- From: Aaron Swartz <me@aaronsw.com>
- Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 13:59:00 -0600
- To: RDF Core <w3c-rdfcore-wg@w3.org>
Here's a first draft (in plain text and XML) of the Internet-Draft
(RFC-to-be) for registering the application/rdf+xml media type.
- Aaron
Network Working Group A. Swartz
Internet-Draft AaronSw.com
Expires: September 20, 2002 March 22, 2002
application/rdf+xml Media Type Registration
draft-swartz-rdfxml-mediatype-00
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that
other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-
Drafts.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://
www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt.
The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.
This Internet-Draft will expire on September 20, 2002.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2002). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document describes a media type (application/rdf+xml) for use
with the XML serialization of the Resource Description Framework
(RDF). RDF is a language designed to support the Semantic Web, by
facilitating resource description and data exchange on the Web. RDF
provides common structures that can be used for interoperable data
exchange and follows the W3C design principles of interoperability,
evolution, and decentralization.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft application/rdf+xml March 2002
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. application/rdf+xml Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Fragment Identifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. Historical Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 2]
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1. Introduction
RDF is a language designed to support the Semantic Web, by
facilitating resource description and data exchange on the Web. RDF
provides common structures that can be used for interoperable data
exchange and follows the W3C design principles of interoperability,
evolution, and decentralization.
While the RDF data model can be serialized in many ways, the W3C has
defined the RDF/XML syntax [1] to allow RDF to be serialized in an
XML format. The application/rdf+xml media type allows RDF consumers
to identify RDF/XML documents so that they can be processed properly.
It is important to note that RDF language is used to transmit
meaningful information, and thus has the same legal status as
assertions, in say, English would.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft application/rdf+xml March 2002
2. application/rdf+xml Registration
This is a media type registration as defined in Multipurpose Internet
Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Four: Registration Procedures [3]
MIME media type name: text
MIME subtype name: rdf+xml
Required parameters: none
Optional parameters: charset
Same as charset parameter of application/xml as specified in
[5].
Encoding considerations:
Same as charset parameter of application/xml as specified in
[5].
Security considerations:
Security considerations include many of those described in
section 10 of [5] and more, due to the semantic nature of RDF.
RDF documents may make assertions about anything, and thus RDF-
based systems want to be certain that they can trust the
document. It is expected that future work with Digital
Signature and "Web of Trust" will make it more clear how to
build secure RDF systems.
Interoperability considerations:
For maximum interoperability it is recommend that RDF files use
the Basic (un-abbreviated) RDF Syntax, since this is most
likely to be understood by RDF parsers and remain stable
through future RDF specifications. It is also recommended that
RDF documents do not use processing instructions, as RDF
parsers give no meaning to them.
Published specification: see [1]
Applications which use this media type:
RDF is device-, platform-, and vendor-neutral and is supported
by a wide range of Web user agents and authoring tools.
Additional information:
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 4]
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Magic number(s): none
Although no byte sequences can be counted on to consistently
identify RDF, RDF documents will have the sequence "http://
www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" to identify the RDF
namespace. This will usually be towards the top of the
document.
File extension(s): .xrdf, .rdf
Macintosh File Type Code(s): "TEXT"
Person & email address for further information:
Aaron Swartz <me@aaronsw.com>
@@ some w3t person? danbri?
Intended usage: COMMON
Author/Change controller:
The RDF specification is a work product of the World Wide Web
Consortium. The W3C and the W3C RDF Core Working Group have
change control over the specification.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 5]
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3. Fragment Identifiers
Section 4.1 of the URI specification [4] notes that the semantics of
a fragment identifier (part of a URI after a "#") is a property of
the data resulting from a retrieval action, and that the format and
interpretation of fragment identifiers is dependent on the media type
of the retrieval result.
However, in RDF, the thing identified by a URI with fragment
identifier does not bear any particular relationship to the thing
identified by the URI alone. This contradicts some readings of the
URI specification [4], so caution is recommended when creating new
RDF terms which use fragment identifiers.
