Recommendation to Advance the Darwin Core RDF Guide to submission to DwC Issue Tracker?
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Steve Baskauf
Jul 16, 2013, 9:09:28 PM7/16/13
to TDWG-RDF TG
It is now well past the end of the 30 day discussion/comment period for
the Darwin Core RDF Guide that I called for on 2013-06-03 (see
forwarded email below for more information). Since then I have made a
number of changes to the document based on the comments and
suggestions, and they are now present in the document which can be
viewed at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OLyVFuveGX1a0Yt6Niok9FfGxkrghii-xlGYhwO8UqE/edit?usp=sharing
There are now also six informational ancillary documents which support the guide but will not become part of the DwC Standard. They can be viewed at
http://code.google.com/p/tdwg-rdf/wiki/DwCAncillary
I would now like to assess whether there is a consensus among the Task Group members to recommend the Guide as an addition to the Darwin Core Standard under the DwC Namespace Policy. I would ask that all of the core members of the TG respond to this email in one of the following ways:
1. If you are in favor of recommending the guide, you can simply state so.
2. If you are NOT in favor of recommending the guide, please state so along with a brief explanation of what issue(s) need to be addressed in the Guide in order for you to recommend it.
If you are not comfortable with posting your response publicly to the list, you can email it either to me at steve....@vanderbilt.edu or to my co-convener Joel Sachs at jsa...@csee.umbc.edu . If you are not a core member, you are welcome (but not required) to respond as well. This is not really a "vote" but an attempt to determine the degree to which there is a consensus to recommend. Joel and I will try to assess the level of consensus when the responses are all in. Please respond by 23:59 UT on Friday 2013-07-19. That is approximately three days from now.
If there is a consensus to recommend, I will create a wikified version of the Guide for broader viewing and work with the Darwin Core Task Group to submit the necessary term additions to the DwC Issue Tracker. The Guide and proposed term changes will then be presented to the tdwg-content email list for public comment with the notation that they were recommended by the RDF Task Group. If there is not a consensus, we will go back to the drawing board and try to figure out what is necessary to create a satisfactory Guide.
Thanks in advance for you attention to this matter,
Steve
-------- Original Message --------
The Darwin Core RDF Guide draft has advanced to the point where I feel that it would be advantageous to have input from this group (the RDF Task Group). The draft is a Google Doc which you should be able to view with this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OLyVFuveGX1a0Yt6Niok9FfGxkrghii-xlGYhwO8UqE/edit?usp=sharing
I believe that I have set the document up so that anyone with this link can add comments to the doc (authors should still be able to edit). I am going to call for a 30 day discussion/comment period for this group with continuous revision as issues get resolved. There is no official requirement in the TDWG standards process that requires any official record-keeping about the discussion at this point, although as always, posts to this list will be open to the public. What we need to achieve at the end of the 30 day period is a draft document which can bear the recommendation of this group as it moves to official submission as an addition to the Darwin Core standard. By my reckoning, that is a deadline of the end of the day on July 3 (pick whatever time zone you want). Given that this is likely to be the most significant actual product produced by this task group at any point in the near future, I would ask that all core members of the group read and comment on the document, either by adding to the comments in the document itself, or by posting to this list. Any other list recipients are also welcome to discuss and comment. The existing document has a number of unresolved points highlighted in yellow with marginal comments. Your suggestion about these points would be greatly appreciated, as well as feedback on the overall approach taken by the document.
What is the Darwin Core RDF Guide?
The DwC RDF Guide will be an addition to the Darwin Core standard under the Namespace Policy (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namespace/ ). The Guide itself is a Type 2 document, meaning that it is a non-normative part of the standard. It will be a parallel document to the two existing DwC Guides, the XML Guide (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/xml/ ) and the Text Guide (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/text/ ). In addition to the Guide document itself, this proposed addition to DwC includes the addition of a number of terms which will be added to the normative (Type 1) RDF document and to a human-readable term reference guide.
What are the main features of the DwC RDF Guide?
The guide includes an introduction which explains the need for the Guide and describes the major issues that the Guide will address. It does not explain RDF in detail but provides a brief introduction with examples at the level of the other Guides. The Implementation section describes the details of how Darwin Core terms should be used consistently in RDF to facilitate the development of applications that can more easily consume DwC data expressed as RDF. The Term Reference section divides the Darwin Core terms into categories according to how they will be expected to be used.
