RDF/Topic Maps: what's an Application? (was: Re: [topicmaps-comment]RE: OASIS vs W3C)

["Steven R. Newcomb" <srn@coolheads.com>]

[Lars Marius Garshol:]
> As for the original question: what RDF and topic maps
> do better than each other, I can only agree that the
> answer to this is less clear than it ought to be. I
> trying to work this out for myself, but so far a
> major part of the problem has been that I don't know
> what anyone would use RDF for. (I'm not saying it's
> useless, just that I am not very clueful about
> practical applications of it.)

I sympathize with Lars Marius.  It has taken me a long
time and a lot of help from very patient people to gain
any understanding about this, and I'm not satisfied
with the understanding that I have.

> I hope the community can work out the answer to this
> question, because I think it would be very good for
> topic maps if we could answer it.  It's not very good
> for credibility if we don't have an answer to this.

RDF and Topic Maps are surely different.  I believe it
is unnecessary (and therefore wrong) to think of these
two things as competing with one another, technically.
I think the competition is entirely about claims and
perceptions, many of which are clearly inconsistent
with themselves and with other perceptions even within
their respective communities.  Egad, what a mess!

I claim:

(1) A Topic Maps application can be an application of RDF.  

(2) An RDF application can be an application of Topic Maps.

(3) Topic Maps itself can be an application of RDF.

(4) RDF itself can be an application of Topic Maps.

The above four kinds of applications are probably quite
different from each other.


If we ask:

(1) Exactly what constitutes a comprehensive formal
    definition of an "application" of RDF?

and

(2) Exactly what constitutes a comprehensive formal
    definition of an "application" of Topic Maps?

we will finally be on the road to learning what's
really going on here.  

I wonder whether we can get consensus in either camp
that we should work conscientiously to achieve
consensus on how to define precisely the scope of an
application of either paradigm?

-Steve

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Steven R. Newcomb, Consultant
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