Tim Berners-Lee wrote:
On 2008-08 -17, at 04:02, David Huynh wrote:
I can also explain that distinction in a different way. Parallax is
intended to be a browser, not a query builder. Personally, to me a
query builder implies a closed-world database where there are few
types and how these types are connected is understood by the user.
For example, the database might contain data about publications,
authors, and conferences. The user is assumed to be aware of how
those types are connected. The query builder can then let the user
specify patterns to match this closed graph by presenting the query
graph in some visual way. Now, if we're dealing with an open world
instead, then I don't think a query graph, and hence, a query
builder, is suitable conceptually. Parallax embodies a browsing
paradigm instead of a query building paradigm.
This is the issue which Tabulator addresses, really. See [1]. I
felt the dichotomy wasn't between browsing and query-building but
browsing and analyzing something something one has found.
Hence, the name "Tabulator", I suppose :)
The transition in tabulator comes when you have browsed a and found
and selected a subgraph and then you ask for a view of all similar
subgraphs out there in the web, with the button we now call 'find
all'. (As you have to first select a set of fields, it isn't
intuitive for the newbie. -- I like your "what on earth just
happened?" popups! Maybe it needs one of those.) The generation of
the query is query by example. It is similar, but freebase parallax
allows you to follow any relationship which presidents have, rather
than picking a specific president as an example and then generalizing.
This avoids problems of finding an example which uncharacteristically
doesn't have the direction you want.
The trouble is of course when the whole web is the database, it's hard
to suggest those relationships (connections) for a set of entities. How
might one solve that problem? I suppose something like Swoogle can help.
Is that what Tabulator uses to know what data is on the SW?
David
