Re: Perl RDF APIs (was Re: Changed URL)

On Sun, 9 Jul 2000, Dan Brickley wrote:

> Anyhow, looks like your Perl stuff is coming along nicely. I'm wondering
> how it might eventually plug together with some of the other Perl stuff
> out there, especially opensource code like Eric P's RDF parser, storage,
> query system [2].

The plan is to use an existing parser and serializer. But the main focus
is on the DB interface.

I will probably adapt Eric's parser as a plugin or just make a plugin
wrapper for the parser. My idea is that the same could be done for LDAP,
SQL and anyting else. The server is the mapper and dispatcher that binds
the parts together.


> Your API [3] looks pretty close to most other RDF
> systems I've seen (Sergey's Java API, Mozilla, EricP's stuff, recent
> discussions with Dave Beckett about librdf etc etc).

That is intentional. The model was based on the first (RADIX) proposal. I
have read and participated in the API discussion and looked at the Java
API.

But the WRAF api is diffrent in many ways. It's a almost complete
bootstrap of the system. Every function and object is in itself a
Resource.  This simple fact results in a very strange "broken" OO.


> Related topic: cross-language APIs. The Mozilla stuff for example can be
> called from C++ or Javascript, since they've used XP-IDL to define the
> API. I'm wondering how feasible it would be to make an IDL version of say
> Sergey's proposed API and project that into Perl... Plausible?

Perl is the glue language. :-)  It's mostly easy to construct new
interfaces.  The things that differ is the intended usage.

WRAF is developed for online usage with a changing database.  Every
session is in itself a resource, with all the atributes from the client.  
You work in RDF rather than import/export RDF.

This is diffrent from programs there you get a data stream and are
supposed to do something with the incomming data and produce a outging
stream.



... Well. I should continue programming rather than writing about it.



> [2] http://www.w3.org/1999/02/26-modules/
> [3] http://paranormal.se/perl/proj/rdf/schema_editor/demo/doc/api.html



> On Sun, 9 Jul 2000, Jonas Liljegren wrote:
> 
> > A new perl RDF engine (the WRAF project) is under development. Nothing
> > ready to be shown yet. But I could mention some design goals:
> > 
> > * Work with many interfaces to several databases, online services, and
> > other sources.
> > 
> > * Generalize every API function and interface, so that the system is
> > described in RDF itself. (You doesn't have to manualy download software
> > updates anymore)
> > 
> > * Optimized caching on many levels
> > 
> > * Uses "models", namespaces, aboutEachPrefix, etc as the domain for
> > queries.
> > 
> > * A presentation schema will present the requested information, formatted
> > depending on the context.
> > 
> > * Implemented as a service deamon with a small cgi/mod_perl client.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Any support from intrested perl programmers are welcomed.

Received on Monday, 10 July 2000 16:09:06 UTC