Re: A Quick Note on WebID history - Re: All the Agents Challenge (ATAC) at ISWC 2021

On Wed, 28 Jul 2021 at 15:17, Kingsley Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com>
wrote:

> On 7/27/21 6:48 PM, Melvin Carvalho wrote:
>
>
>
> On Wed, 28 Jul 2021 at 00:42, Kingsley Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On 7/27/21 2:34 PM, Melvin Carvalho wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, 27 Jul 2021 at 19:59, Kingsley Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 7/27/21 1:01 PM, Melvin Carvalho wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, 27 Jul 2021 at 17:58, Kingsley Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 7/27/21 5:52 AM, Melvin Carvalho wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, 27 Jul 2021 at 04:22, Kingsley Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 7/26/21 1:08 PM, Melvin Carvalho wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, 26 Jul 2021 at 18:27, Ted Thibodeau Jr <
>>>>> tthibodeau@openlinksw.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jul 26, 2021, at 02:34 AM, Melvin Carvalho <
>>>>>> melvincarvalho@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ah, I see the issue here
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The current WebID spec is in fact tightly coupled to Turtle (and
>>>>>> http) via "MUST"
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/webid/spec/identity/
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Those who fail to read the "Status of This Document" are
>>>>>> doomed to pain and agony all the days of their implementation.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To wit:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This document is produced from work by the W3C WebID Community Group
>>>>>> <http://www.w3.org/community/webid/>. This is an internal draft
>>>>>> document and may not even end up being officially published. It may also be
>>>>>> updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is
>>>>>> inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress. The
>>>>>> source code for this document is available at the following URI:
>>>>>> https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/WebID
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This document was published by the WebID CG
>>>>>> <http://www.w3.org/community/webid/> as an Editor's Draft. If you
>>>>>> wish to make comments regarding this document, please send them to
>>>>>> public-webid@w3.org (subscribe
>>>>>> <public-webid-request@w3.org?subject=subscribe>, archives
>>>>>> <http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webid/>). All comments
>>>>>> are welcome.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Publication as an Editor's Draft does not imply endorsement by the
>>>>>> W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated,
>>>>>> replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate
>>>>>> to cite this document as other than work in progress.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In other words: This is not a spec, current or otherwise.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is very much an Editor's Draft, coming from the discussions
>>>>>> of what was then an Incubator Group, and transformed into a
>>>>>> Community Group, but really reflecting the opinions of the
>>>>>> Chair who was doing double-duty as Editor, much more than of
>>>>>> the group as a whole.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It does not come close to reflecting consensus of that old XG
>>>>>> (of which I was a member), never mind transition to a Candidate
>>>>>> Recommendation, and further progress down the REC-track was
>>>>>> likewise years away, as there was never a WebID Working Group.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In my opinion, it should never have received the Respec skin
>>>>>> it has, which makes it *look* like something it isn't, and
>>>>>> at a minimum, W3C should find a way to put the watermarks
>>>>>> now in common use on draft specs in the github.io space onto
>>>>>> all the old draft specs that will otherwise continue to draw
>>>>>> people into thinking that output of one person's keyboard
>>>>>> have the same weight as the work product of several if not
>>>>>> dozens of people intellectual and technical efforts.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Good points.  I guess it was last updated over 7 years ago and both of
>>>>> the editors are no longer active
>>>>>
>>>>> And a lot has changed in that time!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes, but it was never a spec endorsed by the W3C.
>>>>>
>>>>> Today, it still isn't a spec endorsed by the W3C.
>>>>>
>>>>> All we have in reality is "WebID" as a colloquialism for an HTTP
>>>>> Identifier that denotes an Agent, and is generally conflated with a
>>>>> protocol for credential verification that goes by the moniker "WebID-TLS" .
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Makes sense.  Tho WebID still is in use by some of the RDF folks, and I
>>>> think they would argue that RDF/Turtle is mandated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Let them, at the end of the day freedom should reign supreme :)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In time that may change, but in years probably, given the run rate
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I am betting on verifiable credentials working via an emergent de
>>>>> facto protocol that's adopted en masse by developers at some point. However
>>>>> we get there, the following constants will be in play:
