask the same question.  My software does 
not concern itself as to what URIs mean.  Luckily RDF specs do not require it 
to.

I have seen these URI questions come up even when RDF was nowhere near the 
picture, so again I think you came across a distorted impression (which seems 
to be the same one Simon came across).


-- 
Uche Ogbuji                                    Fourthought, Inc.
http://uche.ogbuji.net    http://4Suite.org    http://fourthought.com
Track chair, XML/Web Services One Boston: http://www.xmlconference.com/
Basic XML and RDF techniques for knowledge management, Part 7 - 
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-think12.html
Keeping pace with James Clark - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/libra
ry/x-jclark.html
Python and XML development using 4Suite, Part 3: 4RDF - 
http://www-105.ibm.com/developerworks/education.nsf/xml-onlinecourse-bytitle/8A
1EA5A2CF4621C386256BBB006F4CEC

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  • Re: patterns vs. identifiers
    • From: Mike Champion <mc@x...>

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