Selected Questions and Answers

I decided to put together some of the questions that I was asked at the recent RIT 2007, PHPConf 2007, and online conferences. I will answer again.

1. Do you think microformats are expensive to the Semantic Web?

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I would compare them with the path leading from the wild thickets to the endless steppe. Let's go to the open space - and there we will see where to go. Microformats are able to solve only a relatively narrow set of semantic tasks due to the limitations imposed by their main base, the XHTML markup language, and therefore I do not consider them to be the main road to the realm of semantics. Rather, it is a test of semantics in action.

2. Why introduce microformats, but not XML?

Microformats have one indisputable advantage: they can be used now. They are inherently XHTML code, which is understandable to almost all client applications. If the client does not understand microformats, then it processes the usual XHTML. Try to do this with the XML-analogue of any microformat - you will not understand.

3. Can anyone invent and embed their microformat?

Anyone can come up. But a microformat can only be a real microformat when it passes through a discussion and polishing procedure by the community. Survive the most rational proposals.

4. Are microformats able to deal with spam?

Not. Microformats are hives with honey. They can not fight with bears.

5. I am a noble dorveyshchik. Can I earn more by integrating microformats into my five hundred sites?

I do not know of a microformat capable of giving more weight to a web page or links. There is a microformat that is intended for the reverse, but it is apparently not interesting to you?

6. Tell me, do you think microformats make it easier to steal content?

Yes. But only in the event that you inadvertently applied them to the content that you deliberately regarded as not subject to free distribution.

Microformats are open formats for open data. By implementing them, you agree in advance that third-party people or services can extract information from your web pages without asking for your permission.

7. I am thinking about introducing microformats into my new project. Where should I start?

Start with a quality layout of your pages. It makes no sense to introduce microformats in the next pan with an invalid brew of tags - it will be difficult for the parser to break through the confused structure of the code. Meanwhile, microformats will perfectly complement a valid semantically correct web page.

8. My typewriter boiled water shparil when he told me about microformats. You have a mental connection, yes?

Well, how to tell you? The fact is that your coder understands that microformats actually set the rules for the qualitative markup of some (not all!) Typical pieces of information. He no longer has to worry about how to mark up a user profile (for example), how to name classes inside this code, and he can then use the same code in other projects where it is necessary to mark the same information. Conveniently.

Yes, and even in such a code it is easier to delve into if a new developer has been introduced into the project: the information is well documented .

9. I have not found anywhere whether tag nesting within microformatted content is required. How correct?

Yes, it is necessary to observe the correct nesting inside the composite microformats. This is required to accurately indicate the hierarchy of microformat components. Since microformats are based on XHTML, the task of the hierarchy is implemented by means of DOM and the usual ancestor-descendant connection.

10. Is there a validator for microformats?

Not. Unfortunately not yet honored.