Implementation guidance: no namespace prefixes on predicates

[mrgarth]

We are introducing a recommendations to improve the reliability of JSON-LD validation.

Example: recommended syntax changes

Previous form (uses namespace prefix): org:hasName “My Name”

Recommended form (no namespace prefix): hasName [“My Name”]

No namespace prefixes on properties

Through testing, we have determined that for JSON-LD processors to correctly use the @context file to perform @type checking on datatypes for values, there cannot be namespace prefixes on properties in JSON-LD. When the namespace prefix is included, the processor immediately expands the predicate to its full URI and bypasses the @type information in the JSON-LD @context file.

This functionality is valuable in that it provides quick checks on datatypes, e.g. checking that the value with hasName is an xsd:string, without resorting to full validation by SHACL. We have made some updates to our JSON-LD @context files to ensure that all properties perform as expected with JSON-LD processors.

IMPORTANT: namespace prefixes are still applied to class names when they are used as values with the @type property e.g. @type cids:Indicator is still correct, and should not become @type Indicator.