What are the important aspects of implementing DwC as RDF which are detailed in the Guide?
1. Some existing DwC terms may be used in RDF in a manner very similar to their use in text and XML.
2. The Guide introduces analogues of existing DwC terms in a new namespace dwcuri: (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/uri/) which are intended to be used exclusively with URI-referenced objects (or blank nodes).
3. The Guide recognizes that some existing text-based DwC terms cannot adequately be used in RDF and provides suggestions for alternative terms or mechanisms for expressing that information as RDF.
4. The Guide distinguishes some DwC terms as "convenience terms" whose purpose is to make text-based searching simpler. It introduces several properties intended for use with non-literal objects that would be used in lieu of the convenience terms to link to URI referenced (non-literal) objects that are further described using RDF.
5. The Guide establishes the convention that terms in the Darwin Core Type vocabulary (in the namespace dwctype: = http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/dwctype/ ) should be used as classes for rdf:type declarations rather than the organizational classes of the main DwC namespace (dwc: = http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/ ).
6. The Guide describes how the imported Dublin Core terms should be used as RDF in a manner consistent with their DCMI definitions.
What does the DwC RDF Guide NOT do?
The Guide does not describe a domain model. It does not define ontological relationships among Darwin Core classes. It does not mint object properties to link the main DwC classes.
What comes after this?
This draft Guide refers to helpful ancillary material that is not part of the DwC standard itself. This kind of material already exists on the DwC Google Code site (http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/ ). The ancillary material will provide more complex examples and suggestions for using terms outside of Darwin Core to achieve some of the purposes of the more complicated text-object terms. Some of this material has already been written and it will be developed as the process goes on. However, since it is not part of the standard, there is no particular requirement that this material be subjected to any official ratification process.
After the Guide document evolves into a form that can be supported by this task group, it will be put out for comment to the broader TDWG community during an official 30 day public comment period. At the same time, term definitions of new terms and term changes required by the guide will be introduced via the normal method (the DwC Issue tracker). If the revised Guide and term changes are accepted by the TDWG Executive, the Darwin Core standard will be updated to incorporate the set of changes included in the proposal.
Thanks to my co-authors, John Wieczorek, John Deck, Campbell Webb, and Mark Schildhauer for working with me on this document and for their future help in making the necessary revisions.
Steve Baskauf
TDWG RDF/OWL co-convener
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TDWG RDF/OWL Task Group" group.
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OLyVFuveGX1a0Yt6Niok9FfGxkrghii-xlGYhwO8UqE/edit?usp=sharing
There are now also six informational ancillary documents which support the guide but will not become part of the DwC Standard. They can be viewed at
http://code.google.com/p/tdwg-rdf/wiki/DwCAncillary
I would now like to assess whether there is a consensus among the Task Group members to recommend the Guide as an addition to the Darwin Core Standard under the DwC Namespace Policy. I would ask that all of the core members of the TG respond to this email in one of the following ways:
1. If you are in favor of recommending the guide, you can simply state so.
2. If you are NOT in favor of recommending the guide, please state so along with a brief explanation of what issue(s) need to be addressed in the Guide in order for you to recommend it.
If you are not comfortable with posting your response publicly to the list, you can email it either to me at steve....@vanderbilt.edu or to my co-convener Joel Sachs at jsa...@csee.umbc.edu . If you are not a core member, you are welcome (but not required) to respond as well. This is not really a "vote" but an attempt to determine the degree to which there is a consensus to recommend. Joel and I will try to assess the level of consensus when the responses are all in. Please respond by 23:59 UT on Friday 2013-07-19. That is approximately three days from now.
If there is a consensus to recommend, I will create a wikified version of the Guide for broader viewing and work with the Darwin Core Task Group to submit the necessary term additions to the DwC Issue Tracker. The Guide and proposed term changes will then be presented to the tdwg-content email list for public comment with the notation that they were recommended by the RDF Task Group. If there is not a consensus, we will go back to the drawing board and try to figure out what is necessary to create a satisfactory Guide.
Thanks in advance for you attention to this matter,
Steve
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | [tdwg-rdf: 183] Darwin Core RDF Guide ready for comment by the RDF Task Group |
|---|---|
| Date: | Mon, 3 Jun 2013 20:22:22 -0500 |
| From: | Steve Baskauf <steve....@vanderbilt.edu> |
| Reply-To: | <tdwg...@googlegroups.com> |
| Organization: | Vanderbilt University Dept. of Biological Sciences |
| To: | <tdwg...@googlegroups.com> |
The Darwin Core RDF Guide draft has advanced to the point where I feel that it would be advantageous to have input from this group (the RDF Task Group). The draft is a Google Doc which you should be able to view with this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OLyVFuveGX1a0Yt6Niok9FfGxkrghii-xlGYhwO8UqE/edit?usp=sharing
I believe that I have set the document up so that anyone with this link can add comments to the doc (authors should still be able to edit). I am going to call for a 30 day discussion/comment period for this group with continuous revision as issues get resolved. There is no official requirement in the TDWG standards process that requires any official record-keeping about the discussion at this point, although as always, posts to this list will be open to the public. What we need to achieve at the end of the 30 day period is a draft document which can bear the recommendation of this group as it moves to official submission as an addition to the Darwin Core standard. By my reckoning, that is a deadline of the end of the day on July 3 (pick whatever time zone you want). Given that this is likely to be the most significant actual product produced by this task group at any point in the near future, I would ask that all core members of the group read and comment on the document, either by adding to the comments in the document itself, or by posting to this list. Any other list recipients are also welcome to discuss and comment. The existing document has a number of unresolved points highlighted in yellow with marginal comments. Your suggestion about these points would be greatly appreciated, as well as feedback on the overall approach taken by the document.
What is the Darwin Core RDF Guide?
The DwC RDF Guide will be an addition to the Darwin Core standard under the Namespace Policy (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namespace/ ). The Guide itself is a Type 2 document, meaning that it is a non-normative part of the standard. It will be a parallel document to the two existing DwC Guides, the XML Guide (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/xml/ ) and the Text Guide (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/text/ ). In addition to the Guide document itself, this proposed addition to DwC includes the addition of a number of terms which will be added to the normative (Type 1) RDF document and to a human-readable term reference guide.
What are the main features of the DwC RDF Guide?
The guide includes an introduction which explains the need for the Guide and describes the major issues that the Guide will address. It does not explain RDF in detail but provides a brief introduction with examples at the level of the other Guides. The Implementation section describes the details of how Darwin Core terms should be used consistently in RDF to facilitate the development of applications that can more easily consume DwC data expressed as RDF. The Term Reference section divides the Darwin Core terms into categories according to how they will be expected to be used.
What are the important aspects of implementing DwC as RDF which are detailed in the Guide?
1. Some existing DwC terms may be used in RDF in a manner very similar to their use in text and XML.
2. The Guide introduces analogues of existing DwC terms in a new namespace dwcuri: (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/uri/) which are intended to be used exclusively with URI-referenced objects (or blank nodes).
3. The Guide recognizes that some existing text-based DwC terms cannot adequately be used in RDF and provides suggestions for alternative terms or mechanisms for expressing that information as RDF.
4. The Guide distinguishes some DwC terms as "convenience terms" whose purpose is to make text-based searching simpler. It introduces several properties intended for use with non-literal objects that would be used in lieu of the convenience terms to link to URI referenced (non-literal) objects that are further described using RDF.
5. The Guide establishes the convention that terms in the Darwin Core Type vocabulary (in the namespace dwctype: = http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/dwctype/ ) should be used as classes for rdf:type declarations rather than the organizational classes of the main DwC namespace (dwc: = http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/ ).
6. The Guide describes how the imported Dublin Core terms should be used as RDF in a manner consistent with their DCMI definitions.
What does the DwC RDF Guide NOT do?
The Guide does not describe a domain model. It does not define ontological relationships among Darwin Core classes. It does not mint object properties to link the main DwC classes.
What comes after this?
This draft Guide refers to helpful ancillary material that is not part of the DwC standard itself. This kind of material already exists on the DwC Google Code site (http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/ ). The ancillary material will provide more complex examples and suggestions for using terms outside of Darwin Core to achieve some of the purposes of the more complicated text-object terms. Some of this material has already been written and it will be developed as the process goes on. However, since it is not part of the standard, there is no particular requirement that this material be subjected to any official ratification process.
