RE: what RDF is not (was ...)

From: Mark Birbeck <Mark.Birbeck@x-port.net>
Subject: RE: what RDF is not (was ...) 
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 13:49:58 -0000 

> > How many URIs are there?  Only countably infinite.   How many 
> > real numbers
> > are there?  Uncountably infinite.  QED.
> 
> Mmm ... I'm not a mathematician so I may be missing something, but if there
> are infinite numbers 'n', then there must be infinite strings 'xn' - i.e.,
> some prefix on any number.
> 
> Mark

Sure there can be infinite strings, but how can you work with (all of)
them?  The whole point of computing is that lots can be done with physical
devices, and they only work with finite representations.

However, not everything can be done with finite representations.  So you
have to be very careful to not claim that computers (or particular logics
or URIs or RDF) can capture everything.

peter

Received on Friday, 4 January 2002 09:05:54 UTC