Is <Description> redundant?

• From: Graham Klyne <GK@Dial.pipex.com>
• Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 12:10:32 +0000
• To: RDF interest group <www-rdf-interest@w3.org>
• Message-Id: <4.3.2.7.2.20001220120126.00b4fe70@pop.dial.pipex.com>

I has occurred to me that the "third basic abbreviation" form for RDF in 
XML, coupled with the RDF schema definition of rdfs:Resource, renders the 
<rdf:Description> element of RDF redundant.

Noting that any RDF resource is an instance of rdfs:Resource, it occurs to 
me that _any_ <rdf:Description> element can be equivalently described as:

     <rdfs:Resource>
       (content of description)
     </rdfs:Resource>

One is not prevented from placing <rdf:type> arcs in the description:  this 
must be allowed anyway to describe instances of multiple classes.

#g
------------
Graham Klyne
(GK@ACM.ORG)

Received on Wednesday, 20 December 2000 08:58:28 UTC