Meaning and the semantic web

Bijan Parsia, Peter F. Patel-Schneider

Abstract: The meaning of names (URI references) is a contentious issue in the Semantic Web. Numerous proposals have been given for how to provide meaning for names in the Semantic Web, ranging from a strict localized model-theoretic semantics to proposals for a unified single meaning. We argue that a slight expansion of the standard model-theoretic semantics for names is sufficient for the present, and can easily be augmented where necessary to allow communities of interest to strengthen this spartan theory of meaning.