<h1 id="faq">FAQ<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor-heading icon-link" href="#faq"></a></h1>
<h1 id="semantic-flow-frequently-asked-questions">Semantic Flow Frequently Asked Questions<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor-heading icon-link" href="#semantic-flow-frequently-asked-questions"></a></h1>
<p>This section addresses common questions about Semantic Flow design principles and architecture.</p>
<h2 id="design-principles">Design Principles<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor-heading icon-link" href="#design-principles"></a></h2>
<h3 id="why-dont-bare-nodes-have-reference-flows-private"><a title="Private" href="https://wiki.dendron.so/notes/hfyvYGJZQiUwQaaxQO27q.html" target="_blank" class="private">Why don't bare nodes have reference flows? (Private)</a><a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor-heading icon-link" href="#why-dont-bare-nodes-have-reference-flows-private"></a></h3>
<p>Why should a namespace have to refer to something?</p>
<h3 id="why-are-there-components-at-the-top-of-a-repo"><a href="/sflo/notes/why-are-there-components-at-the-top-of-a-repo">Why are there components at the top of a repo?</a><a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor-heading icon-link" href="#why-are-there-components-at-the-top-of-a-repo"></a></h3>
<p>The repository root can be a mesh node, in which case <code>_meta/</code> and <code>_node-handle/</code> components appear at the top level. </p>
<h2 id="architecture-questions">Architecture Questions<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor-heading icon-link" href="#architecture-questions"></a></h2>
<p><em>More FAQ entries will be added as common questions arise.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Contributing to FAQ</strong>: If you encounter questions that would benefit from clear explanations, consider adding them to this FAQ section following the established pattern.</p>
<hr>
<strong>Children</strong>
<ol>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/tn4fb1v558dd7sh1r5ubh7n">Do payload nodes support DatasetSeries?</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/umdmedpk9br3elwxntbamaw">How Is a Flow Different from a Dataset Series</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/s1yduc399adt3ihvnwievrd">Reference Iri Choices</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/sc3en943aneihaipiop81dk">Should Data about a Referent Go in Its Reference Flow or a Contained Payload Flow</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/mz73fb9tuhefiycyddi2xw3">What Is the referential difference between a payload node's IRI and its payload flow's IRI</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/osqi7xn4mw3j9v0kvsoc5uo">Why Dont payload nodes Contain Distributions Directly</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/yp787tcq6sll5uxq4pn7h6l">Why Not Use Git Semantics for Versioning</a></li>
<li><a href="/sflo/notes/why-are-there-components-at-the-top-of-a-repo">Why are there components at the top of a repo?</a></li>
</ol>

Why are there components at the top of a repo?

Why don't bare nodes have reference flows?

sflo


**Dereferenceable, versioned semantic meshes** will be the foundation for a new era of knowledge graphs.

[[now]] | [[todo]] | [[principle]] | [[dev.contributor.djradon.dev-log]]

## What Is Semantic Flow?

**Semantic Flow** is a framework for managing and publishing resource identifiers, knowledge graphs and other semantic data by leveraging GitHub, Gitlab, and other free static hosting services. It enables a **dereferenceable Semantic Web** where every HTTP IRI returns meaningful content.

[[concept.single-mesh-repo]] provide storage, [[concept.mesh]] provide resource management and publishing, and [[concept.semantic-flow-site]] support data discovery and explainability.

## Benefits

- own your own self-describing data and data schemas
- complete version history when you want it
- reliable persistence
- truly FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable)

## Features

- seamlessly integrate other data sources anywhere in your mesh
- generate and customize mini-sites or single-page applications for nodes in your mesh
- see [[feature]] for a list of planned features