After the Guide document evolves into a form that can be supported by this task group, it will be put out for comment to the broader TDWG community during an official 30 day public comment period. At the same time, term definitions of new terms and term changes required by the guide will be introduced via the normal method (the DwC Issue tracker). If the revised Guide and term changes are accepted by the TDWG Executive, the Darwin Core standard will be updated to incorporate the set of changes included in the proposal.
Thanks to my co-authors, John Wieczorek, John Deck, Campbell Webb, and Mark Schildhauer for working with me on this document and for their future help in making the necessary revisions.
Steve Baskauf
TDWG RDF/OWL co-convener
-- Steven J. Baskauf, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer Vanderbilt University Dept. of Biological Sciences postal mail address: PMB 351634 Nashville, TN 37235-1634, U.S.A. delivery address: 2125 Stevenson Center 1161 21st Ave., S. Nashville, TN 37235 office: 2128 Stevenson Center phone: (615) 343-4582, fax: (615) 322-4942 If you fax, please phone or email so that I will know to look for it. http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TDWG RDF/OWL Task Group" group.
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-- Steven J. Baskauf, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer Vanderbilt University Dept. of Biological Sciences postal mail address: PMB 351634 Nashville, TN 37235-1634, U.S.A. delivery address: 2125 Stevenson Center 1161 21st Ave., S. Nashville, TN 37235 office: 2128 Stevenson Center phone: (615) 343-4582, fax: (615) 322-4942 If you fax, please phone or email so that I will know to look for it. http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
John Deck
Jul 18, 2013, 8:32:04 PM7/18/13
to tdwg...@googlegroups.com
Steve,
I'm in favor of recommending the "Darwin Core RDF Guide" as a Darwin Core Standard under the DwC Namespace Policy. Thanks for all your work in navigating some tricky ground!
John Deck
Steve Baskauf
Jul 18, 2013, 8:58:10 PM7/18/13
to TDWG-RDF TG
Just a reminder that we would appreciate a response within the next 24
hours to the question of whether you favor recommending the DwC RDF
Guide for submission or not (see below). Please respond by 23:59 UT on
Friday 2013-07-19.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Steve
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | [tdwg-rdf: 239] Recommendation to Advance the Darwin Core RDF Guide to submission to DwC Issue Tracker? |
|---|---|
| Date: | Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:09:28 -0500 |
| From: | Steve Baskauf <steve....@vanderbilt.edu> |
| Reply-To: | <tdwg...@googlegroups.com> |
| Organization: | Vanderbilt University Dept. of Biological Sciences |
| To: | TDWG-RDF TG <tdwg...@googlegroups.com> |
|---|
Bob Morris
Jul 18, 2013, 9:45:07 PM7/18/13
to tdwg...@googlegroups.com
I recommend it for submission
Robert A. Morris
Emeritus Professor of Computer Science
UMASS-Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd
Boston, MA 02125-3390
IT Staff
Filtered Push Project
Harvard University Herbaria
Harvard University
email: morri...@gmail.com
web: http://efg.cs.umb.edu/
web: http://wiki.filteredpush.org
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~ram
===
The content of this communication is made entirely on my
own behalf and in no way should be deemed to express
official positions of The University of Massachusetts at Boston or Harvard University.
Emeritus Professor of Computer Science
UMASS-Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd
Boston, MA 02125-3390
IT Staff
Filtered Push Project
Harvard University Herbaria
Harvard University
email: morri...@gmail.com
web: http://efg.cs.umb.edu/
web: http://wiki.filteredpush.org
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~ram
===
The content of this communication is made entirely on my
own behalf and in no way should be deemed to express
official positions of The University of Massachusetts at Boston or Harvard University.
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Éamonn Ó Tuama [GBIF]
Jul 19, 2013, 8:01:46 AM7/19/13
to tdwg...@googlegroups.com
Hi Steve,
I am in favour of recommending the submission of the DwC RDF Guide. I have made a few minor comments. Thank you for putting so much effort into this.
Éamonn
greg whitbread
Jul 20, 2013, 7:54:34 AM7/20/13
to tdwg...@googlegroups.com
+1 For recommending submission.
--
Greg Whitbread
Australian National Botanic Gardens
Australian National Herbarium
+61 2 62509482
g...@anbg.gov.au
Thank you Steve.
Greg
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Greg Whitbread
Australian National Botanic Gardens
Australian National Herbarium
+61 2 62509482
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