Re: RDF "Language": definitions?

> As far as RSS is concerned, it can't be described by W3C XML Schema,
> Relax or DTD since we have clearly stated that the order of the elements
> wasn't significant...

Even worse with Dublin Core, it's just a set of elements with no structure
at all, as far as I can tell. And yet RSS and DC are meant to be modular -
how can they be when they have no real content model?
Also, we need a way to tie that to the namespace.

> One of the things I have learned during 6 months of work on RSS 1.0 is
> that the syntax isn't what it's the most important thing and that we
> rather need a way to describe a data model --not necessarly tighed to
> XML.

Ah, that's a real burning issue then. I think that's a pretty essential step
at the moment. I'll bet it's putting a lot of people off creating RDF based
langauges.

> The main problem with this approach is that XML 1.0 (and namespaces and
> RDF in a lesser proportion) is really the core that a bunch of people
> designing a spec is sharing and that it would probably be a challenge to
> agree on a design methodology.

Surely it would be that hard to create a data model for RDF languages in
XML? You could have a set of descriptions:

     <rdfelement name="myelement"
       base="root"
       suggestedcontent="myothelement | mylastelement+"
       usage="global"
       description="A root element for my RDF language"/>

     <rdfelement name="myotherelement"
       base="any"
       content="rdf:value"
       usage="global"
       description="An any level element for my RDF language"/>

     <rdfattribute name="myattribute"
       applies="myelement"
       content="CDATA"
       description="An attribute for myelement"/>

and so on. Why not? It would be a pretty easy syntax to create and use. Just
a set of simple rules like "use this element anywhere", "this should be an
attribute", "this ideally is a root element", "this element can be used
with", etc., and drafted in XML. It would be easy to write a DTD for as
well.

> My 0,02 Euros.

I'd say your opinion is worth a lot more than that!

Kindest Regards,
Sean B. Palmer
http://xhtml.waptechinfo.com/swr/
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/
"Perhaps, but let's not get bogged down in semantics."
   - Homer J. Simpson, BABF07.

Received on Wednesday, 15 November 2000 13:30:15 UTC