XML names are cool

This is just a note to try to clean up after the effects of some
confusion on my end.

I heard people talking about "partitioned name spaces" and
I got the wrong idea.

The way the XML name facility is discussed in the RDF core draft
it is what I would call a "qualified name reference" and it
is entirely appropriate and I agree, helpful.

What I have now in my head is:

If you want to use dictionary URI-1 to represent the A domain and
dictionary URI-2 to represent the B domain then you introduce
local aliases A and B for the two dictionaries and then if they
both define "foo" as a name you use "A:foo" and "B:foo" to
distinguish references to the respective definitions.  For the
name "bar" that appears in only one of the dictionaries, you
don't bother with a prefix and just say "bar".

Examples:
	TASTE:hot
	TEMP:hot

	FRICTION:slick
	POLLUTION:slick

	WATERFOWL:duck
	GESTURE:duck

-- Al Gilman

PS: We don't want to reserve a prefix.  The prefix should be
selected relative to the using document, not solely determined by
the used document.

Received on Monday, 27 October 1997 00:12:23 UTC