Re: [xml-dev] The triples datamodel -- was Re: [xml-dev] Semantic Web permathread, iteration n+1

[Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@metalab.unc.edu>]

At 7:17 AM +0200 6/8/04, Henrik Martensson wrote:

>You will also have to work on maintaining these 50 stylesheets
>continuously, because things will keep changing. And you will have to
>make sure that these 50 stylesheets are also used at the other 49 sites,
>and that the continuosly update with new versions of your stylesheets.

No, what you're proposing is just a variation of the one true schema 
fallacy. There's no one true collection of stylesheets, either. 
You're effectively proposing everyone process the documents in the 
same way by the using the same stylesheets. Earlier the proposal was 
to make everyone process the document sin the same by using the same 
schema. Each approach ahs the fundamental mistake of assuming 
dfifferent groups must process the document the same way,. In fact, 
different sites will have different needs and different processes and 
therefore different internal formats they will use XSLT (or other 
technologies) to transform into. Each organization maintains those 
transforms that meet its needs.

Yes, as new formats are discovered, new stylesheets will need to be 
added to process the new formats. Again, in practice this isn't all 
that hard, and it's essential for the world envisioned by the web 
semanticists in which computers communicate and negotiate without 
preexisting contracts or agreements. Once more trying to steer this 
discussion back on track, the original dispute was whether doing this 
required the triples data model of RDF, or whether plain 
XML+namespaces was sufficient. If I'm reading you right, you don't 
believe this is possible at all.
-- 

   Elliotte Rusty Harold
   elharo@metalab.unc.edu
   Effective XML (Addison-Wesley, 2003)
   http://www.cafeconleche.org/books/effectivexml
   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0321150406/ref%3Dnosim/cafeaulaitA