On Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 12:41:57PM +1100, Flack, Irvin wrote:
> One specific comment: in the context of the MyBookCase example, it's not
> clear why the dcterms:language property should take a non-literal value,
> given that a literal value would seem to do the job adequately in this
> context. I know this is covered by the later note "When using an
> existing property, the choice between a literal and non-literal range
> will usually be mandated by the official definition" but I don't think
> it's clear why dc originally decided a non-literal is required for that
> property.
Thank you very much for the comment!
While it is true that one might typically identify a language
using a three-letter code from ISO 639-3 or tag from RFC
4646 -- a string with a datatype (Syntax Encoding Scheme) --
giving dcterms:language a "literal" range would have _limited_
the property to be used with a value string.
With a non-literal range, dcterms:language can be used not just
with a value string, but also (or alternatively) with a URI
identifying the language. choice, Defining dcterms:language
with a non-literal range makes the property more flexible to
use because it accommodates this choice.
Tom
--
Dr. Thomas Baker <[log in to unmask]>
Director, Specifications and Documentation
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative
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