RE: Revised draft of CBD

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ext John Black [mailto:JohnBlack@deltek.com]
> Sent: 19 October, 2004 17:16
> To: John Black; Stickler Patrick (Nokia-TP-MSW/Tampere);
> otto@math.fu-berlin.de
> Cc: eric@w3.org; pfps@research.bell-labs.com; www-rdf-interest@w3.org
> Subject: RE: Revised draft of CBD
> 
> 
> Patrick Stickler wrote:
> 
> >> It may be more useful to ask, what form of subgraph of a graph
> >> of RDF statements might constitute an optimal body of information
> >> about a resource, given a particular URI denoting that resource;
> >> or some such.
> 
> In my previous post, this doesn't seem quite right either:
> 
> > The problem I have with the phrase "optimal body of information" is 
> > that it doesn't seem to include an objective against which the body 
> > of information is optimized. Thus I think "minimal *denotative* 
> > content" (or "minimal *denotative* body of information") is better 
> > because it specializes optimal to minimal and provides an objective 
> > function to be optimized, namely "denotative". In other words, it 
> > must be both minimal *and* denotative. Without the 
> objective function 
> > in an optimization problem, the optimum is unconstrained, see
> > http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/optimization.html 
> 
> The goal is to optimize (minimize) size, while still denoting the 
> resource. 

Great. I see that as the primary goal for CBDs as well.

"Just the facts, Ma'am, only the facts..."  ;-)


> Say the URI is http://example/people/JohnBlack. What is the 
> smallest graph that denotes me. If the graph just includes my weight 
> of 190 pounds, it describes me and it may be minimal but it doesn't 
> denote me. If it includes my entire autobiography it denotes me but 
> it is not minimal. 
> 
> Just to say a graph is an "optimal body of information" seems 
> to leave 
> out the primary objective of denoting.

Agreed, although I don't see where anyone is saying only that. It may
be that the primary objective is not expressed as explicitly as it
could be, though.

Anyway, good luck on your survey. I look forward to seeing the results.

Cheers,

Patrick

Received on Wednesday, 20 October 2004 06:45:54 UTC