pfps-16, proposed resolution (20030411)

Following changes to the proposed text in response to comments, I am 
resubmitting this proposed resolution (again).  Additional changes are the 
removal of "arbitrary" from the first paragraph of 3.5, and a wording 
change in the second paragraph of section 2.2.6.

...

With reference to the issue:
   http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/RDFCore/20030123-issues/#pfps-16
   "RDF's Expressive Power"

I propose that this is addressed by revisions per:
   http://www.ninebynine.org/wip/RDF-concepts/20030401/Overview.html

Specifically:

(1) deletion of old section 2.2.7 (which didn't really say anything not 
covered by 2.2.6)

(2) revised title and rewording of section 2.2.6:
   http://www.ninebynine.org/wip/RDF-concepts/20030401/Overview.html#section-anyone
(copied below)

(3) revised content of section 3.5:
   http://www.ninebynine.org/wip/RDF-concepts/20030401/Overview.html#section-SimpleFacts
(copied below)

...

The new section 3.5 is considerably cut down from the original version, and 
references rather than duplicates content that is in the Primer.

This also has an introductory paragraph that aims to capture the sense of 
wording noted by Pat Hayes, per 
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-rdfcore-wg/2003Feb/0149.html.

The intent of these combined changes is to avoid making specific statements 
about the expressive power of RDF, but to indicate some limits on the kinds 
of information that RDF might express, and to avoid any suggestion of 
universality.

#g
--

Revised text for the archive:

[[
2.2.6 Anyone can make statements about any resource

To facilitate operation at Internet scale, RDF is an open-world framework 
that allows anyone to make statements about any resource.

In general, it is not assumed that complete information about any resource 
is available. RDF does not prevent anyone from making assertions that are 
nonsensical or inconsistent with other statements, or the world as people 
see it. Designers of applications that use RDF should be aware of this and 
may design their applications to tolerate incomplete or inconsistent 
sources of information.
]]

[[
3.5 RDF expression of simple facts

RDF provides a framework to make information about resources readily 
accessible for automated processing. It is domain neutral, so a broad range 
of information can be expressed, and diverse kinds of information may be 
combined in a single RDF graph.

A simple fact expressed in RDF may indicate a relationship between two 
resources, in the form of an RDF triple in which the predicate names the 
relationship, and the subject and object denote the two resources. A 
familiar representation of such a fact might be as a row in a table of a 
relational database, where the table has two columns corresponding to the 
subject and the object of the RDF triple. The name of the table corresponds 
to the predicate of the RDF triple. Another representation may be as a two 
place predicate in first order logic.

Other simple facts may involve assertion of a relationship between three or 
more resources (e.g. corresponding to relational database table with three 
or more columns). Multiple RDF statements can be used together to express 
this kind of information, as discussed in section 2.3 of the [RDF-PRIMER].

Through its use of extensible URI-based vocabularies, RDF provides for 
expression of facts about arbitrary subjects; i.e. assertions of named 
properties about identified things. A URI can be constructed for any thing 
that can be named, so RDF statements can express facts about any such things.
]]


-------------------
Graham Klyne
<GK@NineByNine.org>
PGP: 0FAA 69FF C083 000B A2E9  A131 01B9 1C7A DBCA CB5E

Received on Friday, 11 April 2003 09:33:23 UTC