RDFme: a RDF drupal module

Yeah, I'm familiar with the RDF CCK module. In fact, it was the base of my module. The problem with RDF CCK was the RDF mapping, that it was IMHO limited for the requirements of the thesis/project. If you try my module you will see that you can define subclasses, patterns. For example, this is an output from my module:

I think you cannot have this kind of flexibility with RDF CCK.
You have an example instance at: http://www.fernandotapiarico.com/apps/rdfme-opal/

The menu:

• Namespaces:same as RDF module, the base is an EVOC module modified. The reason of modified EVOC module was to retrieve the deprecated classes and properties (that info is used on the mapping)
• Import RDF data:it imports node/comments in RDF/RDFa format. ARC library is required. That's the buggie part
• Import/export RDF mapping:use to import/export the mappings to facilitate migration between systems.
• RDF mapping:the main function of the module. It allows to map RDF properties to CCK and normal content. Same as RDF CCK, but with more options: patterns, subclasses, deprecated classes/properties checking and so on

Hope you enjoy the module
Cheers

Fernando

use the "admin/admin" account to login into the instance. Once you get logged into the platform, you will see a "Modules" block on the right side where you can find all the menu I described above.

The reason of forking EVOC was to have a module in a package, instead of: module + evoc + patch. I thought that it's a lot easier for the final user to have it in this way. I used RDF CCK as base, but now the module really differs from RDF CCK, that's why I didn't think on extending other modules.

Hi Fernando,

I logged into the demo, and I see all the RDF mappings, but there is no Drupal content created yet. Apart from the import/export functionality, the main goal is to offer RDF representations of content, correct?

When I installed the module on my own system the layout of the RDF mapping forms was very broken. I assume this is because you developed using a custom theme. On your demo it looks good, but you should also ensure that it works well on Garland and other decent themes.

Another thing, I'm getting lots of PHP strict warnings. Ideally you want to turn on strict error reporting while developing.

This is quite an ambitious module. As Lin mentioned, it would be nice if code could be shared between other projects. You mentioned this is your first module, so maybe over time you could find ways to integrate with existing projects.

Overall, nice work though :)

I do encourage you to add the comparison between your module and the existing RDF solutions to your module's page. It is very easy for users to get confused when it comes to RDF, and having multiple modules that say they do the same thing makes it even harder on the users. Here is an Open Letter that's in the Similar Module Review group, it does a good job of explaining the problems with having a bunch of different similar implementations and the possible solutions.

What you call patterns seems like it could be using tokens instead, http://drupal.org/project/token.

Also, the _rdfme_print_rdf function should be handled as a theme function. One of the great things about Drupal is its Presentation Abstraction Control architecture. To maintain the distinction between those parts, it is best to use theme functions whenever you are coding presentation layer things. There is a good presentation from DrupalCon San Francisco about Groking the Theme layer, you can find the video here and my notes on the presentation here. You can find out more about PAC architecture on Larry Garfield's blog (funny enough, if you google for PAC architecture, his is the third that comes up).

As for translation tables, you should look into how you can integrate with Drupal's native localization. I haven't done any real localization myself, so I don't know much about it, but that is one area that I know Drupal excels in and has very good modules for.

The amazing thing you get when you use Drupal is the ability to connect all these different modules together like Legos. This allows the community to standardize things like token handling so that users who install a new module don't have to learn a whole new way of replacing text... the user can just apply the knowledge that they already have about how tokens work. Beyond being a part of Drupal, this kind of programming is also a new trend in IT and CS, called integrative programming as reported in Communications of the ACM.

As Miles said, this is an ambitious project. I know how difficult it is to learn all the Drupal systems, I still struggle with it myself. I would really encourage you to start small with distinct feature requests that build on existing modules, it will really help you understand all the tools that you have available to you within Drupal and move much more quickly in your development. It will also help you meet other people who can help you develop the features you want to see.

Hello,
I want to know , why I can't create discussions on this group ?