Hello all,
There are many specifics regarding the current specifications for Dublin
Core Application Profiles (and the DCAM and RDF foundations they're built
on) that I'm still learning, so please do let me know if I'm missing some
background knowledge important to answering this question. In carefully
reviewing some created APs and starting to think about what an AP might look
like for something I'm working on, I'm unclear on whether or not the
"things" [1] in an AP's Domain Model need to be formally declared as RDF
classes or not.
The Guidelines for DC APs don't say this needs to be done; quite the
opposite in fact. BUT... The properties one uses to describe the "things" in
the Domain Model must be formal RDF properties (section 5 of DCAP
Guidelines) and I'm wondering if that implies formal classes are necessary
too. Let's take an example: an AP wants to use the dcterms:coverage
property. The domain for that property is defined as rdfs:Resource [2].
Doesn't that mean I can only use the dcterms:coverage property on things
that have formally been defined as classes, and specifically as subclasses
of the rdfs:Resource class?
I do understand the definition of rdfs:Resource to be, well, *everything*,
but in this environment isn't it true a "thing" in the AP's domain model
isn't actually part of "everything" until it's formally defined as an RDF
class?
SWAP [3] is frequently cited as a model for the current style of AP
specification, but I don't see offhand that the entities it is using (based
on FRBR entities) are defined formally as classes anywhere. Are they?
So is there really a requirement for formally defined properties but not for
classes? And if so, is it really OK to use these properties to connect to
things that are not classes and are not formally in the defined domains for
those properties?
Puzzled,
Jenn Riley
[1] Used as a technical term in the DC AP Guidelines. See section 4 in
http://dublincore.org/documents/profile-guidelines/index.shtml
[2] http://dublincore.org/documents/2008/01/14/domain-range/
[3] http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/repositories/digirep/index/Model
========================
Jenn Riley
Metadata Librarian
Digital Library Program
Indiana University - Bloomington
Wells Library W501
(812) 856-5759
www.dlib.indiana.edu
Inquiring Librarian blog: www.inquiringlibrarian.blogspot.com
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