[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: RDF for unstructured databases, RDF for axiomatic
> > > > > Please, if you are writing a book about RDF, don't say these > > things because > > > you are just going to confuse anyone and everyone who believes > > what you say. > > > You have a particular obligation to thouroughly read > > > http://www.w3.org/rdf-mt/ . It is a very well written document. > > > > I haven't read the latest draft of that document, but I share > > your worry about > > what Shelley's book might say about reification and containers. > > > > I ceased using both ages ago because, as many here have pointed > > out, they are > > terribly B.A.D. People cannot be forbidden from using them > > because in the end > > they are just regular triples with no special status (i.e. using > > predicates > > such as "rdf:subject" and "_1". But I am glad that in earlier > > drafts of post > > RDF-1.0, that even their status in the serialization has been > > stripped. I > > also think that daml:Collection (which I understand has been > > drafted into RDF) > > is a much better solution for containers, if not perfect. For > > things that RDF > > M&S originally suggested as applications of reification, as I've said, I > > instead use blank node constructs or 4RDF scopes. > > > > My main point is that if any RDF book covers reification and > > containers, it > > should at least tell the user about the very widely expressed warnings > > problems with these constructs, and the fact that many RDF > > experts avoid them. > > Endless discussion on such topics can be found in the www-rdf-interest > > archives. > > > > Let's not lead RDF newbies into that foetid sinkhole. > > > > Such concerns for my readers from both you and Jonathan. Warms my heart. Hmm. It seems that somehow Jonathan or I touched a raw nerve. I'm usially not squeamish about fillipping nerves, but it wasn't my intent in this case. From reading the thread, I thought you were unaware of the issues with reification and containers. I now see that you are indeed aware. I don't mean to tell you how to write your book. I write a lot of articles, but I'm a confirmed failure at writing a complete book, so I defer to your experience in that. Since you do know both sides of the reification and containers discussion, I'm sure you'll present it appropriately. BTW, I re-read Jonathan's post because I was surprised you said he had made personal attacks in it. I certainly saw no such attacks. > Some things I've learned from my efforts on several computer books: > > -give people facts, examples, information, and pointers to additional > sources of same > -present an unbiased viewpoint of the technology > -be as accurate as humanly possible > -admit mistakes where made and rectify > -answer the questions the readers have before they ask them > -never talk down to the reader, but never make unwarranted assumptions > -in a scale of intelligence, with an amoeba is at one end and Einstein at > the other, put your readers in the middle > > And, above all, keep discussions of politics for books contained in the > section titled "Books on Politics". I do think it is important to point out that there are no politics in this issue. It is purely a technical matter. Some of the very same peoplr who designed RDF 1.0 have looked upon refitications and containers as defined therein and admitted the great problems with these. Therefore, I don't see how it can be a matter of one group trying to look smarter than the other, or NIH syndrome, or any other purely political motivations. The issues are all technology: reifications and containers are technicaally problematic to users and implementors. And so the viewpoint that discourages them certainly deserves a place in a technical book. -- Uche Ogbuji Fourthought, Inc. http://uche.ogbuji.net http://4Suite.org http://fourthought.com Python&XML column: 2. Introducing PyXML - http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/09/25/py.html The Past, Present and Future of Web Services 1 - http://www.webservices.org/index.php/article/articleview/663/1/24/ The Past, Present and Future of Web Services 2 - 'http://www.webservices.org/index.php/article/articleview/679/1/24/ Serenity through markup - http://adtmag.com/article.asp?id=6807 Tip: Using generators for XML processing - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-tipgenr.html
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