- From: Pat Hayes <phayes@ai.uwf.edu>
- Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 15:18:25 -0600
- To: Patrick Stickler <patrick.stickler@nokia.com>
- Cc: w3c-rdfcore-wg@w3.org
>On 2002-01-23 12:45, "ext Graham Klyne" <Graham.Klyne@MIMEsweeper.com> >wrote: > >> ... >> roughly, a URI denotes a function that, when applied to some arguments, >> returns some data entity... > >That's an interesting way to look at it, and in fact, a >useful analogy for the difference between URL/URN/URP >is that a URL is a function, a URN is a pointer to a >function Why to a function? Wouldnt a URN be able to name almost anything? >(possibly null) and a URP is a constant. > >Hmmm... Let me add another thought. Some URIs may be best thought of as continuations, so that when invoked (called) they return a data entity but also (perhaps implicitly) another way to call the same function; and that next call may return a different data entity, of course. This lets the 'resource' (?) have some residual state which may change with time, rather than being a pure mathematical function, and therefore gives some flesh to the otherwise puzzling talk about 'conceptual mapping' in RFC2396. Just a thought to keep y'all humming. Pat PS heres another thought. DAML is going through the throes of inventing a query language for itself. Is there any basic similarity between using a URI to access something, and posting a query and getting back an answer? Maybe a URI is a kind of generic atomic 'query' addressed to the web as a whole, along the lines of 'does anything with this name exist?' I have no idea if this makes any sense at all, but if it causes someone to have an epiphany, please remember me in your will. Pat -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- IHMC (850)434 8903 home 40 South Alcaniz St. (850)202 4416 office Pensacola, FL 32501 (850)202 4440 fax phayes@ai.uwf.edu http://www.coginst.uwf.edu/~phayes
Received on Wednesday, 23 January 2002 16:18:18 UTC