identifier
Identifier references in Semantic Flow
| Semantic Flow resource type | referent | intramesh identifier |
|---|---|---|
| bare node | -nothing, (yet) | ns/ |
| data node | abstract dataset | ns/djradon-bio/ |
| abstract dataset (flow) | dataset series | ns/djradon-bio/_data-flow/ |
| concrete node dataset (snapshot) | concrete data dataset | ns/djradon-bio/_data-flow/_next/ |
| distribution | content / dataset distribution | ns/djradon-bio/_data-flow/_v1/dave-bio_v1.trig |
| abstract meta dataset (flow) | node metadata dataset series | ns/djradon-bio/_meta-flow/ |
| concrete meta dataset (snapshot) | node metadata dataset | ns/djradon-bio/_meta-flow/_current/ |
| abstract operational config (flow) | operational config series | ns/djradon-bio/_config-operational-flow/ |
| concrete operational config (snapshot) | operational config | ns/djradon-bio/_config-operational-flow/_current/ |
| abstract inheritable config (flow) | inheritable config series | ns/djradon-bio/_config-inheritable-flow/ |
| concrete inheritable config (snapshot) | inheritable config | ns/djradon-bio/_config-inheritable-flow/_current/ |
| handle | mesh node | ns/djradon/_node-handle/ |
| resource documentation | resource page (content) | ns/djradon/index.html |
| resource documentation | README file (content) | ns/djradon/README.md |
| asset tree | collection of assets | ns/assets/ |
| asset folder | sub-collection of assets | ns/assets/images/ |
| asset | content / image | ns/assets/images/logo.svg |
Example:
ns/= bare node for organizing content and minting IRIs; refers to itself as a namespacens/dave/= refers to Dave the person (data node)ns/dave/index.html= resource page about Dave (content)ns/dave-bio/= refers to Dave's biographical dataset (data node)ns/dave-bio/_data-flow/= abstract dataset (DatasetSeries) containing Dave's bio datans/dave-bio/_data-flow/_current/= current concrete dataset snapshotns/dave-bio/_data-flow/_v1/dave-bio_v1.trig= RDF distribution from version 1ns/dave/_assets/images/dave-headshot.jpg= an image asset; "attached" to the mesh, but not a mesh resource
Terminology note: “data dataset”
- “Abstract data dataset” = the DatasetSeries at
_data-flow/. - “Concrete data dataset” = a snapshot under
_data-flow/(e.g.,_current/,_vN/). - Only distributions (
*.trig,*.jsonld, etc.) are retrievable content files.
URL Senses
Content URLs
URLs that point to concrete information resources (files on disk or over HTTP):
- Distribution URLs → materialized datasets, e.g.
test.ttl,dave_v1.jsonld, etc. - Resource page URLs → e.g.
index.html - Resource documentation URLs → e.g.
README.md,CHANGELOG.md - Asset URLs → e.g.
.png,.css,.js
These are retrievable representations (materialized content).
Concept URLs
URLs that refer to concepts, entities, or abstract things, including:
- bare node URLs → Organizational containers
- data node URLs → Concepts with associated datasets
- Abstract dataset URLs → Dataset-as-persistent-concept
- Concrete dataset URLs → Specific dataset snapshots
- Handle URLs → Mesh node identities
URL Pattern Semantics
| URL Type | Trailing Slash? | Refers to… | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content URL | No | A fetchable document or asset | https://example.org/ns/foo/index.html |
| Concept URL | Yes (/) | A real-world or mesh concept | https://example.org/ns/foo/ |
Even though you might be tempted to think of a datasets as concrete things, the URLs for data nodes, abstract datasets, and concrete datasets all refer to concepts, i.e., non-retrievable entities. Only Distribution URLs refer to downloadable data, i.e., dataset distributions.
Why referent matters
Understanding what a URL refers to is crucial for proper semantic web implementation. In the past, people have tried to use content URLs to represent the things they refer to. A classic example is using http://example.org/person.html to identify a person, when it actually identifies an HTML document about the person. This conflation creates semantic ambiguity and breaks linked data principles.
Semantic Flow enforces clear referent distinctions through URL patterns: slash-terminated URLs always refer to concepts or entities, while extension-terminated URLs always refer to retrievable content. This prevents the classic "document vs thing" confusion that has plagued semantic web implementations.
Namespace-relative basing
Children
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