Semantic Web for the Working Ontologist, 2nd Edition

RDFS Modeling Combinations and Patterns

The inference rules for RDFS are few in number and quite simple. Nevertheless, their effect can be quite subtle in the context of shared information in the Semantic Web. In this section, we outline a number of patterns of use of the basic RDFS features, illustrating each one with a simple example.

Set intersection

It is not uncommon for someone modeling in RDFS to ask whether some familiar notions from logic are available. “Can I model set intersection in RDFS?” is a common question. The technically correct answer to this question is simply “no.” There is no explicit modeling construct in RDFS for set intersection (or for set union). However, when someone wants to model intersections (or unions), they ...