Re: rdf:about

It would indeed be reasonable for rdf:about to default to "self", at least 
when in the <head> of an HTML or XHTML document, but I don't see that in 
the spec http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax/#basic

All I can see there is that omitting "about" creates an in-line resource 
(to which an ID can be attached).

quote

>A Description element without an about attribute represents a new 
>resource. Such a resource might be a surrogate, or proxy, for some other 
>physical resource that does not have a recognizable URI. The value of the 
>ID attribute of the Description element, if present, is the anchor id of 
>this "in-line" resource.

end quote

(A useful construct if you want to talk about something that doesn't have a 
URI by the way).

Do we need to suggest this to the RDF folks?  Maybe make this part of the 
semantics of the RDF module for XHTML you were suggesting, viz:

"An RDF descritpion, in the <head> of an HTML or XHTML document,  that has 
no rdf:about, refers to the document in which it's contained"

Len

At 02:53 PM 11/26/00 +0000, Sean B. Palmer wrote:
>The rdf:about statement isn't a required attribute as far as I'm concerned.
>When you create an RDF summary for a page, you do so with the intent of
>either embedding that in the page, or likning to it somehow, so that the
>rdf:about attribute isn't needed. Try it! Go to:
>http://xhtml.waptechinfo.com/rdfview.html
>
>      > It would be a lot cleaner if rdf statements
>      > could have the concept of "self"
>
>If you don't set the "rdf:about" attribute, then it is assumed by default
>that you are talking about "self".
>
>      > Are the RDF people worried about this?
>      > Note that we do not have this problem
>      > with <meta> tags.
>
>Not in the slightest :-) Note that the RDF people don't see <meta> as any
>kind of "threat" to RDF!
>
>Kindest Regards,
>Sean B. Palmer
>http://xhtml.waptechinfo.com/swr/
>http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/
>http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/
>"Perhaps, but let's not get bogged down in semantics."
>    - Homer J. Simpson, BABF07.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Leonard R. Kasday
>To: w3c-wai-er-ig@w3.org
>Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2000 2:28 PM
>Subject: rdf:about
>
>
>We're talking about using RDF in a document to describe it's accessibility.
>
>But  there's something about RDF that bothers me.  Even when metadata about
>a document is in the document itself, the metadata has to include the
>absolute address of the document.  For example (this is taken from
>http://www.w3.org/RDF/FAQ#How ,
>
>quote
><rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
>          xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.0/">
>   <rdf:Description rdf:about="http://doc"
>       dc:creator="Joe Smith"
>       dc:title="My document"
>       dc:description="Joe's ramblings about his summer vacation."
>       dc:date="1999-09-10" />
></rdf:RDF>
>end of quote
>
>This is something in the <head> of a document. That rdf:about="http://doc"
>is the address of the document itself.  That raises philisophical and
>practical problems.
>
>Philisophically, it's redundant.  It's also inconsistent with using relative
>address for links, e.g. in <A href="../foo.html">.  It also smacks of GOTO
>statements.
>
> >From a practical point of view
>  - in many web shops, a web page starts as a local file, then gets moved to
>a development machine, than copied to the productionm machine.  Do we have
>to change the rdf:about each time?
>- if a page is mirrored, does each mirror have to have it's own rdf:about?
>- if a directory is moved, do all the pages in that directory have to have
>their rdf:about pages moved?
>
>It would be a lot cleaner if rdf statements could have the concept of "self"
>where the metadata refers to the document in which the rdf is contained.
>
>Is there any way to do this?  Are the RDF people worried about this?  Note
>that we do not have this problem with <meta> tags.
>
>Len
>--
>Leonard R. Kasday, Ph.D.
>Institute on Disabilities/UAP and Dept. of Electrical Engineering at Temple
>University
>(215) 204-2247 (voice)                 (800) 750-7428 (TTY)
>http://astro.temple.edu/~kasday        mailto:kasday@acm.org
>
>Chair, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Evaluation and Repair Tools Group
>http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/
>
>The WAVE web page accessibility evaluation assistant:
>http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/

--
Leonard R. Kasday, Ph.D.
Institute on Disabilities/UAP and Dept. of Electrical Engineering at Temple 
University
(215) 204-2247 (voice)                 (800) 750-7428 (TTY)
http://astro.temple.edu/~kasday         mailto:kasday@acm.org

Chair, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Evaluation and Repair Tools Group
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/

The WAVE web page accessibility evaluation assistant: 
http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/

Received on Sunday, 26 November 2000 11:18:47 UTC