W3C

The Web Annotation Working Group has published a Proposed Recommendation for three documents:

• Web Annotation Data Model: This specification describes a structured model and format, in JSON, to enable annotations to be shared and reused across different hardware and software platforms. Common use cases can be modeled in a manner that is simple and convenient, while at the same time enabling more complex requirements, including linking arbitrary content to a particular data point or to segments of timed multimedia resources.
• Web Annotation Vocabulary specifies the set of RDF classes, predicates and named entities that are used by the Web Annotation Data Model. It also lists recommended terms from other ontologies that are used in the model, and provides the JSON-LD Context and profile definitions needed to use the Web Annotation JSON serialization in a Linked Data context.
• Web Annotation Protocol: This specification describes the transport mechanisms for creating and managing annotations in a method that is consistent with the Web Architecture and REST best practices.

Comments are welcome through 14 February 2017.

The XML Query Working Group and XSLT Working Group have published a Proposed Recommendation for four documents:

• XQuery and XPath Data Model 3.1: This document defines the XQuery and XPath Data Model 3.1, which is the data model of XML Path Language (XPath) 3.1, XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 3.0, and XQuery 3.1: An XML Query Language. The XQuery and XPath Data Model 3.1 (henceforth “data model”) serves two purposes. First, it defines the information contained in the input to an XSLT or XQuery processor. Second, it defines all permissible values of expressions in the XSLT, XQuery, and XPath languages.
• XPath and XQuery Functions and Operators 3.1: The purpose of this document is to catalog the functions and operators required for XPath 3.1, XQuery 3.1, and XSLT 3.0. It defines constructor functions, operators, and functions on the datatypes defined in XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes Second Edition and the datatypes defined in XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.1. It also defines functions and operators on nodes and node sequences as defined in the XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.1.
• XML Path Language (XPath) 3.1: XPath 3.1 is an expression language that allows the processing of values conforming to the data model defined in XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.1. The name of the language derives from its most distinctive feature, the path expression, which provides a means of hierarchic addressing of the nodes in an XML tree. As well as modeling the tree structure of XML, the data model also includes atomic values, function items, and sequences.
• XSLT and XQuery Serialization 3.1: This document defines serialization of an instance of the data model as defined in XQuery and XPath Data Model (XDM) 3.1 into a sequence of octets. Serialization is designed to be a component that can be used by other specifications such as XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 3.0 or XQuery 3.1: An XML Query Language.

Comments are welcome through 28 February 2017.

The XML Query Working Group has published a Proposed Recommendation for two documents:

• XQuery 3.1: An XML Query Language: XML is a versatile markup language, capable of labeling the information content of diverse data sources including structured and semi-structured documents, relational databases, and object repositories. A query language that uses the structure of XML intelligently can express queries across all these kinds of data, whether physically stored in XML or viewed as XML via middleware. This specification describes a query language called XQuery, which is designed to be broadly applicable across many types of XML data sources.
• XQueryX 3.1: XQueryX is an XML representation of an XQuery. It was created by mapping the productions of the XQuery grammar into XML productions. The result is not particularly convenient for humans to read and write, but it is easy for programs to parse, and because XQueryX is represented in XML, standard XML tools can be used to create, interpret, or modify queries.

Comments are welcome through 28 February 2017.

The Device and Sensors Working Group has published a Group Note of Network Service Discovery. This specification defines a mechanism for an HTML document to discover and subsequently communicate with HTTP-based services advertised via common discovery protocols within the current network.

The Spatial Data on the Web Working Group, a collaboration between W3C and the Open Geospatial Consortium, has published 4 documents today. QB4ST adds extensions to the RDF Data Cube for spatio-temporal components. These are designed to make it easier to share and manipulate data such as Earth Observations with linkable slices through time and space. The QB4ST extensions are used in another of today’s publications, Publishing and Using Earth Observation Data with the RDF Data Cube and the Discrete Global Grid System, which shows how SPARQL queries can be served through OGC’s developing Discrete Global Grid System for observations, coupled with a triple store for observational metadata. The approach makes use of the power of Linked Data on the Web without requiring all data points to be encoded as RDF triples.

The latest Working Draft of the Semantic Sensor Network Ontology sets out a modular approach that allows alignment with related vocabularies. The modular architecture supports the judicious use of “just enough” semantics for diverse applications, including satellite imagery, large scale scientific monitoring, industrial and household infrastructure, citizen observers, and the Web of Things. Finally, the Working Group is pleased to publish an update to its Spatial Data on the Web Best Practices document that advises on best practices related to the publication and usage of spatial data on the Web; the use of Web technologies as they may be applied to location.

The Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) has updated three resources. Planning and Managing Web Accessibility helps you integrate accessibility throughout the Web production process. It applies to individual projects and at the organizational level. Developing Organizational Policies on Web Accessibility helps you develop a simple or comprehensive Web accessibility policy for an organization. Web Accessibility First Aid: Approaches for Interim Repairs is intended to help with the situation: "I need to make my website accessible and I don’t even know where to start!" It provides guidance on addressing short-term accessibility fixes. Read more about the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).