>>>>>
>>>>> 1. Logic as the Conceptual Schema
>>>>>
>>>>> 2. Resolvable Identifiers
>>>>>
>>>>> 3. Credentials that manifest as an Entity Relationship Graph
>>>>> comprising Resolvable Identifiers
>>>>>
>>>>> 4. Credential verification protocol
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I think what we need is JSON Objects, denoting an Agent, that can
>>>> optionally have a URI.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There isn't a "one size fits all" solution to this matter.
>>>>
>>>> Folks should simply build around an abstract core and ship apps and
>>>> services. The notion of one spec adopted by the world will not work, IMHO.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> If it has an abstract model that's fine also, which allows middleware
>>>> solutions, and you can put it in a data store, including redis, mongo,
>>>> browser stores, virtuoso, quad stores etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It is 100% about being abstract.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Why is it 100% about being abstract?
>>>
>>>
>>> Because that's how you negate politics.
>>>
>>> An Entity Relationship Graph is simply a technique for representing
>>> logic i.e, things are related to other things in a variety of ways.
>>>
>>>
>>> ie what's the benefits and what are the possible abstractions?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Abstraction ensures loose-coupling of:
>>>
>>> 1. Identity -- enabled using a variety of Identifier types
>>> 2. Identification -- Credentials Documents
>>> 3. Authentication -- TLS, OpenID Connect, either + WebID, NetID, etc.
>>> (with or without delegation)
>>> 4. Authorization -- RBAC (Role-based Access Controls) or ABAC
>>> (Attribute-based Access Controls)
>>> 5. Storage -- Filesytems or DBMS
>>>
>>> This trumps any notion of a golden spec that will be mass adopted by
>>> programmers, developers, engineers (of any variety).
>>>
>>> Apps will always trump specs i.e., specs simply provide frameworks for
>>> App interoperability. Specs cannot precede App development, as history has
>>> demonstrated, repeatedly.
>>>
>>> There wasn't a spec for the Web prior to its explosion. Basically, It
>>> exploded before the creation of a custodial organization like W3C aimed at
>>> ensuring interoperability by way of infrastructure standardization.
>>>
>>
>> OK, so two abstractions
>>
>> 1. Data model abstraction -- EAV + arrays -- ability to use URIs -- in
>> some cases it's a Set, in some cases it's RDF, a semantic web for both
>> humans and machines
>>
>>
>> Basic RDF is primarily EAV with IRIs.
>>
>> It handles structured data representation in a manner suited to the
>> complexity that exists in this realm.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. Architectural abstraction -- clean separation of concerns, REST style
>> architecture, includes many protocols via URIs.  e.g. its important that
>> the file: URI system is part of the web space too, important for anything
>> to be back compatible
>>
>> I'm absolutely convinced we dont have anything like this anywhere today,
>> tho there have been some good efforts.
>>
>>
>> I wouldn't speak in absolutes re non-existence. We (OpenLink) don't
>> design any of our products without these separations at the core.
>>
>>
>> I think we could make such a spec, which is based on existing web
>> standards (though there now exists more than just one standard), in a few
>> pages.
>>
>>
>> I don't believe in making specs. They take too long, and they shouldn't
>> precede apps i.e., they arise following the existence and establishment of
>> apps, IMHO.
>>
>> We implement specs when they exist, since we have a vested interest in
>> interoperability and data flow.
>>
>>
>>
>> Then layer on top newer things like web scale time commits and version
>> control, all in a developer friendly way, that does not require a high
>> learning curve
>>
>>
>> Possibly, but apps are never the result of a public spec. This is where I
>> diverge from what you are seeking here.
>>
>
> Yes, I've been making apps for quite some time now.  I perhaps have 20,000
> hours of implementation experience.  That has lead me to hit many walls,
> but I think the solutions are in sight.  I have a good idea of what can be
> implemented, and what cant, and where the gaps lie
>
> Writing a short spec would be so that others can do it, and that this
> group has something to publish after working for quite some time on stuff.
> There actually seems two parts.  An architecture and an actual spec that
> conforms to that architecture
>
> I can make quite a lot of apps now, but it's more fun if lots of
> developers are able to do so too.
>
>
> How about just deploying your apps and then use their design and
> implementation details as marketing collateral for your target audience?
> Basically, that's just another way of showcasing the virtues of "best
> practices" that can evolve into open standards etc..
>
> Historically, there isn't a single market-leading product today that I am
> aware off that took the spec first approach.
>
> Years ago, when Microsoft was late to the DBMS market they introduced the
> ODBC spec as an open standard -- behind the scenes though, they had SQL
> Server (oem'd from Sybase) and Microsoft Access in place.
>
> Developers follow apps and platforms provided by market leaders, that's
> how this game has always worked :)
>

OK, that makes sense!


> --
> Regards,
>
> Kingsley Idehen 
> Founder & CEO
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Received on Wednesday, 28 July 2021 13:25:11 UTC