README

Semantic is a Ruby library for dealing with RDF, RDF(s) and related Semantic Web
languages and technologies.

Semantic is written in the Ruby Way because even when dealing with RDF(s)
constructs, Ruby should still feel like Ruby and not at all like XML.

Take the sample model in this presentation:
http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~puninj/XMLJ/classes/class8/slide35-0.html
http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~puninj/XMLJ/classes/class8/slide36-0.html

In Semantic, this should be written like this:

module AcademicExample
  namespace "http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~puninj/XMLJ/course_schema.rdf"
  
  # rdfs:Class Person -> rdfs:subClassOf Resource
  class Person < Rdfs::Resource
    comment "Person Class"
  end

  class Student < Person
    comment "Student Class"
  end
  
  class Teacher < Person
    comment "Teacher Class"
  end

  class Course < Rdfs::Resource
    comment "Course Class"
    property :teacher, :range => Teacher # implicit domain
  end
  
  property :name do
    comment "Name of a Person or Course"
    domain [ Person, Course ]
    range Rdfs::Literal    
  end
  
  property :students do
    comment "List of Students of a course in alphabetical order"
    domain Course
    range Rdf::Seq    
  end
end

include AcademicExample

Course.new("csci_2962") { |c|
  c.name = "Programming XML in Java"
  c.teacher = Teacher.new("jp") { |t| t.name = "John Punin" }
  c.students << Student.new("er") { |s| s.name = "Elizabeth Roberts" }
  c.students << Student.new("gl") { |s| s.name = "George Lucas" }
  c.students << Student.new("js") { |s| s.name = "John Smith" }
}.to_xml