Re: Summary of the QName to URI Mapping Problem

[<Patrick.Stickler@nokia.com>]

>
> The core mechanisms of RDF *must* preserve the integrity of all data.
>

Aha!  I'm going to strongly disagree with you here.  One of the features of
the current web is that it is not self-consistent, nor is it stable in the
sense that pointers (URLs) can be guaranteed to always point to the same
thing, or indeed to anything.  The web is extensible without central
repositories or contracts in large part because it isn't required to be
self-consistent.  But we learn to deal with it anyway.

There is no way the SW is going to be any more self-consistent or stable
than what we have today.  Now, what's the difference between inconsistent or
changing data, and mechanisms that don't "preserve the integrity of all
data"?  Nothing, really, it's just a matter at what point inconsistencies
creep in.  In either case, our systems are going to have to deal with it.

After all, no two people have exactly the same definitions of or
connotations for any word, yet somehow we communicate and get things done.
It will have to be like that with the SW, I imagine.

Cheers,

Tom P

Received on Monday, 20 August 2001 19:05:26 UTC