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[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Are URIs Resources? (WAS RE: Re: Non-infoset)
 Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote: >Cold but accurate. A resource is to information what a >zero is to a number. > >Unfortunately, the http range work item >is up for consideration again. Maybe they don't have to answer >these questions to resolve that. > >But those definitions from Roy that Jan cited sure seem to >indicate that Roy knows what a resource is because he makes >that statement about semantics. If the information space >consists of resources, we'd be saying it is a web of >semantics, but by your definition, we don't know what those >are and we don't care. So the SemWeb can be dispensed with? >No, don't answer that. Programmers and theorists need employment >that isn't oursourceable. We can't outsource nothing can we? ;-) > > and at any point in time and space there is an infinite set of nothings - so we can all keep our jobs forever :) >To me, the interesting bit is that URIs are not part >of the information space that is the web (by definition). >That is a rather weird state of affairs. > >len > >From: Joe English [mailto:jenglish@f...] > >Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote: > > >>That's the critical observation for this and many other >>threads that rely on ontological commitment to sustain >>communications. >> >>Would anyone care to compare that to URIs as a unit of >>information: >> >>1. Is a URI a resource? >> >> > >No. There is no such thing as a "resource". > >To elaborate on that: There are two groups that have >spent a lot of time and energy trying to figure out >what a "resource" is, and both have come to the same >conclusion: We don't know what a "resource" is, and we >don't really care either. > >For lack of a better name I'll call these "the REST camp" and >"the RDF camp". In the REST camp's worldview, "resources" >are formally and explicitly left undefined -- you can GET >a representation of one, or you can POST an entity to one, >or do a number of other things, but you can never get your >hands on the resource itself. It's a convenient fiction. > >In the RDF camp's worldview, you don't do anything with >resources either except Identify them and Describe them. >REC-rdf-mt even goes so far as to say that: > >| The semantics does not assume any particular relationship >| between the denotation of a URI reference and a document >| or Web resource which can be retrieved by using that URI >| reference in an HTTP transfer protocol, or any entity which >| is considered to be the source of such documents. [...] The >| things denoted are called 'resources', following [RFC 2396], >| but no assumptions are made here about the nature of resources; >| 'resource' is treated here as [...] a generic term for anything >| in the universe of discourse. > >In other words: we don't know, and we don't really care either. > > > > >>2. If it is a resource, what operations are significant? >> >> > >See above. There is no such thing as a resource. > > > > >>3. Are URIs ever ambiguous? >> >> > >Yes, but only if you go out of your way to make them so. > >You can follow the REST camp and treat them as mostly-opaque >identifiers, perform GETs, POSTs, and DELETEs, and never >worry at all about the shape of the URI itself except to >ensure that it's syntactically valid, and maybe compose >it with a relative URI here and there. The last two >are purely syntactic operations. Do two different URIs >refer to the same resource? Who cares? It's not important. > >Or you can follow the RDF camp, and treat them as opaque >identifiers that can be compared for equality, again >a purely syntactic operation. Do two different URIs >denote the same resource? Only if there's an assertion >somewhere that says they do. Otherwise, who cares? It's >not important. > >Or you can follow the xml-dev approach, and continue >to spend time and energy trying to figure out how many >angels can dance on the head of a pin, and whether they're >really dancing on the same pin or not. > > > >--Joe English > > jenglish@f... > >----------------------------------------------------------------- >The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an >initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> > >The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ > >To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription >manager: <http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/index.php> > >----------------------------------------------------------------- >The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an >initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> > >The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ > >To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription >manager: <http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/index.php> > > >!DSPAM:425ae73f215521673318331! > > > begin:vcard fn:Rick Marshall n:Marshall;Rick email;internet:rjm@z... tel;cell:+61 411 287 530 x-mozilla-html:TRUE version:2.1 end:vcard 
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