RDFa Working Group

This Working Group has been closed on the 2015-03-27. For further discussions on the future evolution of RDFa, please consider using the public-rdfa@w3.org mailing list (see public archives). You can also use the Errata (Wiki) page to record errors, typos, etc. that may be considered by a future working group.

The mission of the RDFa Working Group, formerly the W3C RDF Web Application Working Group and part of the Semantic Web Activity, is to support the developing use of RDF for embedding and handling structured data in Web documents in general. The Working Group will publish W3C Recommendations to define HTML5 and XHTML5 as Host Languages for RDFa 1.1 Core.

The RDFa Working Group Charter shows what the W3C has asked this working group to do.

W3C Standards and Notes Published by this Working Group

RDFa 1.1 Core (REC)

RDFa Core is a specification for attributes to express structured data in any markup language. The embedded data already available in the markup language (e.g., HTML) can often be reused by the RDFa markup, so that publishers don't need to repeat significant data in the document content. The underlying abstract representation is RDF [RDF11-PRIMER], which lets publishers build their own vocabulary, extend others, and evolve their vocabulary with maximal interoperability over time. The expressed structure is closely tied to the data, so that rendered data can be copied and pasted along with its relevant structure.

RDFa 1.1 Lite (REC)

RDFa Lite is a minimal subset of RDFa, the Resource Description Framework in attributes, consisting of a few attributes that may be used to express machine-readable data in Web documents like HTML, SVG, and XML. While it is not a complete solution for advanced data markup tasks, it does work for most day-to-day needs and can be learned by most Web authors in a day.

HTML+RDFa 1.1 (REC)

This specification defines rules and guidelines for adapting the RDFa Core 1.1 and RDFa Lite 1.1 specifications for use in HTML5 and XHTML5. The rules defined in this specification not only apply to HTML5 documents in non-XML and XML mode, but also to HTML4 and XHTML documents interpreted through the HTML5 parsing rules.

XHTML+RDFa 1.1 (REC)

RDFa Core 1.1 [RDFA-CORE] defines attributes and syntax for embedding semantic markup in Host Languages. This document defines one such Host Language. This language is a superset of XHTML 1.1 [XHTML11-2e], integrating the attributes as defined in RDFa Core 1.1. This document is intended for authors who want to create XHTML Family documents that embed rich semantic markup.

RDFa 1.1 Primer (NOTE)

This document provides only a Primer to RDFa 1.1. The complete specification of RDFa, with further examples, can be found in the RDFa 1.1 Core [rdfa-core], RDFa Lite [rdfa-lite], XHTML+RDFa 1.1 [xhtml-rdfa], and the HTML5+RDFa 1.1 [html-rdfa] specifications.

Inputs

• RDFa Core 1.1, W3C Recommendation, June 7, 2012, Ben Adida, Mark Birbeck, Shane McCarron, Ivan Herman,, , eds.
• RDFa Lite 1.1, W3C Recommendation, June 7, 2012, Manu Sporny, ed.
• XHTML+RDFa 1.1, W3C Recommendation, June 7, 2012, Shane McCarron, ed.
  
• RDFa 1.1 Primer, W3C Working Group Note, June 7, 2008, Ben Adida, Ivan Herman, Manu Sporny, Mark Birbeck, eds.

See the Working Group Wiki for further input documents, drafts, etc.

Schedule of Deliverables

• HTML +RDFa 1.1, Recommendation: This document will specify the behaviour of HTML5 and XHTML5 as host languages to RDFa 1.1 Core.

The group may also issue an Edited Recommendation for RDFa 1.1 Core, RDFa Lite 1.1 and XHTML+RDFa 1.1, folding in the possible editorial errata. No new functionality is planned on those documents.

Milestones

Timeline View Summary

“T” in this timeline is September 2012; “T+n” means “n” months later.

• T: First teleconference
• T: First Public Working Draft for the HTML+RDFa 1.1 Recommendation track document. This document is based on the current editor’s draft worked on at the HTML5 Working Group
  
• T+4: Last Call Working Draft for the HTML+RDFa 1.1 Recommendation track document
• T+5: Candidate Recommendatation for the HTML+RDFa 1.1 Recommendation track document
  
• T+6: Proposed Recommendation for the HTML+RDFa 1.1 Recommendation track document
• T+8: Publication of the HTML+RDFa 1.1 Recommendation

This schedule does not include Edited Recommendations for the existing RDFa 1.1 Recommendations, which will be issued if and when needed.

Group Membership and Joining

We encourage new members of the group to introduce themselves by email. The full RDFa WG participants list is available to W3C members.

If you want to join the group:

• If you're affiliated with a W3C member organization
  1. Use the form for getting a W3C account
  2. Have your AC representative nominate you using the form for joining this WG.
• Otherwise, contact the chair and team contact about invited expert status. That will involve getting an account and filling out a form for copyright, patent, etc. policies.

Meeting Records

See the corresponding Wiki page.

W3C Working Group Resources

• Art of Consensus Guide (W3C member confidential)
• World Wide Web Consortium Process Document 14 October 2005
• W3C Groups, Participants (dbwg) (W3C member confidential)