xml-dev - Re: Syntax and semantics

[Matt Sergeant <matt@sergeant.org>]

On Thu, 18 May 2000, Michael S. Brothers wrote:

> Can we perhaps have the "semi-semantic" Web (in the meantime, until 
> HAL is born) by actually assigning meaning (DTD, Schema, mapping info, 
> whatever) to the namespace URI? I know this is a point that has been 
> bloodied on these pages before, but several threads of late keep 
> bringing that possibility back into mind. Autonomous, anonymous nodes 
> can only communicate when meaning (semantics) is known to both parties. 
> The namespace URI, though created soley for the purpose of 
> deconflicting names, could take on the second purpose of providing the 
> needed information to bridge the semantic gap.

Please, go ahead and try and implement something that bridges this gap -
even feel free to bastardise the namespace spec while you do so. In the
meantime the rest of us will continue doing real work knowing full well
that the only way to get the semantic web is to either develop artificial
intelligence or to develop standard schemas that these autonomous robots
already understand without visiting their schemas.

Schemas provide no more information for the semantic web than the HTML
spec provides for understanding what a particular web page says.

-- 
<Matt/>

Fastnet Software Ltd. High Performance Web Specialists
Providing mod_perl, XML, Sybase and Oracle solutions
Email for training and consultancy availability.
http://sergeant.org http://xml.sergeant.org


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