RDF is a language, that is, a system of characters, syntax and semantics for encoding and decoding information (data in a certain context).
In RDF, the unit of observation (data) is represented by a sentence, which consists of three parts: subject, predicate, object. In principle, this is the fundamental structure of natural language speech.
The sign used to refer to entities (things) involved in entity relationships represented by RDF is the IRI (which includes the HTTP URI). Each object and predicate (and, optionally, an object) of an RDF clause component is designated by an IRI.
The syntax (grammar) is abstract (which means that it can be represented using many notation) in the form of the order of the subject, the predicate and the location of objects.
Semantics (most often ignored) refers to the role of the subject, predicate and object in the RDF statement.
When you use HTTP-URIs to denote RDF operator objects, predicates, and (optionally) objects, you get structured data (collections of entity relationship types) that make up a website, like today, on the World Wide Web.
When the semantics of the predicate (in particular) in the RDF statement is understandable both for the machine and for the person, you have a network of entity relationship types that provide powerful encoding of information, which is the basis for knowledge (inference and reasoning).
Here are some simple RDF statements:
{ <#this> a schema:WebPage . <#this> schema:about dbpedia:Resource_Description_Framework . <#this> skos:related <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30742747/convert-a-statement-with-adjective-in-rdf-triple/30836089#30836089> . }
I used curly braces to enclose examples so that this post turns into a RDF-based Linked Data demo, taking into account the relative HTTP-URIs and # (indexed) based fragment identifier.
The results of the RDF statements embedded in this post are kindly provided by nanotation (embedding RDF statements wherever the text is accepted):
- Description page of main objects - Each statement is identified by a hyperlink that allows its description (subject, predicate, parts of the object)
- Page deeper browsing - An alternative view that lends itself to deeper research and discovery by following your nose through the hyperlinks that make up web data or network related data.
- Embedded Operator Description - About a specific RDF statement.
Here's a visualization created from triples embedded in this post (using our Sniffer Structured Data Browser Extension , using RDF-Turtle Notation: 