On Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:10:02 -0400 David Booth <da...@dbooth.org> wrote:
> ISSUE 1: Whether there is need to use different URIs for the toucan > versus the toucan's web page. Some time ago I showed that there is no > *architectural* need to distinguish between the two: > http://dbooth.org/2007/splitting/ > (Sorry that page is a bit messy, but the reasoning is sound.) The > essential reason is that the ambiguity created by using the same URI > for both is not fundamentally different from the ambiguity that > *always* exists when a resource is defined. Hmmm... that is a good point. Concrete example: <http://example.com/toucan> identifies a particular living bird. <http://example.com/doc> identifies a document providing a description of that bird. Now, the Toucan has a brain transplant, swapping its brain with a Monkey. Does <http://example.com/toucan> now identify the Toucan with a Monkey's mind, or the Monkey with a Toucan's mind? Sounds a little contrived? But consider <http://dbpedia.org/resource/China> and think about China, the political entity, as being equivalent to the Toucan's mind; and China, the physical area, as being equivalent to its body. What happens if China's borders change, or it divides into multiple other nations? -- Toby A Inkster <mailto:m...@tobyinkster.co.uk> <http://tobyinkster.co.uk>