- From: RDF Working Group Issue Tracker <sysbot+tracker@w3.org>
- Date: Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:06:07 +0000
- To: public-rdf-wg@w3.org
RDF-ISSUE-107 (blank-node-definition): Definition of blank nodes (editorial-ish) [RDF Concepts] http://www.w3.org/2011/rdf-wg/track/issues/107 Raised by: Richard Cyganiak On product: RDF Concepts Pat commented on the definition of blank nodes in Concepts section 3.4. http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-rdf-wg/2012May/0654.html "The blank nodes in an RDF graph are drawn from an infinite set. " This seems a rather odd way to introduce the idea. I know it is formally correct, but it reads (to me) rather jarringly. (Which set? Why that set in particular? Etc..) Suggest something more like: "A blank node is a node which has no associated information or structure. In an RDF graph, a blank node represents an 'unknown' entity which may not have a name. In the abstract syntax, we specify only that blank nodes are taken from a fixed infinite set which is disjoint from the set of all IRIs and the set of all literals." "Given two blank nodes, it is possible to determine whether or not they are the same." Um. I know I am always being acussed of thinking like a mathematician, but this doesn't make sense as stated. If there are TWO blank nodes, then obviously they aren't the same, because if they were there would only be one of them. I know it is hard to say this without using words like "identity", so I suggest simply omitting this sentence altogether, and rephrase the paragraph as something like "RDF makes no reference to any internal structure or syntactic form of blank nodes. A blank node is simply a node in an RDF graph which has no label or other structure relevant to its RDF role."
Received on Wednesday, 7 November 2012 17:06:08 UTC