Hi Kingsley,
Thank you very much for your reply! Very satisfied with this response.
This answer should be in text books.
I would summarize this thread as:
Question: Why do we refer to real-world concepts using HTTP URIs? You
cannot GET them over HTTP anyway?
Answer: Because words denote things. The World Wide Web's architecture,
via HTTP URIs, caters to the natural language needs of denotation,
connotation using sentences or statements.
Kind regards,
Pieter
On 2014-07-18 13:12, Kingsley Idehen wrote:
On 7/16/14 9:55 AM, Pieter Colpaert wrote:
Hi list,
Short version:
I want real-world concepts to be able to have a URI without a
"http://";. You cannot transfer any real-world concept over an
Internet protocol anyway. Why I would consider changing this can be
* If you don't agree, why?
* If you do agree, should we change the definition of a URI? Will
this break existing Linked Data infrastructure?
Pieter,
Short response:
Words denote things.
Terms are words with the added quality of meaning de-reference
(lookup) i.e., they have the combined qualities of denotation and
connotation resolution.
A word and a term are slightly different [1].
In natural language (system of signs, syntax, and relation semantics)
you construct sentences and statements using words and terms,
respectively.
The World Wide Web's architecture, via HTTP URIs, caters to the
natural language needs of denotation, connotation using sentences or
statements.
RDF enables the use of IRIs (as words) to denote things (entities)
described using sentences.
RDF based Linked Data specifically enables the use of HTTP URIs (as
terms) to denote things (entities) described using statements.
Longer response:
"Pieter" denotes entity "You". How do I obtain a description of you
via the Web medium without an HTTP URI that denotes you in such a way
that when said URI is looked up get a document back that describes you?
From this post, I can discern the following:
1. "Pieter" is your first-name.
2. "Colpaert" is your last-name.
3. <mailto:[email protected]> is your Email address -- you have
a mailbox provided by a mail server denoted by the DNS identifier
<dns:ugent.be> .
I could make a concise machine and human comprehensible description of
you as follows:
## Turtle Start ##
<>
<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type>
<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Document>;
<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#label> "About: Pieter Colpaert" ;
<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#comment> """Information gleaned
from an LOD mailing list thread about Pieter Colpaert""" ;
<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/primaryTopic><#PieterColpaert> ;
<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#seeAlso> <http://bit.ly/1fqJ5yv> .
<#PieterColpaert>
<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type>
<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Agent> ;
<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/name> "Pieter Colpaert" ;
<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/mbox> <mailto:[email protected]> .
## Turtle End ##
Conclusion:
The architecture of the Web (AWWW) isn't the problem, so we don't need
to change anything. If you want to provide application / service
specific tweaks to users (end-users or developers) simply build those
into the relevant solution, by simply leveraging what the underlying
architecture of the Web offers to you.
A Web Document is a connotation vehicle. Like a piece of paper, so to
speak. Its something totally distinct from:
[1] what's denoted by an identifier
[2] what's described using a sentence or statement.
If we couldn't use our senses to distinguish between a movie
projection canvas and an actual motion picture, how would we even make
out the movie from the projection canvas? The Web is just another
medium in which old rules (which existed before its creation) still
apply.
BTW -- "httpRange-14" denotes an overrated distraction that blurs the
fact that all we are dealing with here (i.e., in regards to Web
Architecture) are age-old concepts such as:
1. entities
2. entity denotation
3. entity connotation
4. entity relations
5. encoding and decoding of information .
Links:
[1] http://www.wikihow.com/Differentiate-Between-a-Term-and-a-Word --
difference between a Word and a Term
[2] http://slidesha.re/QEqLZN -- RDF and Natural Language
[3] http://bit.ly/WAJGCp -- Global Identifiers & Denotation in a
single slide .
