As protocols evolve, gateways can allow global access to remain possible. As data formats evolve, format conversion programs can preserve global access. There is one area, however, in which it is impractical to make conversions, and that is in the names and addresses used to identify objects … a universal syntax which can be used to encapsulate a name in any registered name space … will allow names in different spaces to be treated in a common way, even though names in different spaces have differing characteristics, as do the objects to which they refer.
Predictor: Berners-Lee, Tim
Prediction, in context:The following is an excerpt from an Internet Draft (from the working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force) written by Tim Berners-Lee, contained in a memo written on January 1, 1994. This excerpt discusses the explosive future of “search and retrieval” systems: ”Many protocols and systems for document search and retrieval are currently in use, and many more protocols or refinements of existing protocols are to be expected in a field whose expansion is explosive. These systems are aiming to achieve global search and readership of documents across differing computing platforms, and despite a plethora of protocols and data formats. As protocols evolve, gateways can allow global access to remain possible. As data formats evolve, format conversion programs can preserve global access. There is one area, however, in which it is impractical to make conversions, and that is in the names and addresses used to identify objects. This is because names and addresses of objects are passed on in so many ways, from the backs of envelopes to hypertext objects, and may have a long life … Practical systems need to access and mix objects which are part of different existing and proposed systems … a universal syntax which can be used to encapsulate a name in any registered name space … will allow names in different spaces to be treated in a common way, even though names in different spaces have differing characteristics, as do the objects to which they refer.”
Biography:Tim Berners-Lee of CERN first released his revolutionary World-Wide Web for initial use in 1991 and with it shared his invention HTML (hypertext mark-up language). He later served as director of W3 Consortium, an open forum of companies and organizations whose goal was to find ways to help the Web reach its full potential. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Protocols
Name of publication: www.w3.org
Title, headline, chapter name: A Unifying Syntax for the Expression of Names and Addresses of Objects on the Network
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.w3.org/History/1995/WWW/Paper/JUNK.TXT
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Bruno, Marian Theresa