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: [...]

  1. 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