Re: LOCN and DGGS

Hi, Frans.

Just for our records: The notion of "geographic identifier" and the use 
of rdfs:seeAlso in LOCN was thoroughly discussed back in 2014, in a long 
thread - starting at [1] and continuing at [2]. Basically, the point is 
that "geographic identifier" is meant to model alternative / secondary 
identifiers for a spatial thing, that are preferably specified with HTTP 
URIs - for a more detailed explanation, see [1] and then [3].

Coming to the issue you raise, Frans, I see it as a more general one on 
how identifiers (not only geo ones) are modelled in the RDF world.

As far as I know, there is currently no consistent practice. One of the 
solutions is to define specific properties - as in Schema.org, or PRISM 
and the Bibo ontology in the publishing domain. On the other hand, ADMS 
provides a more generic approach via adms:identifier / adms:Identifier.

IMHO, the point is what you want to use the identifier for. For 
instance, if I use DGGS just for specifying the location of a resource 
you can use it with locn:location / rdfs:seeAlso. Another case is 
whether, you want to know the identifier "type" - e.g., for a 
publication, I may need to know which is the DOI, ISBN, etc.

Andrea

----
[1]https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-locadd/2013Dec/0043.html
[2]https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-locadd/2014Jan/0008.html
[1]https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-locadd/2014Jan/0076.html


On 18/11/2016 17:09, Frans Knibbe wrote:
> Hello,
>
> A while ago we had a thread about Open Location Code
> <https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-locadd/2015Aug/0000.html>,
> which is an example of a Discrete Global Grid System (DGGS)
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrete_Global_Grid>. There is an OGC
> Standards Working Group dedicated to the topic, the DGGS SWG
> <http://www.opengeospatial.org/projects/groups/dggsswg>.
>
> I wonder if the Location Core Vocabulary is already equipped to work
> with DGGS references. It is imaginable that people will want to use a
> DGGS code to identify a location, perhaps as the only way to locate a
> thing on Earth. Could such a code be expressed with LOCN?
>
> The most appropriate property for doing that seems to be the geographic
> identifier <https://www.w3.org/ns/locn#rdfs:seeAlso>, for which
> rdfs:seeAlso is taken to be the appropriate term. So would rdfs:seeAlso
> be a good way to refer to a DGGS location? Two questions come to mind:
>
>  1. I have not studied all DGGS, but in the general case I think a DGGS
>     reference consists of a code and an indication of a DGGS scheme,
>     which is needed to decipher the code. Does that mean a DGGS
>     reference needs two semantic elements? Or is it all right to assume
>     that all DGGS references can always be expressed as a single URI
>     (e.g. https://map.what3words.com/monorail.section.trespass
>     <https://map.what3words.com/monorail.section.trespass>)?
>  2. Will it be obvious to agents looking voor location data that
>     rdf:seeAlso can be used for an indication of location? I mean,
>     rdfs:seeAlso is also used for other types of relations (I realise
>     that this is actually not only about DGGS, but about the
>     discoverability of location information in general, where an
>     unspecific term like rdfs:seeAlso is used).
>
> So what do you think?
>
> Greetings,
> Frans
>
>

-- 
Andrea Perego, Ph.D.
Scientific / Technical Project Officer
European Commission DG JRC
Directorate B - Growth and Innovation
Unit B6 - Digital Economy
Via E. Fermi, 2749 - TP 262
21027 Ispra VA, Italy

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/

----
The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may
not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official
position of the European Commission.

Received on Friday, 18 November 2016 17:42:25 UTC