Resource Description Framework
RDF is a standard model for data interchange on the Web. RDF has features that facilitate data merging even if the underlying schemas differ, and it specifically supports the evolution of schemas over time without requiring all the data consumers to be changed.
Recommended Reading
The RDF 1.1 specification consists of a suite of W3C Recommendations and Working Group Notes, published in 2014. This suite also includes an RDF Primer. See also Tim Berners-Lee’s writings on Web Design Issues, including Metadata Architecture. Other technologies, like OWL or SKOS, build on RDF and provide language for defining structured, Web-based ontologies which enable richer integration and interoperability of data among descriptive communities. A number of textbooks have been published on RDF and on Semantic Web in general. Please, refer to a separate page listing some of those, as maintained by the community. That list also includes references to conference proceedings and article collections that might be of general interest.
