Re: [xml-dev] Converting a variety of data formats, containingvarious ki

[Geert Bormans <geert@gbormans.telenet.be>]

named graphs are just a matter of convenience.
Most triple stores indeed are actually quad stores (or leave the option open at least)
Alternatives for metadata on triples do exist, some good, some bad

simplified example:

uri1 hasType "RDF-triple".
uri1 hasSubject someUri.
uri1 hasProperty someOtherUri.
uri1 hasObject someValue.
uri1 wasAddedBy bar.
uri1 wasAddedAt timestamp.

Massively cumbersome indeed, however
RDF IS reducible to RDF ;-)


----- Oorspronkelijk bericht -----
Van: "Liam R. E. Quin" <liam@w3.org>
Aan: "Peter Hunsberger" <peter.hunsberger@gmail.com>, xml-dev@lists.xml.org
Verzonden: Woensdag 5 oktober 2016 19:01:13
Onderwerp: Re: Fwd: [xml-dev] Converting a variety of data formats, containing various kinds of data into a common intermediate form

On Tue, 2016-10-04 at 13:59 -0500, Peter Hunsberger wrote:
> Forgot to copy the list on this response....
> 
> Without giving this much thought; you could probably prove that all
> data modes that are "computationally  tractable" are reducible to a
> model that is isomorphic to a triple store.

It turns out even RDF has moved away from triples - an RDF "named
graph" associates (implicitly) additional information with each triple.

For example, consider needing to track the date on which each fact was
entered into a database. If you store that as a separate triple (on
such-and-such a date triple-id foo was added by bar (oops that's four))
you need to record when that information was added and by whom. So you
end up using tyically 6 or more items rather than three. The triples
are a fiction, what Terry Pratchett, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart called
"lies-we-tell-to-children", like "an atom is an indivisible particle"
:)

So even RDF isn't reducible to RDF!

Liam

[1] https://www.amazon.ca/Science-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett/dp/00919517
04

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