search

FamilySearch / gedcomx

An open data model and an open serialization format for exchanging genealogical data.
http://www.gedcomx.org
Apache License 2.0
355 stars 67 forks source link

use rdf:resource instead of xlink:href for entity references #53

Closed stoicflame closed 13 years ago

stoicflame commented 13 years ago

We have to now used the generic "xlink:href" attribute for defining references to other resources. I propose we use "rdf:resource" instead as a more explicit and consistent mechanism for referencing resources.

carpentermp commented 13 years ago

I am not opposed, but I am curious why you think it is more explicit and consistent?

stoicflame commented 13 years ago

By "explicit" I mean that it's more clear that this link is a link to another resource, as opposed to the "href", which is more general because it could include other kinds of links (e.g. link to the endpoint that creates new resources, link to the "next page", etc.)

By "consistent" I meant that it's already an established pattern in the metadata world (semantic web, dublin core) and I'm realizing more and more that we're really just in the business of publishing metadata. So it seems like we can more consistently state that by adopting some of the already-established metadata conventions.

carpentermp commented 13 years ago

So is your proposal to use rdf:resource when the reference is to one of our model entities, and to use xlink:href for things like "next page"?

I would like to comment on your statement that "we're really just in the business of publishing metadata." I agree that there is a sense in which that is true, but it makes me a little nervous to put it that way because of how some might interpret it. We are creating new genealogical entities i.e. person, record, persona, collection, etc. Some have tended to think of "records" as "metadata about images", but that is not correct since there is a many-to-many relationship between "image" and "record." Some might say that our GedcomX "record" is "metadata about an actual (possibly tangible) record." I suppose that from one point of view that is accurate, but it seems more useful to me to regard our GedcomX objects as entities in their own right, with their own data (and metadata).

stoicflame commented 13 years ago

So is your proposal to use rdf:resource when the reference is to one of our model entities, and to use xlink:href for things like "next page"?

Yes.

I suppose that from one point of view that is accurate, but it seems more useful to me to regard our GedcomX objects as entities in their own right, with their own data (and metadata).

Fair enough. I appreciate the clarification.

stoicflame commented 13 years ago

Applied at 341da36