Is "Model" part of the RDF model?

RDF API's Stanford [1] and Jena [2] seem to share the concept of a
"Model" defined as a "container of triples" or "a set of Statements"
respectively and not to be confused with *the* RDF model.

There is no explicit concept of a Model mentioned in the formal RDF
definition [3], so my question is: is Model just an API mechanism or
is it actually an extension to RDF in disguise?

I suspect the latter because the  distribution of statements among
Model entities may influence the outcome of inferences and queries.
For example, one might select among conflicting statements based on
their provenance i.e. based on the Model that contains them.

Indeed, in the Stanford API the Model has a source URI so it can
correspond to an RDF document. But again, is "document" a concept in
the formal RDF model or is just part of the syntax?

In our in-house RDF engine we implemented "provenance" by reifying
statements and putting them in a bag. Statements about the bag
influence the credibility of the reified statements for the purpose of
inference and queries.

In the Stanford API (but not Jena) the Model is-a Resource.  Is this
resource intended to be the same as our bag?

Any insights into this would be helpful.
Regards,
Arnold
---
Arnold deVos
Langdale Consultants
adv@langdale.com.au

[1] http://www-db.stanford.edu/~melnik/rdf/api.html
[2] http://www-uk.hpl.hp.com/people/bwm/rdf/jena/index.htm
[3] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax/#model

Received on Friday, 20 October 2000 03:36:34 UTC