[GeoJSON] Integrating GeoJSON with other kinds of data via JDIL

Sean Gillies sgillies at frii.com
Fri Jun 1 08:41:22 PDT 2007


Chris,

I like RDF and all, but I think we should stick to plain old JSON. It 
seems to me that JDIL applications could trivially JDIL-ify dumb GeoJSON 
data.

Cheers,
Sean

chris goad wrote:
> I've been working with JSON for geo for a year or so at Platial. I love the simplicity and conciseness of JSON, but there were things that I missed from earlier work with RDF - not the whole  stack, but basic capabilities for data integration. JDIL  (Jason Data Integration Layer -  http://jdil.org )  , which I formulated earlier this year, was my stab at retrieving what was missing; JDIL has nothing specific to do with geo, but implementing geo inside JDIL makes it play well with other data.   
> 
> Briefly stated, JDIL is a thin encoding on top of JSON  which adds namespaces, and labeling of objects for representing object graphs as well as trees.  Labels may be URIs, which supports merging of property-value assertions from different sources about the same object.   JDIL implements the core of the RDF data model  within JSON,  though RDF need not be mentioned in explanations of JDIL.
> 
> Minor changes in GeoJSON would make it compliant with JDIL's conventions, and as a consequence would allow  GeoJSON to  mixed with other kinds of data in a wider range of applications. This is an important benefit, since geo applications that involve data of other varieties are the norm rather than the exception.  The changes : 1)  support the namespace construct, and allocate a URI for the GeoJSON namespace, 2) utilize the generic JDIL "@type" name for the type-of concept.   
> 
> In pure geo applications (eg sending feature geometry off to a client for rendering), the overhead is miniscule. A pure GeoJSON file would need only  include  this property in the root object:
> 
> "@namespaces":  {"":"http://whateverthegeojsonuriturnsouttobe"} 
> 
> This specifies a blank prefix for the GeoJSON namespace, removing the need to prefix GeoJSON properties in the body.
> 
> Platial supports JDIL in its feeds and api, with GeoRSS properties carrying the geo.  I'd like to add support for GeoJSON as well.
> 
> 
> -- Chris
> 




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