Re: Strings not comment pattern Re: Turtle feature request : multi-line comments (was Re: Proposed conventions: System Triplestore, turtle Command, Text Embedded Turtle)

[removing semantic-web@w3.org from cc list]

Tim, I'm replying on behalf of the SPARQL WG, and I imagine the RDF WG
will want me to say something similar.   For our records, since you
posted to both our comment lists, could you clarify what you're looking
for?

At this point, we are not planing to add multi-line comments.  This has
been discussed with the original commenter, David Booth, and he says he
is now satisfied [1].

So, I *think* you're not asking us to do anything.  For myself, it seems
to me we might illustrate this pattern, although perhaps not mention it,
in the new RDF Tutorial.   It might be that it makes sense to mention or
demonstrate in other documents, as well -- perhaps in the documentation
of rdfs:comment.   I'm inclined to leave that to the editors of those
documents, after making sure they've read this email.

So, given that we're not doing multi-line comments, can you clarify
what, if anything, you'd like to see changed in any SPARQL WG or RDF WG
documents?

Thanks!

   -- Sandro

[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-rdf-comments/2012Feb/0009

On Sat, 2012-06-02 at 18:19 -0400, Tim Berners-Lee wrote:
> 1. I agre that multi-line comments 
> are nice.   I also find it a shame that shell and C, and later C-like 
> languages used different comment characters historically.
> I'm not going to make a big fuss over it.
> 
> 
> 2. To add multi-line comments would break old parsers 
> seriously, and would break I suspect a very very small number of old
> documents.
> 
> 
> Switching from # would break  massive number of old documents of
> course.
> 
> 
> I don't think the argument about SPARQL computability is very strong,
> as that occurs within {} blocks only and block comments
> are IMHO less likely within those blocks, I would expect to find them
> outside those blocks and line end comments more within the blocks.
> 
> 
> 3. Block comments may be in many cases deemed inferior to
> strings.  And you have multi-line strings. 
> In both python and N3 derivatives (sparql, turtle, etc) I have 
> picked up the meme that if something is worth block commenting its
> worth
> adding a string to the system instead.
> 
> 
> in Pythion, don't write
> 
> 
>         #  This python program calculates the date of Easter
>         #
>         #  Use it like this
>         #
>         # python   easter 2007
>         #
>         
>         
>         def main:
>         
>         whatever
> 
> 
> Write
> 
> 
>         __doc__ = """ This python program calculates the date of
>         Easter.
>         
>         
>          This python program calculates the date of Easter
>         
>         
>           Use it like this
>         
>         
>           python   easter 2007
>         """
>         
>         
>         def usage:
>         
>         print __doc__
>         
>         
>         def  main:
>         
>         whatever
> 
> 
> In N3 etc don't write 
> 
> 
>         #   To-Do list ontology
>         #
>         #  This ontology should give you all
>         # the terms you need for doing all kinds of cool things with
>         to-do lists.
>         # bla bla blah ...
>         #
>         #
> 
> 
> but write
> 
> 
>         @prefix s: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
>         @prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> . 
>         
>         
>         <> a owl:Ontology;
>         
>         s:title "To-Do list Ontology";
>         
>         s:comment """#  This ontology should give you all
>         the terms you need for doing all kinds of cool things with
>         to-do lists.
>         bla bla blah ...
>         """ .
> 
> 
> For this reason I have my editor color comments red and strings green,
> as a gentle reminder to me.  It would be good for style guides to 
> point this out.  Ontology authors certainly should  be very suspicious
> od any block comments, but also people inputting random 
> stuff about their CD collection or whatever in N3.
> It's a pattern I guess. Maybe it has a name already.
> 
> 
> Hoping the mail system preserves the indentation above for you
> 
> 
> Tim
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>

Received on Tuesday, 5 June 2012 15:06:20 UTC