xml-dev - Re: Default Namespaces - why don't they apply to attributes?

[Jonathan Borden <jborden@mediaone.net>]

Stefan Haustein wrote:
>
> Did you compare RDF to the serialization format included in SOAP?
> I am still in doubt which to choose for my application.

Let me answer the question without regard for healthcare specific needs.

I've designed XMOP (http://www.openhealth.org/documents/XMOP.htm) to
serialize objects. This format is similar to SOAP, but focusses on
serialization of the entire object rather than making a single method call
or property get/set.

When the application is of primary importance, it is reasonable to store
application state using something like SOAP or XMOP serialization formats.

When the *data* is of primary importance, and the application is secondary,
native XML documents are used for storage. Yes, the RDF syntax/serialization
format can be used to store the data from semantic modelling applications,
but RDF is also and more generally used as a layer on top of XML in order to
define semantics. This is the idea of TimBL's semantic web and an important
reason why RDF is a critical technology for the W3C. I happen to agree that
a world where we could navigate through semantic space would be a better
place. My main concern is that the RDF syntax may be too difficult to
understand for average joe web developer and that a concrete business case
does not yet exist for applications to use RDF, hence this semantic web may
not soon get implemented.

On the other hand, a semantically enabled global medical record might very
well be the killer application that proves the benefits of the semantic web
itself (aside from enabling more efficient internet shopping :-).

Jonathan Borden
http://www.openhealth.org