[x3d-public] URL resolution problem on web3d.org - for X3D Ontology Assets; X3D Semantic Web meeting minutes

[Don Brutzman]

0. Attendees: Jakub Flotynski, Don Brutzman.  Hello out there?!

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1. News:  we have a summary Web3D.org Events page that includes links to our pair of presentations in December 2019.

a. Many Public Events Provide Capstone to 2019 Progress with X3Dv4
    https://www.web3d.org/news-story/many-public-events-provide-capstone-2019-progress-x3dv4
   
b. Semantic Web Pro (SemWeb.Pro)
    https://www.web3d.org/event/semantic-web-pro-semwebpro

"The Semantic Web3D: towards comprehensive representation of 3D content on the Semantic Web" by Christophe Mouton, Don Brutzman, John Carlson, Jakub Flotyński, Felix Hamza-Lup, Athanasios Malamos, Marc Petit, Nicholas Polys, Leslie Sikos, and Krzysztof Walczak.
    https://www.web3d.org/sites/default/files/attachment/node/2436/edit/20191203-Web3D-semanticweb-SWP2019.pdf

c. International Conference on 3D Immersion (IC3D)
    https://www.web3d.org/event/international-conference-3d-immersion-ic3d

Part 2, Query Examples: Semantic Web3D: Towards Comprehensive Representation of 3D Content on the Semantic Web (paper) by Jakub Flotyński, Don Brutzman, Felix G. Hamza-Lup, Athanasios Malamos, Nicholas Polys, Leslie F. Sikos, and Krzysztof Walczak was presented at International Conference on 3D Immersion (IC3D) in Brussels Belgium, 11 December 2019.
* https://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/semantics/documentation/presentations/IC3D-JakubFlotynski-Presentation57-2D-20191208.pdf
* https://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/semantics/documentation/papers/2019_IC3D_Hamza-Lup.pdf

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2. Paper: we will adapt and refine the contents of both SemanticWeb.Pro presentation and IC3D paper/presentation for Web3D 2020 Conference, submitting a new 8-10 page conference paper.

Last year we just had a workshop and not a paper, so having a full paper this year is appropriate.  We want to encourage individuals working in 3D shape search/semantics to continue to great track record of success in the Web3D conferences.

Jakub thinks that a special paper focus might be
- evaluation of the X3D Ontology and XSLT transformation,
- performance of transformation,
- comparison of structural complexity, and
- size of X3D knowledge bases and primary scenes

Might anyone else be interested in submitting a semantics-related paper, perhaps we can organize a semantics session?  We have 19 days.

* Web3D 2020, Seoul Korea
   http://2020.web3dconference.org
   https://www.web3d.org/event/web3d-2020-conference-seoul-korea

*Paper and Poster Submission Deadline 22 February 2020*

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2. With some discussion, we think the following is the best approach for the URL/URI problem.

PREFIX x3d:  <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/x3d-4.0.xsd#>
PREFIX x3do: <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3dOntology4.0#>

Specifically:

	http://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3dOntology4.0
can map to actual file
	http://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3dOntology4.0.ttl

At a later time we might want to have alternative forms (e.g. XML or JSON-LD syntax) for this same ontology asset.  Each variation can have a specific url address, but the x3do: prefix can refer to all of them equivalently (since they will indeed be equivalent).

This makes sense and has no chance of inflicting any harm on prior work... We therefore will test this approach, Don will implement/deploy and then we can evaluate on our next group call.  You will see all of the changes reflected throughout

* X3D Ontology for Semantic Web
   https://www.web3d.org/x3d/content/semantics/semantics.html#

* X3D Specifications: Schema and DOCTYPE Validation
   https://www.web3d.org/specifications

Once everything is in place, as a courtesy we will then ask for a website redirect for the prior (currently unlinked) URI.


On 2/2/2020 7:36 AM, Don Brutzman wrote:
> X3D Semantic Web Working Group:
> 
> One long-running difficulty in use of our ontology is that the URI identifier does not also map to a URL location, making it more difficult for others to inspect our ontology.  Having an actual document at the web address matching a URI encourages adoption, aids troubleshooting and is a common best practice.
> 
> Specific example are current URIs for X3D XML Schema and X3D Ontology, we are using:
> 
> PREFIX x3d:  <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/x3d-4.0.xsd#>
> PREFIX x3do: <http://www.web3d.org/semantics/ontologies/X3dOntology4.0#>
> 
> The first resolves to an actual website address but the second does not.
> 
> The request to modify web3D.org is feasible but for various reasons has been met with reluctance.
> 
> Meanwhile twp similar solutions that do not require modifying website configuration have become evident. We can align ontology address to match the stable XML schema address, namely:
> 
> PREFIX x3d:  <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/x3d-4.0.xsd#>
> PREFIX x3do: <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/ontologies/X3dOntology4.0#>
> 
> or even the simpler self-evident URL/URI pattern:
> 
> PREFIX x3d:  <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/x3d-4.0.xsd#>
> PREFIX x3do: <http://www.web3d.org/specifications/X3dOntology4.0#>
> 
> This last pair seems most memorable and consistent.  Ease of maintenance and operation also helps reliability, avoiding potential failure modes.  Implementation is straightforward.
> 
> The majority of our X3D Semantic Web content is auto-generated so now is the time to resolve this naming issue before propagation takes off.  Hopefully we can place a redirect or warning at the prior website URL for anyone trying to use that.
> 
> As ever, good motivation:
> 
> * "The answer to your question is the response to the query." Jim Hendler and Dean Allemang
> 
> Request feedback so that we can discuss and reach consensus promptly, hopefully during weekly teleconference tomorrow Monday 3 FEB.

For next week, it is not clear if our schedules can align.  We will try and will use email/phone otherwise.

Have fun with X3D Semantic Web!  8)

all the best, Don
-- 
Don Brutzman  Naval Postgraduate School, Code USW/Br       brutzman at nps.edu
Watkins 270,  MOVES Institute, Monterey CA 93943-5000 USA   +1.831.656.2149
X3D graphics, virtual worlds, navy robotics http://faculty.nps.edu/brutzman