This appendix outlines an ontology for defining and relating datatypes based on the TDL datatyping scheme described above. Note that this ontology is not necessary for the application of the TDL scheme, but serves as a convenient mechanism for validation and/or interpretation of literals. It can also be used solely for defining the relations between datatypes leaving the definition of and interpretation by their lexical spaces to other applications.
The goals of the RDFL ontology are to enable one to:
The RDFL ontology borrows the basic datatyping vocabulary and semantics from XML Schema but differs from XML Schema such that:
Regular expression values must conform to the encoding defined by XML Schema.
The complete machine readable version of the RDFL schema is available here.
See Appendix B for an RDFL Definition of the
pre-defined XML Schema simple datatypes.
An rdfl:LexicalDatatype has both value space and lexical space.
Lexical space is defined lexically, by a set of inclusive and
exclusive regular expressions, and in the context of all superordinate
rdfl:LexicalDatatypes related by rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf.
Lexical and canonical spaces have no explicit URI identity. Only
the datatype itself.
rdfs:subClassOf relates value spaces only.
rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf relates both lexical & value spaces.
For any rdfl:LexicalDatatype X which is an rdfl:LexicalSubClassOf some
rdfl:LexicalDatatype Y, all members of the lexical space of X are also
members of the lexical space of Y.
The patterns defined for an rdfl:LexicalDatatype may be
dependent on patterns defined for another type, as
indicated by the value of the rdfl:patternDependencyOn
property. Prior to matching the local patterns for a
datatype, all types that it is dependent on must first
successfully match. This constraint is enforced by the
validation algorithm specified below.
Subordinate rdfl:LexicalDatatypes related by rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf
may only restrict, not extend, the lexical spaces of superordinate
rdfl:LexicalDatatypes. This constraint is enforced by the lexical
subset validation algorithm defined below, in that a lexical form
that fails to match the lexical definition of all superordinate
rdfl:LexicalDatatypes will fail to match the local rdfl:LexicalDatatype.
Canonical datatype has value space, lexical space, and canonical
lexical space. The lexical space and canonical lexical space may
be identitical.
An rdfl:CanonicalDatatype is an rdfs:subClassOf rdfl:LexicalDatatype.
rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf relates lexical, canonical, & value spaces.
Canonical lexical space is defined lexically, by a set of inclusive
and exclusive regular expressions, and in the context of all
superordinate rdfl:LexicalDatatypes related by either
rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf or rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf.
For any rdfl:CanonicalDatatype X which is an rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf some
rdfl:LexicalDatatype Y, all members of the lexical space of X are also
members of the lexical space of Y.
Likewise, for any rdfl:CanonicalDatatype X which is an
rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf some rdfl:CanonicalDatatype Z, all members
of the canonical lexical space of X are also members of the canonical
lexical space of Z.
Note that not all rdfl:CanonicalDatatypes having an
rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf relation also have an rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf
relation. Consider xsd:integer and xsd:decimal, where xsd:integer
is an rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf xsd:decimal but not an
rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf of xsd:decimal because the canonical
lexical space of xsd:integer is not a subset of the canonical
lexical space of xsd:decimal (e.g. "5" is a member of the canonical
lexical space of xsd:integer but is not a member of the canonical
lexical space of xsd:decimal).
As with rdfl:LexicalDatatype, the patterns defined for an
rdfl:CanonicalDatatype may be dependent on patterns defined for
another type, as indicated by the value of the rdfl:patternDependencyOn
property. Prior to matching the local patterns for a datatype, all
types that it is dependent on must first successfully match. This
constraint is enforced by the validation algorithm specified below.
As with rdfl:LexicalDatatypes, subordinate rdfl:CanonicalDatatypes related
by rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf may only restrict, not extend, the
canonical lexical spaces of superordinate rdfl:CanonicalDatatypes. This
constraint is enforced by the lexical subset validation algorithm
defined below, in that a lexical form that fails to match the
canonical lexical definition of all superordinate rdfl:CanonicalDatatypes
will fail to match the local rdfl:CanonicalDatatype.
An rdfl:UnionDatatype represents the definition of a superordinate
datatype shared by all of the union member datatypes. The
rdfl:memberType relation is the inverse of the rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf
relation, such that it syndicates of the definitions of the
subordinate datatypes, rather than constraining the definition of
a superordinate datatype.
