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Re: [ontolog-forum] fitness of XML for ontology

To: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: John F Sowa <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 22:17:20 -0500
Message-id: <52F05BC0.2030206@xxxxxxxxxxx>
John B, Rich, Duane, and Kingsley,    (01)

JB
> I am beginning to think it is time for a web system designed by
> scientists, not programmers.</rant>    (02)

RC
> Good luck with that!  My experience with scientists writing specs for
> implementation by programmers shows that they don’t have a clue what
> is needed to make a rigorously effective web site.    (03)

I agree with both of you.  I worked at IBM on research projects,
on development projects, and on teaching computer science to
developers.  There is indeed a huge difference.  A pithy summary
of what happens:    (04)

  * PL/I was a camel designed by a committee of programmers.    (05)

  * Algol 68 was a camel designed by a committee of computer scientists.    (06)

My own observation:    (07)

  * The XML-based notations for the Semantic Web were designed by
    a committee of programmers and computer scientists who didn't
    understand each other's requirements or intentions.    (08)

DN
> Xml is more for back end to back end. JSON is for more back end to front end.    (09)

That's a good summary of the way things turned out.  But it's better
to design different kinds of front ends and back ends for different
purposes.    (010)

KI
> JSON is for programmers that don't want to deal with all the issues
> that swirl around XML.    (011)

XML has too many nooks and crannies inside those angle brackets.
It's very tempting to stuff in just one more option.    (012)

KI
> Nothing above (re. JSON or XML) stops these programmers making the
> eternal mistake of attempting to reduce semantics to syntax, repeatedly    (013)

Yes.  The Semantic Web got tangled up with syntax.    (014)

John    (015)

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