Re: Relationship and difference between N3 and RDF*

Hi Joy,

Thanks for looking into Notation3 (N3). Re the W3C specification - it 
builds on top of prior "complete" W3C submissions (e.g., see here 
<https://www.w3.org/TeamSubmission/n3/> and here 
<https://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Notation3>) - hence the new incomplete 
spec <https://w3c.github.io/N3/spec/> may be giving a bit of a 
misleading view on the current state of N3: there are already mature 
systems that implement N3 (Eye and cwm). Our effort at 
https://w3c.github.io/N3/spec/ <https://w3c.github.io/N3/spec/> is meant 
to further standardize and flesh out N3, since the prior documents are a 
bit vague on certain aspects.

Re the difference with TriG: N3 allows quoted graphs (a.k.a. cited 
formulae <https://w3c.github.io/N3/spec/#cformulae>) to be utilized 
within triple statements, e.g., ":william :said { :william :wrote 
:moby_dick }", whereas TriG supports graph statements such as 
":authorship_lies { :william :wrote :moby_dick }" that allow specifying 
named graphs. Both serve similar purposes - attaching context, 
provenance, and general metadata to statements - but have different 
semantics. Well, AFAIK named graphs do not really have an agreed-upon 
semantics - see here 
<https://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-rdf11-datasets-20140225/> for a list of 
possible interpretations of named graphs - while cited formulae have 
more of a fixed semantics as referentially-opaque RDF graphs (this 
corresponds to a particular interpretation 
<https://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-rdf11-datasets-20140225/#the-graph-name-denotes-the-named-graph-or-the-graph> 
of named graphs).

You may notice that this is where there is an overlap with RDF*, since 
it also means to allow attaching metadata to statements - in their case, 
by simplifying reification within RDF.

Hope that answers your question.


Regards,

William


On 2021-06-05 7:25 p.m., Joy lix wrote:
>
> I'm a beginner in semantic technology, and I'm learning about RDF*.
>
> I notice that another W3C specification is also being drafted : 
> https://w3c.github.io/N3/spec/ <https://w3c.github.io/N3/spec/> . Also 
> it mentioned: “N3 adds an If-Then style of decision making in the form 
> of logical implications and variables”.
>
> But I feel like it's not quite up to speed with RDF*, because there 
> are a lot of sections that still say "bla...".
>
> I don't know how it is related to or different from RDF*, there is 
> also the W3C's TRIG, would some expert explain this briefly?   Thanks.
>
> Regards,
>
> Joylix
>