Melvin Carvalho wrote:


2010/4/12 Kingsley Idehen <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>

    All,

    Edited, as I just realized some critical typo+errors that affect
    context.

    Hopefully, you understand what Nathan is articulating (ditto
    Giovanni). If not, simply step back and as yourself a basic
    question: What is Linked Data About?

    Is it about markup? Is it about Data Access? Is it about a never
    ending cycle of subjective commentary and cognitive dissonance
    that serves to alienate and fragment a community that desperately
    needs clarity and cohesion.

    Experience and history reveal the following to me:

    1. Standards based data access is about to be inflected in a major way
    2. The EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) graph model is the new focal
    point of Data Access (covering CRUD operations).

    Microsoft, Google, and Apple grok the reality above in a myriad of
    ways via somewhat proprietary offerings (this community should
    really learn to look closer via objective context lenses). Note,
    "proprietary" is going to mean less and less since their
    initiatives are HTTP based i.e., it's all about hypermedia
    resources bearing EAV model data representations -- with varying
    degrees of fidelity.

    **
    Players and EAV approaches:

    1. Microsoft -- OData (EAV with Atom+Feed extension based data
    representation)

    2. Google -- GData (EAV with Atom+Feed based data representation)

    3. RDF based Linked Data -- (RDF variant of EAV plus a plethora of
    data representation formats that are pegged to RDF moniker)

    4. Apple -- Core Data (the oldest of the lot from a very
    proprietary company, this is basically an EAV store that serves
    all Mac OS X apps, built using SQLite; until recently you couldn't
    extend its backend storage engine aspect) .
    **

    Reality re. Business of Linked Data:

    "Data as a Service" (DaaS) is the first step i.e., entity oriented
    structured data substrate based on the EAV model. In a nutshell,
    when you have structured data place, data meshing replaces data
    mashing.  Monikers aside, entrepreneurs, CTOs, and CIOs already
    grok this reality in their own realm specific ways.

    Microsoft in particular, already groks data access (they developed
    their chops eons ago via ODBC). In recent times, they've groked
    EAV model as mechanism for concrete Conceptual Model Level data
    access, and they are going unleash an avalanche of polished EAV
    based applications courtesy of their vast developer network. Of
    course, Google and Apple will follow suit, naturally.

    The LOD Community and broader Semantic Web Problem (IMHO):

    History is a very good and kind teacher, make it an integral part
    of what you do and the path forward becomes less error prone; a
    message that hasn't penetrated deep enough within this community,
    in my personal experience.

    **
    Today, I see a community rife with cognitive dissonance and
    desires to define a non existent "absolute truth" with regards to
    what constitutes an "Application" or "Killer Application".
    Ironically, has there EVER been a point in history where the
    phrase: Killer Application, wasn't retrospective? Are we going to
    miraculously change this, now?

    **

    Has there ever been a segment in the market place (post emergence
    of Client-Server partitioning) where if you didn't make both the
    Client and the Server, the conclusion was: we have nothing?

    We can continue postulating about what constitutes an application,
    but be rest assured, Microsoft, Google, Apple (in that order), are
    priming up for precise execution with regards to opportunities in
    the emerging EAV based Linked Data realm. They have:

    1. Polished Clients
    2. Vast User Networks
    3. Vast Integrator Networks
    4. Vast Developer Networks
    5. Bottom-less cash troves
    6. Very smart people.

    In my experience, combining the above has never resulted in
    failure, even if the deliverable contains little bits of impurity.

    Invest a little more time in understanding the history of our
    industry instead of trying to reinvent it wholesale. As Colin
    Powell articulated re. the IRAQ war: If You Break The Pot, You Own It!

    Folks, we are just part of an innovation continuum, nothing is new
    under the sun bar, context !!


+1

Just to add maybe that CRUD is just one part of the equation, after that can come aggregation, curation, self healing etc.

Now I'm trying to work out whether what you've presented is good news or bad.

http://www.w3.org/2007/09/map/main.jpg

Looking at the WWW Roadmap, are we all headed for the Sea of Interoperability or to be sucked in to a Growing Desert Wasteland?

--
    Regards,

    Kingsley Idehen       President & CEO OpenLink Software     Web:
    http://www.openlinksw.com
    Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
    <http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/%7Ekidehen>
    Twitter/Identi.ca: kidehen







All,

Interesting and poignant listening:
http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail4453.html

Dallas is to Linked Data what the Apple store is to iPhone apps. Dallas is a Data Mart, it has infrastructure for Data as a Service in place, of course it only handles OData, but the simple question for this community is this: where are the RDF based Linked Data Marts?

--

Regards,

Kingsley Idehen President & CEO OpenLink Software Web: http://www.openlinksw.com
Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
Twitter/Identi.ca: kidehen





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