Why a Data Model for RDF ?
As support for physical/logical independence
- RDF can be stored in files, a native repository, a relational database
- RDF can be virtual, as a view of a repository, integrated sources
- RDF can be in memory, using data structures in C, C++, Java, etc
- RDF can be streamed between processes
To describe information content of RDF Statements
- to agree and reason about information content, preservation
To define semantics of a data manipulation language:
- A query language describes in a declarative fashion, the mapping between an input instance of the data model to an output instance of the data model