Re: "RDF Knowledge" (Uniform HTTP Protocol for Managing RDF Graphs)

Hi Gregg,

Thanks for clarifying your primary concerns with the draft
specification. I've combined a few comments from your two most recent
emails to focus on what seems to be the most substantive part of your
feedback.

> To summarize regarding the Uniform HTTP Protocol for Managing RDF
> Graphs, my suggestions are - Withdraw it on grounds that it just
> restates existing standards and thus amounts to more of a Guide than
> a standard; - If it isn't withdrawn, tighten up the language to
> clearly and consistently distinguish between references to syntax and
> semantics, and eliminate language suggesting a third component to
> denotational semantics (e.g. eliminate the "graph" v. "graph content"
> distinction).

and

> Aside from the issue of whether the Uniform HTTP protocol is needed,
> I can now see exactly why we're having trouble understanding each other.
> We have two fundamental points of disagreement, one regarding the
> meaning of the term "RDF Graph" which you take to refer to 'abstract
> syntax', and which I take to refer to a graph (mathematical object), and
> one regarding the denotation of a graph URI, which you take to be a
> concept distinct from the (its?) graph, and I take to be a graph.

In light of your comments, the Working Group discussed the status of
this specification, which, in response to other feedback, is now called
the SPARQL 1.1 RDF Dataset HTTP Protocol. The Working Group completed a
requirements-gathering phase in the middle of 2009; as a result of that
activity, the group was re-chartered with a set of concrete
requirements. Among those chartered requirements is the definition of a
"protocol to update RDF graphs using ReSTful methods". The Working Group
felt then and still feels that defining the meaning of common HTTP
operations against RDF graphs will aid in interoperability among
deployed RDF datasets on the Web. At this time, the Working Group
intends to continue with the publication of this specification.

Regarding your other comments, the Working Group believes that the
specification is consistent with the meaning of RDF graph in the
existing RDF specifications. Additionally, the specification reflects
the definition of RDF datasets from the SPARQL 1.0 query specification
(see http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-sparql-query/#rdfDataset). If you feel
that this is not the case, we would appreciate it if you could point to
specific text within the specification that conflicts with the existing
definitions. Otherwise, the Working Group is not authorized or inclined
to change definitions from existing specifications.

We would be grateful if you would acknowledge that your comment has been
answered by sending a reply to this mailing list.

best,
Lee

Received on Friday, 18 February 2011 05:07:27 UTC