Re: WebID and Content Negotiation

On 1/27/22 1:18 PM, Jacopo Scazzosi wrote:
> Hi all,


Hi Jacopo,

>
>> Could we come to a consensus that content negotiation is optional for
>> current and future WebID work?
> I agree that it should remain optional, as per the current WebID spec/draft:
>
> a) conneg tends to be incompatible with hosting of static resources
> b) conneg comes with its own complexity, which should not be forced upon
>     adopters of the spec


Content Negotiation is an implementation detail that has no business 
being in the WebID spec.

It is an irrelevant distraction, to put things mildly.

The WebID spec is simply about the use of an HTTP URI (i.e., a URI 
derived from a URL) for unambiguous entity naming (the combined effects 
of using indirection to meld denotation and connotation).

As I explained in an earlier post, alongside several over the years. 
Unambiguous Entity Naming, using HTTP can be achieved as follows:

1. Explicitly -- using 303 redirection as exemplified by DBpedia

2. Implicitly -- using a "#" based fragment identifier that functions as 
an indexical (*this is much more powerful and unobtrusive than #1)


>
> In practice, this entails that a client asking for a specific serialization
> format might:
>
> - receive a response in the requested format
> - receive a "406 Not Acceptable" response if the requested format is not
>    supported by the publisher but basic conneg is
> - receive the response in a different format if the publisher does not support
>    conneg
>
> I'm happy with all three implications.


FWIW -- I've implemented content-negotiation in a myriad of ways across 
our products, ditto many LOD Cloud collaborations (starting with 
DBpedia, amongst many); I will never recommend it as having a place in a 
spec like WebID since it is purely a technical implementation detail 
associated with conformant products and services.

Also note, a WebID is distinct from a WebID Profile Document i.e., the 
latter is what would be the subject of content-negotiation by a client 
of server :)


>
> Best regards,
> Jacopo.
>
>

-- 
Regards,

Kingsley Idehen 
Founder & CEO
OpenLink Software
Home Page: http://www.openlinksw.com
Community Support: https://community.openlinksw.com
Weblogs (Blogs):
Company Blog: https://medium.com/openlink-software-blog
Virtuoso Blog: https://medium.com/virtuoso-blog
Data Access Drivers Blog: https://medium.com/openlink-odbc-jdbc-ado-net-data-access-drivers

Personal Weblogs (Blogs):
Medium Blog: https://medium.com/@kidehen
Legacy Blogs: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen/
               http://kidehen.blogspot.com

Profile Pages:
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kidehen/
Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kingsley-Uyi-Idehen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidehen
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+KingsleyIdehen/about
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kidehen

Web Identities (WebID):
Personal: http://kingsley.idehen.net/public_home/kidehen/profile.ttl#i
         : http://id.myopenlink.net/DAV/home/KingsleyUyiIdehen/Public/kingsley.ttl#this