xml-dev - RE: Services-based automation (WAS RE: Realistic proposals to the W3C?)

["Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@ingr.com>]

All good stuff.  I am trying to envision this in an 
n-tier framework implementation where enterprise 
designers configure a network of messages among 
servers to achieve some task (social or otherwise 
but I don't need a network with a social agenda; 
I have a wife for that).

If the inference engine is a server, 
what messages can I send it and what would I expect 
to get in return?  Can we cast the expert system 
as an advisor?  Is it a business object that provides 
constraints to transactions at the micro-level of the 
database (eg, prices of a goods, stock on hand) or at the 
macro-level (request quote, process quote) that must 
seamlessly use the micro-level transactions 
(process hierarchy)?  

Remember, we have OLAP, basic relational techiques, 
etc. and can do quite a bit of reasoning based on 
these.  How will the inference engine service improve 
a performance based around these actors?

Len Bullard
Intergraph Public Safety
clbullar@ingr.com
http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard

Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h


-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Borden [mailto:jborden@mediaone.net]


RDF schemas are intended to complement not replace XML schemas. An RDF
schema defines a semantic hierarchy, or network, of element names. The URI
created by concatenating the namespace URI to the element name identifies an
RDF Schema Class to which the instance belongs, or may identifiy an RDF
Schema Property. This is totally different than syntactic level constraints
placed by a DTD or XML Schema on an XML document.

An RDF schema defines a fragment of a semantic network which includes
instances of the classes and properties. The semantic web is at its simplest
a network of nodes and arcs (properties) which use URIs for both node and
arc names. The namespace mechanism is simply the mechanism by which XML
element names are translated into URIs identifying nodes and arcs in the
'semantic web'.

The XML model defines a node labelled directed graph. In this model, arcs or
edges have the type "element" "attribute" "CDATA section" "comment" etc.

The RDF model defines an edge labelled directed graph, for example arcs may
be labelled "color", "type.of.cheese" "type.of.sauce" "topping". This may
not seem a radical difference but understand that software which makes
inferences regarding the properties of a pizza, as represented in an RDF
graph, may be totally unconcerned about whether the "type.of.cheese" is an
attribute or an element and whether this property is serialized before or
after the "type.of.sauce" property.

Jonathan Borden
The Open Healthcare Group
http://www.openhealth.org