Re: Reviews of Self-Describing Web

Mark Baker writes:

> I don't see how the use of XHTML M12N relates to self-description.

Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out.  As I pointed out in the email 
where I first raised the issue [1], members of the TAG have suggested at 
the Bristol F2F [2], I have been encouraged to tell the RDFa 
self-description story:

| - The paragraph starting "Even though this document is of media type 
| application/xhtml+xml "  needs to be replaced with following your nose 
| through: application/xhtml+xml -> RFC 3236 -> HTML M12N -> 
| http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml -> RDFa specification

I think we all agree that the self-description story for HTTP 
representations returned with media type application/xhtml+xml runs 
through the pertinent media type registration, which is RFC 3236.  In 
fact, if I've understood correctly, it's been asserted (by Tim, I believe) 
that updating the xhmtl http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml namespace description 
to include the RDFa attributes would be sufficient to provide the 
necessary self-describing properties.  When I asked "why?", I believe that 
the answer I got was, as sketched above, that the media type registration 
referred to M12N which in turn returned to the namespace definition which 
would in turn be updated to cover RDFa.

Now, I may have misunderstood either what was being suggested or why it is 
being suggested, but before telling this story in a revised draft I 
figured I should check the pertinent specifications, which is what led me 
to the somewhat vague language in RFC 3236.  Again, if anyone can verify 
that I correctly understood the intentions of the TAG at the F2F (Norm 
seems to have confirmed that I understood the minutes correctly, as far as 
they go), and/or can clarify whether the advice I got is indeed supported 
by the pertinent specifications, I would be very grateful.  Right now, it 
looks to me like the answer is at best a "maybe", and I read Mark and 
Steven as saying "why would you tell the story that way?".

Thank you.

Noah

[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-tag/2008Aug/0116.html
[2] http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/2008/05/20-minutes#item07


--------------------------------------
Noah Mendelsohn 
IBM Corporation
One Rogers Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
1-617-693-4036
--------------------------------------

Received on Tuesday, 26 August 2008 02:53:26 UTC