An rdfl:UnionDatatype may only syndicate, but neither extend nor
constrain, the value space or lexical spaces of its members. This
is enforced by the validation algorithm below in that a lexical
form that fails to match the lexical definition of at least one
member datatype is not a valid lexical form for the union datatype.
Because XML Schema defines an explicit order of interpretation for
datatype unions, one would expect that one would define rdfl:memberType
relations using an rdf:Seq collection. E.g.
where when a specific member datatype is to be deduced for a given
literal, it is first checked to see if it is a valid lexical form
for xsd:integer, and if so, it is interpreted as an xsd:integer,
if not, then it is checked to see if it is a valid lexical form
for xsd:date, and if so, it is intrepreted as an xsd:date, else it
is interpreted as an xsd:string.
... discussion ...
Algorithm for the Validation of lexical forms:
(this is *very* informal psuedocode... will refine it into
something more formal before done...)
If any MATCH operation fails, the entire test fails.
Algorithm for the Validation of lexical forms based on subclass
relations in addition to pattern dependency relations, ensuring
lexical subset conformance for that lexical form for all
superordinate lexical datatypes:
(this is *very* informal psuedocode... will refine it into
something more formal before done...)
If any MATCH operation fails, the entire test fails.
The following is an RDF Schema definition of the pre-defined XML
Schema simple datatypes [XSD] according to the
RDFL ontology defined above, omitting any definition of their
lexical spaces.
A more comprehensive schema, presently in draft form, which includes
pattern statements defining their lexical and canonical lexical
spaces can be found here, and when completed
will be suitable for validation of typed data literals based on
the validation algoritm defined for RDFL to determine the integrity
of datatyping knowledge relating to XML Schema simple datatypes,
according to either canonical or non-canonical lexical spaces,
independent of a complete XML Schema validator.
A.1 Lexical Datatypes
<rdfs:Class rdf:about="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="&rdfs;Literal"/>
</rdfs:Class>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;lexicalSubClassOf">
<rdfs:subPropertyOf rdf:resource="&rdfs;subClassOf"/>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;pattern">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;RegularExpression"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;patternExclusion">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;RegularExpression"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;patternDependencyOn">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
A.2 Canonical (Lexical) Datatypes
<rdfs:Class rdf:about="&rdfl;CanonicalDatatype">
<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Class>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;canonicalSubClassOf">
<rdfs:subPropertyOf rdf:resource="&rdfl;lexicalSubClassOf"/>
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;CanonicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;CanonicalDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;canonicalPattern">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;CanonicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;RegularExpression"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;canonicalPatternExclusion">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;CanonicalDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;RegularExpression"/>
</rdfs:Property>
A.4 Union Datatypes
<rdfs:Class rdf:about="&rdfl;UnionDatatype"/>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;memberType">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;UnionDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfl:UnionDatatype rdf:about="#myUnionDatatype">
<rdfl:memberType>
<rdf:Seq>
<rdf:li rdf:resource="xsd:integer"/>
<rdf:li rdf:resource="xsd:date"/>
<rdf:li rdf:resource="xsd:string"/>
</rdf:Seq>
</rdfl:memberType>
</rdfl:UnionDatatype>
A.5 List Datatypes
<rdfs:Class rdf:about="&rdfl;ListDatatype"/>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;itemType">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;ListDatatype"/>
<rdfs:range rdf:resource="&rdfl;LexicalDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;length">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;ListDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;maxLength">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;ListDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
<rdfs:Property rdf:about="&rdfl;minLength">
<rdfs:domain rdf:resource="&rdfl;ListDatatype"/>
</rdfs:Property>
A.6 Validation of Lexical Forms
IF (rdfl:CanonicalDatatype)
{
MATCH every rdfl:patternDependencyOn type
IF (any rdfl:pattern defined)
{
MATCH any rdfl:pattern
}
MATCH no rdfl:patternExclusion
IF (canonical membership test)
{
IF (any rdfl:canonicalPattern defined)
{
MATCH any rdfl:canonicalPattern
}
MATCH no rdfl:canonicalPatternExclusion
}
}
ELSE IF (rdfl:LexicalDatatype)
{
MATCH every rdfl:patternDependencyOn type
IF (any rdfl:pattern defined)
{
MATCH any rdfl:pattern
}
MATCH no rdfl:patternExclusion
}
ELSE IF (rdfl:UnionDatatype)
{
MATCH any rdfl:memberType component type
}
ELSE IF (rdfl:ListDatatype)
{
IF (rdfl:length is defined AND list length not equal to rdfl:length value)
{
FAIL
}
IF (rdfl:minLength is defined AND list length less than rdfl:minLength value)
{
FAIL
}
IF (rdfl:maxLength is defined AND list length greater than rdfl:maxLength value)
{
FAIL
}
FOREACH (whitespace delimited lexical form)
{
MATCH any rdfl:itemType component type
}
}
ELSE
{
FAIL
}
A.7 Lexical Subset Validation of Lexical Forms
IF (rdf:type is rdfl:CanonicalDatatype)
{
MATCH every rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf superordinate type
MATCH every rdfl:patternDependencyOn type
IF (any rdfl:pattern defined)
{
MATCH any rdfl:pattern
}
MATCH no rdfl:patternExclusion
IF (canonical membership test)
{
MATCH every rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf superordinate type with canonical test
IF (any rdfl:canonicalPattern defined)
{
