UseOfRdfsLabelVersusDctermsTitle < LinkedData

---+ Best Practice: When to Use =rdfs:label= Versus =dcterms:title=

*State:* Approved

*Contact:* [[https://jazz.net/wiki/bin/view/Main/ArthurRyman][Arthur Ryman]]

---++ Scope

This Best Practice recommends appropriate usage of the [[http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-schema/][RDF Schema]] property =rdfs:label= and the [[http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/][Dublin Core]] property =dcterms:title=.
=rdfs:label= and =dcterms:title= both provide short descriptions for resources, but they should not be used interchangeably.

This Best Practice is closely related to [[UseRdfsLabelAndCommentInVocabularies][Best Practice: Use =rdfs:label= and =rdfs:comment= in RDF Vocabularies]].

---++ Recommendation

=rdfs:label= is part of the [[http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-schema/][RDF Schema]] vocabulary and SHOULD therefore be used in vocabulary documents to describe vocabulary terms.

=dcterms:title= is part of the [[http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/][Dublin Core Metadata Initiative]] vocabulary and SHOULD therefore be used to describe document-like resources such as Change Requests, Requirements, Test Plans, etc.
[[http://open-services.net/bin/view/Main/OSLCCoreSpecAppendixA#Dublin_Core_Properties][Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration]] (OSLC) specifications use =dcterms:title= and =dcterms:description=.

---++ Examples

Use =rdfs:label= in the following vocabulary document (in Turtle format), to define the class =oslc_cm:ChangeRequest=:

<verbatim>
@prefix oslc_cm: <http://open-services.net/ns/cm#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .

oslc_cm:ChangeRequest a rdfs:Class ;
    rdfs:comment "The CM Change Request resource" ;
    rdfs:isDefinedBy oslc_cm: ;
    rdfs:label "ChangeRequest" ;
    rdfs:seeAlso <http://open-services.net/bin/view/Main/CmSpecificationV2#Resource_ChangeRequest> .
</verbatim>

Use =dcterms:title= in the following Plan Item 99050 document (in Turtle format), an =oslc_cm:ChangeRequest= resource:
<verbatim>
@prefix dcterms: <http://purl.org/dc/terms/> .
@prefix oslc: <http://open-services.net/ns/core#> .
@prefix oslc_cm: <http://open-services.net/ns/cm#> .

<https://jazz.net/jazz/resource/itemName/com.ibm.team.workitem.WorkItem/99050>
    oslc:shortTitle "Plan Item 99050"^^rdf:XMLLiteral ;
    dcterms:created "2009-11-10T10:40:55.824Z"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime> ;
    dcterms:identifier "99050"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string> ;
    dcterms:title "(Finish) CLM reporting"^^rdf:XMLLiteral ;
    dcterms:type "Plan Item"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string> ;
    a oslc_cm:ChangeRequest .
</verbatim>

---++ See Also

   * [[http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-schema/][RDF Schema]]
   * [[http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/][Dublin Core Metadata Initiative]]
   * [[UseRdfsLabelAndCommentInVocabularies][Best Practice: Use =rdfs:label= and =rdfs:comment= in RDF Vocabularies]]

This topic: LinkedData > WebHome > BestPractices > UseOfRdfsLabelVersusDctermsTitle

History: r3 - 2015-09-24 - 12:58:40 - Main.jamsden

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