Dear all,
SMW is a terrific package, and is becoming more so with each passing
release. I'd like to pose a design change that I think will more closely
align SMW with various related efforts but hesitate to do so without hearing
feedback from developers more kowledgeable than I am. I've been reviewing
the smw codebase with my thoughts in mind and am beginning to conclude that
it can be done relatively painlessly.
In summary, my belief is that specification of logical resource properties
should be separable from those concerned with its physical presentation.
Preventing this however is that SMW requires that all properties of a
resource be decalred in its page; this page being one inventoried in a
namespace registered via $smwgNamespacesWithSemanticLinks. In fact I've
noticed all namespaces so registered are unfailngly {{SUBJECTSPACE}}s --
none are {{TALKSPACE}}s, and that this fact presents exploitable
opportunities to us all. (Indeed many might seriously question a semantic
wiki's design that registers any {{TALKSPACE}} as a "semantic" namespace).
So what I propose seems simple: all {{#set:}} expressions located on a page
within a non-semantic {{TALKSPACE}} are to be recorded for the page's
{{SUBJECTPAGENAME}} equivalent, whenever the {{SUBJECTSPACE}} has been
registered as being semantic. This new capability does not replace any
current functionality whatsoever, such as annotations within the content of
the presentation for a resource. Nor does this capability allow for
statements about a 'foreign' subject {{PAGENAME}}. Rather, this change is
consistent with normal wiki handling for a page's {{TALKPAGENAME}}, eg when
a {{SUBJECTPAGENAME}} is moved or deleted, then its {{TALKPAGENAME}} is
similarly moved or deleted -- mediawiki already treats the two pages as
near-inseparable aspects of a single 'subject'.
This change is also consistent with the OWL community's posture with regard
to spo statements: all should reference rdf:about, never rdf:ID; all
statements in a {{TALKSPACE}} therefore quite naturally lend themselves to
being about its {{SUBJECTSPACE}} resource. Furthermore this approach
provides a way forward to characterize multiple 'talk' statements about a
resource each with provenance & contextual metadata -- in other words,
providing the foundation for algorithms related to implmenting a "Trusted
Web", the pinnacle of the TBL pyramid.
Finally, this change addresses a potential operational problem in SMW's
design -- which interweaves resource presentation with its logical data
model -- mandating the same persons are to be responsible for both sets of
information. But this is also to say that presentation remains a critical
function! Meaning that, for instance, redlinks should only exist for pages
for which there is neither a {{SUBJECTSPACE}} nor a {{TALKSPACE}} page, ie a
bluelink is generated first to a {{SUBJECTPAGENAME}} and, if not existing,
then to a {{TALKPAGENAME}} if it does exist. And that all SF-managed
redlinks are to be routed to the {{TALKPAGENAME}} form not the
{{SUBJECTPAGENAME}} form.
I make this proposal as I incorporate Liquid Threads in my wiki, so it's my
direction that both sets of information -- logical data model and discussion
threads -- are available whenever one navigates to a {{TALKPAGENAME}}. When
one edits a {{SUBJECTSPACE}} page, its form is concerned with presentation
parameters, with a link to the form for its {{TALKPAGENAME}} ie the logical
data model for the subject-page, and vice-versa. And thinking about overall
wiki performance, this approach could actually *improve* matters for many
wikis whenever wikipage text and presentation-related properties change more
often than the resource's underlying logical properties.
To make this all work, I think mostly what I need is for the {{#set:}}
function on a {{TALKPAGENAME}} to be applicable to its subject page. It'd be
great to hear that your thinking is also along these lines and if not, that
this isn't a crackpot idea.
Thanks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xperia(TM) PLAY
It's a major breakthrough. An authentic gaming
smartphone on the nation's most reliable network.
And it wants your games.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/verizon-sfdev
_______________________________________________
Semediawiki-devel mailing list
Semediawiki-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/semediawiki-devel
