Some developing thoughts on a patch format for RDF graphs (and datasets)
happening.
Unfinished, work-in-progress:
http://afs.github.io/rdf-patch/
This could serve as an HTTP PATCH format which would make managing
graphs much easier.
Background:
An encoding into the RDF Abstract data model, then using some concrete
RDF syntax, would reuse some tools (parsers, writers) but fails on two
major grounds:
1/ Handling of blank nodes
Try adding to list, or deleting a list. Whether you like blank nodes or
not, they exist and people use them.
2/ Requires gathering together the changes to get the set of triples to
delete and set of triples to add which isn't necessary the order changes
were made in.
So RDF-encoded forms may provide high-level ways to talk about patches
but in deployment terms have limitations.
The RDF Patch format is reasonably easy to implement - the additional
work given access to the lexer from a Turtle parser is not great. It's
CSV-like.
Andy
