Re: report of the October meeting

Hi Melvin,

> I suppose we all have our favourite js rdf libraries and favourite features.

Yes, but the problem is that none of the RDF libraries have a complete feature set,
and that each library has their own way of representing triples.
We want to unify the way of representing triples,
so all libraries can talk to each other more easily;
This makes it easy to combine the features we need.

> OTOH we are a small group with divided resources.

And we're trying to unify those resources.

> Would it be fair to say that most of the RDF JS libs are in the category "hobby project", no direspect meant by the term.

Some of them are, but not all of them.
If I can speak for my own libraries, they are production-level code.
BUT they represent triples in their own way, so conversions are necessary.

> I'd suggest that maybe the MIT library (rdflib.js) has could be something more given that there is a team behind it, tim is behind it, and MIT is hiring new people to help with support and development:

While I'm sure it's a good effort, some of the code is nowhere far as production-level as other libraries.
For instance, the parser is a conversion from a Python library; I expect performance to be bad.
I on't know to what extent it is spec-compatible. It is not streaming.

> Sure, it would be nice if there were a few more features added (frankly, I dont need them just yet) and perhaps standardize some of the naming, api and data structures.

Exactly, standardizing is what we want to do.
That way, everybody can extend any JavaScript library for RDF, and they just work together.

> But how about we use rdflib.js as a practical BASE library, along with, say bergi's for Rdf Intefaces, rdfstore for sparql, n3.js for n3 etc.

…and to do that, we need a uniform representation format, which is what we strive to build.
Otherwise, we'll spend too much time and effort on conversions on every step.

Furthermore, I don't think that rdflib.js is fit as a base.
I mean, if we indeed have to pull in RDF Interfaces, rdfstore, and N3.js,
we already have a functionally complete library and don't need rdflib.js.


What I would propose instead is that:
– we write a spec for a low-level representation format and API for JavaScript RDF libraries
– existing libraries are converted to adhere to this spec
Once libraries are compatible
– developers can combine the libraries they want
– we can build one core library with many features, supported by many devs

I myself look forward to stop independent N3.js development,
but maintain it as part of a larger library that others contribute to.

Best,

Ruben

Received on Thursday, 5 November 2015 08:33:58 UTC