SPARQL 1.1 Query Aggregates Review

Steve, others,
I have now reviewed Section 11 (Aggregates) and I attach my comments below.
Mostly there are some typos and smaller corrections, but I can't make sense
out of 11.6. I gues at least an example is need and probably a bit of text
to put that subsection into context.
Best regards,
Birte

11 Aggregates
...
Aggregates are used where the querier wishes to see a result which is
compute*d* (not computer)

11.1
...
In aggregate queries and sub-queries variables that appear in the query
pattern, but are not grouped by ...
"not grouped by" sounds a bit strange to me, I would prefer just "but
are not grouped" or "but not in the GROUP BY clause"

"It should be noted that <link>as per functions</link>, aggregate
expressions must
be alised inorder to project them from queries or subqueries. In the
example obove this is done using the variable ?totalPrice. It is an
error for aggregates to project variables with a name already used in
other aggregate projections."

For me the link does not work.
Should "alised" be aliased?
obove <- above

11.2
...
"Within GROUP BY clases the assignment keyword, AS, may be used. Such
as GROUP BY (?x + ?y AS ?z). "
clases <- clauses
Such as... Is not really a complete sentence and rather belongs to the
previous
sentence.

...
"We can then Apply the set function Avg() to the group solutions, using the
Aggregation() algebra function, as Aggregation((?y), Avg, {}, G),
giving:..."
apply (lowercase)
I wondered what the empty set in the Aggregation() algebra function
was, but in order to get any clues, one has to click on the link and
read the algebra section. Maybe one can shortly comment on that
already informally in Section 11.2 or choose an example that also uses
that feature?

11.4
...
"Note that it would not be legal to project STR(?z) as this is not a
simple variable expression."
I guess it would be legal to select ?newZ if I were to use (STR(?z) AS
?newZ) right? If so, it would be nice to point that out too.

"Other expresisons, not using GROUP BY variables, or aggregates may have
non-deterministic values projected from their groups using the SAMPLE()
aggeregate."
aggeregate <- aggregate

11.5
"The set functions which underlie SPARQL aggregates all have a common
signature: SetFunc(M, err), or SetFunc(M, err, scalarvals, ...) where M is a
multiset of lists, err is a value indicating whether the evaluation of any
of the
expressions evaluated with respect to Ω "
Here we have scalarvals again, so it might really be helpful to say a
bit about that in the example in 11.2. Also I find Sigma a bit out of
ontext here, it's the first time used in this section. Could the text
not just say "a solution sequence"?

"The name is retained due to the comonality with SQL Set Functions,
which also operate over multisets."
commonality

"... Systems may choose to expand this set with *local using extensions*,
using the same notation as for functions and casts. "
local extensions?

11.6
"In order to project values from (sub-)queries using aggregate values,
a Solution Multiset is constructed where each solution comprises the
results of the Aggregate functions which share a key."
Why upper case Solution Multiset and Aggregate functions?

I can't really make sense out of that section. Maybe an example would
help, but I neither see in what context I would need such aggregate
joins nor how a query would look like that uses/requires this feature.


-- 
Dr. Birte Glimm, Room 309
Computing Laboratory
Parks Road
Oxford
OX1 3QD
United Kingdom
+44 (0)1865 283520