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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: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 19:32:54 -0600
• Cc: xml-dev@l...
• In-reply-to: Message from Mike Champion <mc@x...> of "Tue, 20 Aug 2002 10:24:38 EDT." <VSJHWRXT1TMGD0YXGADB716584US04.3d625126@MChamp>
• Sender: uche.ogbuji@f...

> 8/20/2002 9:46:14 AM, Eric van der Vlist <vdv@d...> wrote:
> 
> >
> >The fact that a language allows to write readable documents doesn't mean
> >that any document using this language will be readable :-) and some
> >years ago I used to say that one can write a readable and modular
> >program in assembly language or an unreadable and non modular one in
> >Pascal...
> 
> 
> I'm not sure about Simon, but the way I'm thinking of the "human" aspects
> here is not so much readability, but ability to deal with error and
> ambiguity. 
> 
> Perhaps RDF can be used as a pattern-matching tool rather than
> a logical inferencing system, and maybe "pattern matching" can be logical
> as well as heuristic. Still, an astronomical number of electrons
> have changed state in search of a definition of URIs that can 
> support the needs of RDF, and that suggests to me that the notion
> of "identity" is profoundly important in the RDF paradigm.

I've avoid responding to Simon's strange and, I think, indefensible statements 
on RDF because I know he's no longer around to explain/justify what he says.

But you're here, so I'll have to take you to task for this falsehood.

Identity is not profoundly important in RDF at all.  In fact, one of the 
things that Topic Maps folks use to knock down RDF (unwarrantedly, IMO) is 
that it has no built-in way of asserting identity.

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.


-- 
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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