Hi Eric --

On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 11:07:55 you wrote...

'For those not comfortable in "processing" RDF (don't base your opinion on trying reading RDF by eye), I suggest trying out JENA or CWM to see what is possible in this space.'

Actually, even more is possible in this space.  A problem with RDF-based inference is that it quickly becomes human-opaque, because the notation is machine-oriented and the inferences are, well, intricate.

There's a demo called RDFQueryLangComparison1 that shows how to overcome some of this difficulty.
One can run it by pointing a browser to the site listed below.  (The file can also be downloaded from the link "Complete Examples")

The basic idea is to specify the inferences in rules that are close to English (and open vocabulary).  Then, inferences that wind tortuously over schema and base levels, use reification, etc, become clearer.  A plus is that the representation shift allows the generation of step-by-step English-like explanations of inference results.

HTH,    -- Adrian Walker

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