Re: #rdfms-difference-between-ID-and-about

>Graham Klyne wrote:
> >
> > At 02:29 AM 6/15/01 -0500, Dan Connolly wrote:
> > > > RDF absolutely has to make sense even outside the context of
> > > > an enclosing document which can be given a uri. so ...
> > >
> > >So... what? That doesn't make any sense to me.
> > >
> > >An RDF document is an XML document. Each XML document
> > >has a base URI (cf the infoset spec).
> >
> > If this is  true, then it is not possible to transfer RDF data in transient
> > protocol elements.
>
>Why not? Transient things are resources too; you may or
>may not specify what their URI is (in the case
>of a mail messge, it would be mid:....); that doesn't mean
>they don't have one.
>
> > Which means that (say) the CC/PP spec, formulated *by design* as a *format*
> > only for client capability data, cannot be regarded as a valid 
>RDF application.
>
>I don't see how that follows.
>
> > >If you copy the contents from one
> > >place in the web to another, you get a different XML
> > >document, and hence a difference RDF document; if
> > >it uses relative URI references, the resulting triples
> > >may be different.
> > >
> > >This is by design.
> >
> > OK.
> >
> > But what is the status of information that is not "on the Web"?
>
>Just think of everything as "on the Web". It's a matter
>of perspective. There aren't any constraints in the
>design of the Web that allow you to deduce a contradiction
>from saying "every document is on the Web".

But if there are documents on the web with content, then some of that 
content might be about things that are not 'on the web'.  There is no 
way around that, and it would be dangerous to build in any assumption 
to the contrary. For example, it might be very important to know 
that there is no information on the web of a certain kind (because 
you  might want to conclude that you need to find it out by some 
other means.)

Pat Hayes

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Received on Wednesday, 20 June 2001 18:59:52 UTC