Re: review of XML in 10 points [was: AGENDA...]

Peter, thank you for your quick work. 

"Peter F. Patel-Schneider" wrote:
> 
> Here is a stab at a replacement:
> 
> XML provides syntax for W3C's RDF, a language for expressing metadata
> (information about information).  


> RDF is the first step towards the Semantic Web, a web where not just uninterpreted data is passed between
> traditional applications, but instead one where self-describing
> information, and eventually true knowledge, can be transferred between
> autonomous agents---programs that reside in the web and that can cooperate
> with other such agents to achieve ad hoc tasks without preexisting
> agreements between them concerning the meaning of the data they exchange.

> To communicate such information, mechanisms for agreeing on the meanings of
> terms are needed, just as people need to have agreement on the meanings of
> the words they employ in their communication.  Collections of meanings for
> terms in a certain area (from "shopping" to "manufacturing") are called
> ontologies and are a necessary part of the Semantic Web.  RDF, ontologies,
> and the representation of meaning needed so that computers can bettter help
> people do work are all topics of W3C's Semantic Web Activity.



Rich sentences... how can we simplify this without losing? It's a
challenge, and this is definitely oversimplified. I haven't changed the
actual document, for fear this may introduce error as well as
oversimplification. 

DanC, would you be able to take over the Comm piece until EOD Friday?


"XML provides a foundation of structured data for the Web. RDF (Resource
Description Framework) is the first step towards the Semantic Web. The
Semantic Web isn't Web2, or a forced upgrade of what we experience
today. The Semantic Web is growing, evolving, through the creation of
languages that make it possible to build both metadata for things on the
Web, and autonomous Web programs that can transfer and make sense of
that metadata. What 'making sense' of it means in practical terms could
include negotiating prices, evaluating travel choices, scheduling
meetings, discovering... anything! XML and RDF alone are not enough to
make the Semantic Web happen - to have work happen between autonomous
programs, you have to have collections of words and meanings, and the
ability to make and agree on comparisons between those collections,
which are called Ontologies. RDF and Ontology development is happening
in W3C's Semantic Web Activity, but the early implementations we have
today, those first steps, are XML applications of RDF." 

I'm sure I've exceeded your hype limit, Peter, but I am grateful for
your efforts and corrections.

Janet

--

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Janet Daly, Head of Communications
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Cambridge, MA 02139

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janet@w3.org

Received on Thursday, 6 December 2001 23:26:38 UTC