- From: Kal Ahmed <kal@ontopia.net>
- Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001 09:44:15 +0100
- To: "Seth Russell" <seth@robustai.net>, "Danny Ayers" <danny@panlanka.net>, "RDF-IG" <www-rdf-interest@w3.org>
Seth Russel wrote: > > From: "Danny Ayers" <danny@panlanka.net> > > > let me rephrase that - the resource isn't a thing (entity) at > all, it's a > > mapping to a thing. > > So a mapping is not a thing? I think "entity" and "thing" are > synonyms .. > i am happy with either; but whichever we choose it cannot exclude anything > that we can possibly think about. The concept of Resource is too > restrictive, and that is my trouble with it. > The XTM (XML Topic Maps [1]) conceptual model starts out with a base class of Subject - a subject is anything about which an assertion can be made (which I guess equates to "thing"). However, a Subject in the XTM-CM has two subclasses: Resource (a Subject which has identity within the bounds of a computer system) and Non-Addressable Subject (anything else). XTM allows a Non-Addressable Subject to be identified by a collection of Resource objects which describe the Non-Addressable Subject. This is pretty powerful! E.g. "XML Topic Maps" is a Non-Addressable Subject (it has to be - it is a concept). However, the Subject "XML Topic Maps" is described by the Resource http://www.topicmaps.org/xtm/1.0/. On the other hand, the XTM 1.0 Specification (HTML format) is a Resource with the address http://www.topicmaps.org/xtm/1.0/. > >Think you're off the mark though - without a name, anonymous, ok. But > things > >without an identity, no-things? > > Well I think we're agreeing here, arn't we? Just because it > doesn't have an > identity, doesnt mean it is nothing. <snip> Absolutely! Things with no identity are not nothing, they are simply unidentifiable within the bounds of a computer system. With the development of new identification schemes, things may move from Non-Addressable Subject to Resource over time. Cheers, Kal [1] http://www.topicmaps.org/xtm/1.0/
Received on Monday, 9 April 2001 08:40:50 UTC