What does RDF consider a namespace to be?
What does RDF consider a namespace to be? It appears to me that the XML namespaces document makes XML namespace simply be the set of URI references that share a common prefix. Therefore all XML namespaces contain an infinite and unchanging set of URI references. However, Concepts says that ''Some terms in these namespaces have been deprecated, some have been added, ...'' which appears to indicate that the names in the namespace can be changed. Does RDF actually use a different meaning of a namespace than is used in XML? Other places in the RDF documents also seem to indicate that RDF considers namespaces to have finite and changing sets of URI references. For example, Section 5.1 of RDF Syntax says The [RDF] namespace contains the following names only: ... Any other names are not defined .... Concepts says Vocabulary terms defined in the rdfs: namespace are defined in the RDF schema vocabulary specification ....
See: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-rdf-comments/2003JanMar/0150.html
The question is concerned with whether a namespace is invariant, or can names be added and removed.
This question seems to have no bearing on the definition or interpretation of RDF. Are there any specific problems raised by this issue, or examples of RDF whose interpretation is ill-defined, or specific suggestions for improvement of the text? I'm not sure that there any change that can usefully be made.