1.6 Going Forward

The RDF Core Working Group spent considerable time ensuring that the RDF specifications answered as many questions as possible. There is no such thing as a perfect specification, but the group did its best under the constraints of maintaining connectivity with its charter and existing uses of RDF/XML.

RDF/XML has been used enough in so many different applications that I consider it to be at a release level with the publication of the current RDF specification documents. In fact, I think you'll find that the RDF specification will be quite stable in its current form after the documents are released—it's important that the RDF specification be stabilized so that we can begin to build on it. Based on this hoped-for stability, you can use the specification, including the RDF/XML, in your applications and be comfortable about future compatibility.

We're also seeing more and more interest in and use of RDF and its associated RDF/XML serialization in the world. I've seen APIs in all major programming languages, including Java, Perl, PHP, Python, C#, C++, C, and so on. Not only that, but there's a host of fun and useful tools to help you edit, parse, read, or write your RDF/XML documents. And most of these tools, utilities, APIs, and so on are free for you to download and incorporate into your current work.

With the release of the RDF specification documents, RDF's time has come, and I'm not just saying that because I wrote this book. I wrote this book because I believe that RDF is now ready for prime time.

Now, time to get started.