The rdf:ID and rdf:about attributes can be used to define fragments
in an RDF document.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 6]
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4. Historical Considerations
This media type was reserved in [5], saying:
RDF documents identified using this MIME type are XML documents
whose content describes metadata, as defined by [RDF]. As a
format based on XML, RDF documents SHOULD use the '+xml' suffix
convention in their MIME content-type identifier. However, no
content type has yet been registered for RDF and so this media
type should not be used until such registration has been
completed.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 7]
Internet-Draft application/rdf+xml March 2002
5. Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dan Connolly for writing the first version of this draft
[6], to Andy Powell for reminding us we needed one, and to Marshall
Rose for his xml2rfc [7] converter.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 8]
Internet-Draft application/rdf+xml March 2002
References
[1] Beckett, D., "RDF/XML Syntax Specification (Revised)", W3C rdf-
syntax-grammar, December 2001, <http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-syntax-
grammar/>.
[2] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[3] Freed, N., Klensin, J. and J. Postel, "Multipurpose Internet
Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Four: Registration Procedures", BCP
13, RFC 2048, November 1996.
[4] Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R. and L. Masinter, "Uniform Resource
Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax", RFC 2396, August 1998.
[5] Murata, M., St.Laurent, S. and D. Kohn, "XML Media Types", RFC
3023, January 2001.
[6] <http://www.w3.org/2001/03mr/rdf_mt>
[7] <http://xml.resource.org/>
Author's Address
Aaron Swartz
AaronSw.com
349 Marshman
Highland Park, IL 60035
USA
Phone: +1 847 432 8857
EMail: me@aaronsw.com
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 9]
Internet-Draft application/rdf+xml March 2002
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2002). All Rights Reserved.
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
English.
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
Swartz Expires September 20, 2002 [Page 10]
And the XML:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE rfc SYSTEM "rfc2629.dtd">
<?rfc toc="yes"?>
<rfc ipr="full2026"> <!-- category="info" number="unkown"> -->
<front>
<title abbrev="application/rdf+xml">application/rdf+xml Media Type
Registration</title>
<author initials="A." surname="Swartz" fullname="Aaron Swartz">
<organization>AaronSw.com</organization>
<address>
<postal>
<street>349 Marshman</street>
<city>Highland Park</city>
<region>IL</region>
<code>60035</code>
<country>USA</country>
</postal>
<phone>+1 847 432 8857</phone>
<email>me@aaronsw.com</email>
</address>
</author>
<date month="March" year="2002"/>
<area>Applications</area>
<keyword>RDF</keyword>
<keyword>semantic web</keyword>
<keyword>W3C</keyword>
<keyword>media type</keyword>
<keyword>MIME</keyword>
<abstract>
<t>This document describes a media type (application/rdf+xml) for use
with the XML serialization of the Resource Description Framework (RDF). RDF
is a language designed to support the Semantic Web, by facilitating resource
description and data exchange on the Web. RDF provides common structures
that can be used for interoperable data exchange and follows the W3C design
principles of interoperability, evolution, and decentralization.</t>
</abstract>
</front>
<middle>
<section title="Introduction">
<t>
RDF is a language designed to support the Semantic Web, by facilitating
resource description and data exchange on the Web. RDF provides common
structures that can be used for interoperable data exchange and follows the
W3C design principles of interoperability, evolution, and decentralization.
</t>
<t>
While the RDF data model can be serialized in many ways, the W3C has
defined <xref target="W3C.rdf-syntax-grammar">the RDF/XML syntax</xref> to
allow RDF to be serialized in an XML format. The application/rdf+xml media
type allows RDF consumers to identify RDF/XML documents so that they can be
processed properly.
</t>
<t>
It is important to note that RDF language is used to transmit meaningful
information, and thus has the same legal status as assertions, in say,
English would.
</t>
</section>
<section title="application/rdf+xml Registration">
<t>This is a media type registration as defined in <xref
target="RFC2048">Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Four:
Registration Procedures</xref>
<list>
<t>MIME media type name: text</t>
<t>MIME subtype name: rdf+xml</t>
<t>Required parameters: none</t>
<t>Optional parameters: charset
<list><t>
Same as charset parameter of application/xml as specified in <xref
target="RFC3023" />.
</t></list>
</t>
<t>
Encoding considerations:
<list><t>
Same as charset parameter of application/xml as specified in <xref
target="RFC3023"/>.
</t></list>
</t>
<t>
Security considerations:
<list><t>
Security considerations include many of those described in section 10
of <xref target="RFC3023"/> and more, due to the semantic nature of RDF. RDF
documents may make assertions about anything, and thus RDF-based systems
want to be certain that they can trust the document. It is expected that
future work with Digital Signature and "Web of Trust" will make it more
clear how to build secure RDF systems.
</t></list>
</t>
<t>Interoperability considerations:
<list><t>
For maximum interoperability it is recommend that RDF files use the
Basic (un-abbreviated) RDF Syntax, since this is most likely to be
understood by RDF parsers and remain stable through future RDF
specifications. It is also recommended that RDF documents do not use
processing instructions, as RDF parsers give no meaning to them.
</t></list>
</t>
<t>Published specification: see <xref target="W3C.rdf-syntax-grammar"/></t>
<t>Applications which use this media type:
<list><t>
RDF is device-, platform-, and vendor-neutral and is supported by a
wide range of Web user agents and authoring tools.
</t></list>
</t>
<t>Additional information:
<list>
<t>Magic number(s): none
<list><t>
Although no byte sequences can be counted on to consistently identify RDF,
RDF documents will have the sequence
"http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" to identify the RDF namespace.
This will usually be towards the top of the document.
</t></list>
</t>
<t>File extension(s): .xrdf, .rdf</t>
<t>Macintosh File Type Code(s): "TEXT"</t>
</list></t>
<t>Person & email address for further information:
<list><t>
Aaron Swartz <me@aaronsw.com>
</t>
<t>
@@ some w3t person? danbri?
</t></list>
</t>
<t>Intended usage: COMMON</t>
<t>Author/Change controller:
<list><t>
The RDF specification is a work product of the World Wide Web Consortium.
The W3C and the W3C RDF Core Working Group have change control over the
specification.
</t></list>
</t>
</list></t>
</section>
<section title="Fragment Identifiers">
<t>
Section 4.1 of the URI specification <xref target="RFC2396" /> notes that
the semantics of a fragment identifier (part of a URI after a "#") is a
property of the data resulting from a retrieval action, and that the format
and interpretation of fragment identifiers is dependent on the media type of
the retrieval result.
</t>
<t>
However, in RDF, the thing identified by a URI with fragment identifier does
not bear any particular relationship to the thing identified by the URI
alone. This contradicts some readings of the URI specification <xref
target="RFC2396" />, so caution is recommended when creating new RDF terms
which use fragment identifiers.</t>
<t>The rdf:ID and rdf:about attributes can be used to define fragments in an
RDF document.</t>
</section>
<section title="Historical Considerations">
<t>This media type was reserved in <xref target="RFC3023" />, saying:
<list><t>
RDF documents identified using this MIME type are XML documents whose
content describes metadata, as defined by [RDF]. As a format based on XML,
RDF documents SHOULD use the '+xml' suffix convention in their MIME
content-type identifier. However, no content type has yet been registered
for RDF and so this media type should not be used until such registration
has been completed.
</t></list>
</t>
</section>
<section title="Acknowledgements">
<t>Thanks to Dan Connolly for writing the <eref
target="http://www.w3.org/2001/03mr/rdf_mt">first version of this
draft</eref>, to Andy Powell for <eref
target="http://www.w3.org/2000/03/rdf-tracking/#mime-types-for-rdf-docs">rem
inding us we needed one</eref>, and to Marshall Rose for his <eref
target="http://xml.resource.org/">xml2rfc</eref> converter.</t>
</section>
</middle>
<back>
<references>
<reference anchor="W3C.rdf-syntax-grammar"
target="http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-syntax-grammar/">
<front>
<title>RDF/XML Syntax Specification (Revised)</title>
<author initials="D." surname="Beckett"
fullname="Dave Beckett">
<organization abbrev="U. of Bris.">University of
Bristol</organization>
</author>
<date day="18" month="December" year="2001" />
</front>
<seriesInfo name="W3C" value="rdf-syntax-grammar" />
</reference>
<?rfc include="reference.RFC.2119" ?>
<?rfc include="reference.RFC.2048" ?>
<?rfc include="reference.RFC.2396" ?>
<?rfc include="reference.RFC.3023" ?>
</references>
</back>
</rfc>
Received on Friday, 22 March 2002 14:59:07 UTC