Networked Data

A webby approach to deal with dynamics of networked data

Recent years have shown the need to deal with networked data in large-scale, distributed settings. Not only must systems be scalable, elastic, and performant, but they must also address *ability (usability, manageability, etc.). One key component is doing it the webby way. The Web is the leading concrete exemplar of RESTful design, being the result of posthumous analysis of what was already working with URIs, HTTP, and HTML for a system of interlinked documents. Unfortunately, the machine equivalent of HTML is still emerging. LinkedData has achieved some powerful results; automated navigation by querying the Linked Open Data cloud shows some of the potential. However many systems also need to evolve and be evolved. This can be expressed as 'service capability' and also needs to be supported with consistency. This should aim to eliminate the wide range of non-interoperable approaches muddling the current landscape of REST APIs through exploiting hypermedia concepts.

Deliverables

Based on CG discussions and taken the output of two related W3C events, the W3C Workshop on Data and Services Integration and the W3C Linked Enterprise Data Patterns Workshop into account, the CG aims to publish the deliverables as detailed below.

Use Cases

The group provides a forum for collecting use cases including but not limited to the fields of science data (such as biology, astronomy, etc.), economics data (financial markets, etc.), health care, configuration and systems management, Green IT, and smart infrastructures (cities, etc.).

Based on the collection of use cases the CG will derive requirements and write up best practices for dealing with the dynamics of the data.

Best Practices

In addition to the use cases, a collection of best practices for dealing with Networked Data is envisioned.

Meetings

A kick-off event (F2F meeting) is considered to be helpful to discuss the direction and scope of the CG. It seems to make sense to hold the F2F meeting jointly with a conference or another large event - suggestions are welcome.