Re: A single reifier can reify more than one triple term

Well, it *looks* like an identifier, and it is *used* like an identifier, so now we are back to my general worry: how to explain. I am not happy with saying that there is something that is just like an identifier but is not an identifier. RDF is already confusing enough for many people.

If I say

                :c :p1 “some value”

and then

                << :b | :s :p :o >> :p2 “some other value”

I have effectively said

                :b :p2 “some other value”

and will be hard pressed to explain that :c is an identifier (of a resource) but :b is not. I think this problem becomes even clearer (and the example more confusing) if I write it in a way where the IRIs look like typical IRIs:

                <http://example.com/this/that#xyz> :p1 “some value” .
                <http://example.com/this/that#zxy> :p2 “some other value” .

I am not happy.

Ora


From: Franconi Enrico <franconi@inf.unibz.it>
Date: Monday, March 25, 2024 at 8:06 AM
To: "Lassila, Ora" <ora@amazon.com>
Cc: RDF-star Working Group <public-rdf-star-wg@w3.org>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] A single reifier can reify more than one triple term


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Lassila, Ora <ora@amazon.com> wrote:
Aside from this, I also worry about having to explain an identifier reifying a set of triples vs. an identifier identifying a set of triples (a named graph). I promise that distinction will be lost on many people.
First of all, let’s not call it identifier; reifier is, so far, a better and LESS CONFUSING name.
A reifier is a resource the is unique only in the case the triple term it reifies uniquely identifies it. Whenever the triple term does not uniquely identify a reifier (like in the liz and Richard marriage) then you allow multiple reifiers for the same triple term.
And for any such triple terms not uniquely identifying a reifier, NECESSARILY do exist other triple terms that form another incomplete way to identify a reifier. The union of all those triple terms would completely identify uniquely a reifier, but we can not express this in RDF, which can only express binary predicates.

—e.