MATCH any rdfl:canonicalPattern
}
MATCH no rdfl:canonicalPatternExclusion
}
}
ELSE IF (rdf:type is rdfl:LexicalDatatype)
{
MATCH every rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf superordinate type
MATCH every rdfl:patternDependencyOn type
IF (any rdfl:pattern defined)
{
MATCH any rdfl:pattern
}
MATCH no rdfl:patternExclusion
}
ELSE IF (rdf:type is rdfl:UnionDatatype)
{
MATCH any rdfl:memberType component type
}
ELSE IF (rdf:type is rdfl:ListDatatype)
{
IF (rdfl:length is defined AND list length not equal to rdfl:length value)
{
FAIL
}
IF (rdfl:minLength is defined AND list length less than rdfl:minLength value)
{
FAIL
}
IF (rdfl:maxLength is defined AND list length greater than rdfl:maxLength value)
{
FAIL
}
FOREACH (whitespace delimited lexical form)
{
MATCH any rdfl:itemType component type
}
}
ELSE
{
FAIL
}
Appendix B: An RDFL Definition of XML Schema Simple Datatypes
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE uridef [
<!ENTITY rdf "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
<!ENTITY rdfs "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#">
<!ENTITY xsd "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#">
<!ENTITY rdfl "rdfl:">
]>
<rdf:RDF
xmlns:rdf ="&rdf;"
xmlns:rdfs ="&rdfs;"
xmlns:xsd ="&xsd;"
xmlns:rdfl ="&rdfl;"
>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;string">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;boolean">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;decimal">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;float">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;double">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;duration">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;dateTime">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;time">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;date">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;gYearMonth">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;gYear">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;gMonthDay">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;gDay">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;gMonth">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;hexBinary">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;base64Binary">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;anyURI">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;QName">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;NOTATION">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;anySimpleType"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;normalizedString">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;string"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;token">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;normalizedString"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;language">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;token"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;NMTOKEN">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;token"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:ListDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;NMTOKENS">
<rdfl:itemType rdf:resource="&xsd;NMTOKEN"/>
</rdfl:ListDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;Name">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;token"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;NCName">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;name"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;ID">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;NCName"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;IDREF">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;NCName"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:ListDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;IDREFS">
<rdfl:itemType rdf:resource="&xsd;IDREF"/>
</rdfl:ListDatatype>
<rdfl:LexicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;ENTITY">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;NCName"/>
</rdfl:LexicalDatatype>
<rdfl:ListDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;ENTITIES">
<rdfl:itemType rdf:resource="&xsd;ENTITY"/>
</rdfl:ListDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;integer">
<rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;decimal"/>
<!--
Note that xsd:integer is not an rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf but
only an rdfl:lexicalSubClassOf xsd:decimal because the canonical
lexical space for xsd:integer is not a subset of the canonical
lexical space of xsd:decimal.
-->
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;nonPositiveInteger">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;integer"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;negativeInteger">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;nonPositiveInteger"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;long">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;integer"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;int">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;long"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;short">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;int"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;byte">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;short"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;nonNegativeInteger">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;integer"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;unsignedLong">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;nonNegativeInteger"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;unsignedInt">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;unsignedLong"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;unsignedShort">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;unsignedInt"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;unsignedByte">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;unsignedShort"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
<rdfl:CanonicalDatatype rdf:about="&xsd;positiveInteger">
<rdfl:canonicalSubClassOf rdf:resource="&xsd;nonNegativeInteger"/>
</rdfl:CanonicalDatatype>
</rdf:RDF>