RDF Introduction
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a W3C standard for describing web resources, such as the title, author, modification date, content, and copyright information of web pages.
Prerequisites
Before proceeding, you should have a basic understanding of the following:
- HTML
- XHTML
- XML
- XML Namespaces
If you wish to learn these topics first, please visit our homepage.
What is RDF?
- RDF stands for Resource Description Framework.
- RDF is a framework for describing resources on the Web.
- RDF provides a data model and syntax, allowing independent groups to exchange and use it.
- RDF is designed to be machine-readable and understandable.
- RDF is not designed for display to humans.
- RDF is written in XML.
- RDF is part of the W3C Semantic Web activity.
- RDF is a W3C Recommendation.
RDF - Application Examples
- Describing the attributes of shopping items, such as price and availability.
- Describing web event schedules.
- Describing information about web pages, such as content, author, creation, and modification dates.
- Describing the content and ratings of web images.
- Describing content for search engines.
- Describing electronic libraries.
RDF is Designed for Machine Readability
RDF is designed to provide a universal method of describing information, making it readable and understandable by computer applications.
RDF descriptions are not designed for display on the web.
RDF is Written in XML
RDF documents are written in XML. The XML language used by RDF is called RDF/XML.
By using XML, RDF information can be easily exchanged between computers using different types of operating systems and application languages.
RDF and the Semantic Web
The RDF language is part of the W3C's Semantic Web activity. The goals of W3C's "Semantic Web Vision" are:
- Web information has precise meaning.
- Web information can be understood and processed by computers.
- Computers can integrate information from the Web.
RDF is a W3C Standard
RDF became a W3C standard in February 2004.
W3C Recommendations (standards) are regarded as web standards by the industry and web community. W3C Recommendations are stable specifications developed by W3C working groups and reviewed by W3C members.
The official W3C Recommendations can be found at this link: