Re: reifying variables

From: Sandro Hawke (sandro@w3.org)
Date: 02/12/04

  • Next message: Peter F. Patel-Schneider: "Re: reifying variables" 
    > From: Sandro Hawke <sandro@w3.org>
> Subject: Re: reifying variables 
> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 08:08:30 -0500
> 
> > 
> > > > So SWRL makes no claim to get it right, which is okay, but of course
> > > > this means it's not really an "RDF Concrete Syntax", it's an "RDF-Like
> > > > Concrete Syntax."   Not so good.
> > > 
> > > Well, this is probably the best that can be done.
> > 
> > In what way is it better to use an "RDF-Like" syntax?  That seems to
> > me like the worst of both world -- all the syntactic beauty and
> > convenience elegance of RDF/XML, plus all the standard-ness of the
> > <blink> tag.
> > 
> >   -- sandro
> 
> Technically I don't see any reason to use an RDF syntax whatsoever.
> However, using RDF syntax has appeared to be the price to enter the
> Semantic Web arena.

I understand Jim Hendler made it the price of admission to the DAML
program, when he was Program Manager.  Beyond that, I'm not sure.  I
think the W3C gives mixed signals, sometimes using n3 instead.  I've
sometimes campaigned unsuccessfully for a standard meta-language, in
which the syntax and semantics of practical data languages are
described.

In any case, using an "RDF-Like" syntax is using counterfeit money and
I suspect is only accepted as the price of admission by mistake.  I
apologize for not noticing and commenting on SWRL doing this back in
November.

> I would be much, much happier if the Semantic Web had multiple syntaxes.  I
> have argued this in the past, to no avail, and have even written papers
> proposing multiple-syntax versions of the Semantic Web.  I don't see any
> technical reasons to not go to a multiple-syntax version of the Semantic
> Web.

You would agree there's a cost to each new language, right?  Having
hundreds of languages isn't practical (unless some meta-language
approach is used, but then there aren't really hundreds of languages).
I've occasionally heard the observation that markets can generally
support two standards.  In this case, RDF/XML sets a pretty low bar
for the competition.  I think the RDF model itself is a pretty high
bar, but time will tell.

    -- sandro

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