Re: Yet Another LOD cloud browser

Hugh,

On Fri, May 15, 2009 at 5:18 PM, Hugh Glaser <hg@ecs.soton.ac.uk> wrote:

> I have difficulty in interpreting what you say - we are looking at the same
> "linked data browser" page?:
> http://ec2.monrai.com:8890/facets/
> All I can see is a page that says: "Lookup things named "" " So the only
> possibility of linked data browsing is to put in something with a name.
> So I put something topical in (from this list).
> Since I see
> ...
>  <Station rdf:about="http://ontologi.es/rail/stations/gb/MAN">
>    <foaf:name xml:lang="en">Manchester Piccadilly</foaf:name>
> ...
> I try "Manchester Piccadilly" and get some response, but nothing leads me
> to
> http://ontologi.es/rail/stations/gb/MAN.rdf or any of the data I find
> there.
> Similarly topical from this list, I find no way of browsing
> http://foaf.qdos.com/lastfm/people/keithalexander#me or getting to that
> page by searching for "Keith Alexander".
>


It appears you're right in this instance. However, here is some info we have
on Manchester Piccadilly
(Stations)<http://www.razorbase.com/?qid=10000101242426667642>.
And here are records we have for People named Keith
Alexander<http://www.razorbase.com/?qid=10000091242426317534>.
We don't claim to have visability over the entire Linked Data cloud, but to
say we are a browser of the Linked Data cloud is, I believe, as accurate as
to say my car is a car although it hasn't been every place a car can go :)
Google admits it may never be able to index a very large portion of
the web<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_internet>,
but that doesn't make them any less of a web search engine.

I've had conversations with Kingsley about this distinction, and based on
his insight re. warehousing all this data, I can identity at least three LOD
clouds (or at least three segments of it):

- warehouses (produced from published RDF dump archives)
- dynamic (sponged)
- crawled where you sponge/crawl progressively across the likes of PTSW,
Sindice etc.. that receive pings and crawl data

Even a 4th where people publish linked data, expose an sparql endpoint but
don't release archives. Better methods of advertising their SPARQL endpoints
and RDF servers once they come online would greatly help us expand coverage.

-sherman




> I also see no way of doing "3. Raw URI Lookup" of this URI.
>

Yes, this is a feature that is pending in the razorbase UI, but will be
added.


>
> I assert that if this is a "linked data browser", then since
> http://ontologi.es/rail/stations/gb/MAN.rdf conforms (I think) to "How to
> Publish Linked Data on the Web", then I should be able to browse it using
> the browser.
> If I can't, then it is not a "linked data browser".
>

Hmm, Internet Explorer doesn't implement some portions of the Javascript and
CSS standards, but no one argues that IE is a W3C compliant browser and
CSS/JS client. But I do understand your point, and it's something worth
keeping in mind.



>
> Of course, this browser is very capable of browsing your excellent single
> site, but that is not the same thing, I am sorry to say.
>


Thanks so much for all your insight, feedback is always welcomed :)


-- 

Thanks,
-sherman

I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul
prospers
(3 John 1:2)