> -----Original Message-----
> From: ext Chris Croome [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 30 October, 2001 15:29
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [POLL] What is at the end of the namespace?
>
>
> Hi
>
> On Tue 30-Oct-2001 at 03:06:20 +0200, Patrick Stickler wrote:
> >
> > What is at the end of a namespace? Nothing. Nada. Zip.
>
> Hmmm, unless the namespace uses a server name that has no DNS entry or
> the server has no HTTP server running then it's not going to
> be nothing
> it's going to be a 404...
Well, a 404 error basically means that there was nothing at the
end of that URL, no? That 404 error is not itself something
"at the end of the URL" but just a means for the server to
inform in a standardized fashion that one has reached a dead end.
> > And any expectation for it to resolve to anything is in error.
>
> Strictly speaking I agree, however people _will_ put the
> namespace into
> their browser to see what is there if they don't know that
> there is not
> supposed to be anything there.
>
> I don't think a 404 is a good introduction to the semantic web, I'd
> rather see some human readable text.
But human readable text about *what*?! A namespace is nothing but
a *name* *space*. It's not e.g. the Dublin Core Element Set. It's
not the Docbook document model. It's not the XHTML schema. It's
just punctuation. And the fact that e.g. DC uses a URL for the
namespace URI does not mean that it should be dereferenced.
Yes, I really do understand that the "average Joe" is confused
when he sees a URL as a namespace, and that URL has recognizable
natural language components that seem to suggest that it should
actually lead to *something*, but to actually put something there
that reinforces that misunderstanding that there would be *anything*
there only worstens the problem. No? Especially when a namespace
actually doesn't denote what you presume it to denote by attempting
to dereference it.
To speak in terms of namespaces as if they are mechanisms for
representing abstract entities such as vocabularies, ontologies,
information models, etc. (rather than just nuts-n-bolts like
angled brackets and whitespace) is not going to help us actually
find a solution to the problem of reliable, consistent,
standardized identity and access of machine (and human) understandable
information about those abstract entities.
Putting anything at the end of a namespace URI is only going
to make matters worse. Not help to make them better.
Cheers,
Patrick
--
Patrick Stickler Phone: +358 50 483 9453
Senior Research Scientist Fax: +358 7180 35409
Nokia Research Center Email: [log in to unmask]
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