a few issues...] from Dan Connolly on 2001-02-18 (www-rdf-comments@w3.org from January to March 2001) (original) (raw)
Sandro Hawke wrote: [...]
- Using the property rdf:value to link from a point in the value space (eg 10) to a point in the lexical space (eg "10") seems completely backwards.
Er... I think I remember how it got to be this way...
[I tried to confirm from the working group archives, but my searches didn't find what I was after. Anyway... ]
RDF properties are sorta like OOP properties, and one of the most popular names for a "just give me the thing as a string" property is 'Value', as in:
[[[ Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset rs("CompanyName") = "SomeCompany" rs!CompanyName = "SomeCompany"
is actually a shortcut for:
Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset rs.Fields("CompanyName").Value = "SomeCompany" rs.Fields!CompanyName.Value = "SomeCompany" ]]]
-- Preparing Your Visual Basic 6.0 Applications For the Upgrade to Visual Basic.NET http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/techart/vb6tovbdotnet.htm#vb6tovbdotnet_resolve Sat, 17 Feb 2001 01:25:04 GMT
Since we're deciding whether to invest in the name rdf:value or not, now is a good time to consider alternatives. (I copy www-rdf-comments (a) to record the design rationale for rdf:value as it is, and (b) to provide an alternative should this issue be opened again in the new RDF Core WG).
Probably a better choice would be toString, as in
[[[ public String toString()
Returns a string representation of the object. In general, the
toString method returns a string that "textually represents" this object. ]]]
-- Class java.lang.Object http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/docs/api/java.lang.Object.html#toString()
That's saying:
the number 10 has a value which is the string "10" when the correct form (IMHO) is the number 10 has a lexical representation which is the string "10" I know rdf:value is given in RDF M&S, but that doesn't make it right. We need a property lexicalRepresentation (and probably canonicalLexicalRepresentation) to be clear here. (One might possibly consider rdf:value an inverse property of those, but I think that's too vague to bother with.)
-- Sandro Hawke
-- Dan Connolly, W3C http://www.w3.org/People/Connolly/
Received on Saturday, 17 February 2001 22:26:34 UTC