RE: RDF Frequently Asked Questions: input needed

I'd like to thank Perry Caro for posting the FAQs and answers.
Looks like a good start for the FAQ. A couple of comments.
First, Perry has used "I" a lot, and expressed his personal
opinion on things. I like that, but it may be that the answers
should be credited to individuals when they express personal
opinions.

Second, I'd like to suggest a modification of his answer on the
DTD question.

He said:


> Q: Can I use a DTD with RDF (or, with a more hostile tone, WHY ISN'T there
> a
> DTD for RDF)?
> 
> A: You can certainly define a trivial DTD for the elements and attributes
> in
> the RDF namespace, but if your objective is to use parser enforced
> validation, an XML version 1.0 DTD won't cut it.  RDF uses attribute and
> element namespace expanded names as data, which makes traditional
> validation
> impractical.  Higher-level validation is possible through RDF Schema and
> domain/schema specific validators.
> 
> 
I'd suggest an answer more like:
 A: Yes, you can use a DTD with RDF. Whether it really buys you
anything depends on what you are trying to do. If you are trying
to write general-purpose RDF processing software, it doesn't do
very much for you. RDF uses attribute and element namespace
expanded names as data, which makes traditional validation
impractical. Higher-level validation is possible through
RDF Schema and domain/schema specific validators.

However, if you are trying to define a metadata format
for your own use, you can define it in an RDF-compliant way and
define a DTD to validate it. The DTD will not be suitable for
validating arbitrary RDF that comes from anywhere, but will
provide a level of syntax checking that your own files are
following your own format. This is a very pragmatic and useful
thing to do.

Best regards,

Ron Daniel Jr.
Metacode Technologies, Inc.
139 Townsend Street, Suite 100
San Francisco, CA  94107
415.836.7813 fax 415.222.0150 
rdaniel@metacode.com


.

Received on Wednesday, 5 April 2000 12:25:11 UTC