RE: Atom and RDF

["Shelley Powers" <shelleyp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > I don't think the XSLT system you propose is 'that'
> > higher-order model
> > either - it might be handy for rearranging XML
> > documents, but doesn't
> > actually give you anything for the problem at hand.
> > XSLT probably passes
> > your Turing test already anyway - because it's
> > Turing-complete *, so the
> > system you describe, if possible, could be
> > constructed. (*Smart guy, that
> > Turing).
>
> I didn't propose any XSLT model. I asked that whatever
> technique you come up with for mixing namespace
> vocabularies should be able to solve the problem of
> automatically converting an XSLT processor to an EXSLT
> processor since this is "simply" a case of mixing
> namespace vocabularies. I specifically stated that I
> don't believe this problem can be feasibly solved and
> neither do I believe RDF is a stepping stone to
> solving this problem.
>
> For example, let's say my ATOM entries contain a
> <dare:stylesheet /> element that contains the text/css
> stylesheet that is supposed to be used to style the
> feed content or the author element has a
> employee:level that shows someone's level in the org
> chart which is is meant to be used to sort the posts.
>
> Now how does RDF bring my aggregator one step closer
> to doing the "right thing" in this case? Even if it
> does bring us "one step closer", is the increased
> complexity worth it given that there are probably nine
> hundred and ninety nine steps to go?
>

Fair enough, it fails your Turing Test of namespace mixing -- but it brings
us closer to my Turing Test for a semantic web. Different strokes for
different folks.

As for increased 'complexity' -- as I said in Sam's comments, this bird
don't fly anymore. Sam and Aaron demonstrated that making Pie/Echo/Atom RDF
compatible isn't overly complex.

>
> My take is that RDF doesn't any practical benefit to
> mixing XML vocabularies in the general case nor does
> it even help the specific case of syndication feeds
> and news aggregators.
>
> Now there may be other benefits of using RDF with
> Pie/Echo/Atom/Whatever but solving the mixing
> namespaced vocabularies problem is not one of them.


Okay, I can live with that. If it does take us at least one step closer in
this regard, and we get the other benefits of using RDF/XML, seems to be a
win/win.

Shelley

P.S. New name for effort -- Bird, as in this Bird flies! What think?