Re: blank nodes ….

On 4/3/13 4:07 PM, Michel Dumontier wrote:
> The major motivation for avoiding blank nodes is that you cannot 
> reliably refer to those objects from outside the dataset. It precludes 
> any kind of linking or argumentation.

Yes, I know that re., Linked Data scenarios :-)

> In Bio2RDF, we generate URIs for all objects, and use the identifier 
> when provided, otherwise we generate one when there is none to use. 
> The main criteria is that it is unique within the URI namespace. Bonus 
> if you can generate the same URI for exactly that item in a subsequent 
> version of the dataset (we recognize that it might not be feasible)

Not disputing any of that.

I am just saying, use them when you understand what purpose they serve. 
Typically, substituting for a noun or noun phrase i.e., the function 
played by a pronoun in natural language sentences.


Kingsley


>
> m.
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Kingsley Idehen 
> <kidehen@openlinksw.com <mailto:kidehen@openlinksw.com>> wrote:
>
>     On 4/3/13 3:12 PM, Jeremy J Carroll wrote:
>>>     >There is, I think, a sustainable argument that blank nodes are not**necessary**.
>>     I beg to differ. Blank nodes are absolutely necessary.
>
>     "Horses for courses" again.
>
>     Blank nodes are only problematic when misunderstood and used
>     inappropriately. No different to misusing a Pronoun due to lack of
>     understanding when learning a new language that has Pronouns.
>
>     A lot of these issues will whither away as RDF's broader pitch
>     narrative improves, which has started to happen in recent times :-)
>
>
>
>     -- 
>
>     Regards,
>
>     Kingsley Idehen	
>     Founder & CEO
>     OpenLink Software
>     Company Web:http://www.openlinksw.com
>     Personal Weblog:http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen  <http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/%7Ekidehen>
>     Twitter/Identi.ca handle: @kidehen
>     Google+ Profile:https://plus.google.com/112399767740508618350/about
>     LinkedIn Profile:http://www.linkedin.com/in/kidehen
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Michel Dumontier
> Associate Professor of Bioinformatics, Carleton University
> Chair, W3C Semantic Web for Health Care and the Life Sciences Interest 
> Group
> http://dumontierlab.com


-- 

Regards,

Kingsley Idehen	
Founder & CEO
OpenLink Software
Company Web: http://www.openlinksw.com
Personal Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
Twitter/Identi.ca handle: @kidehen
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