From template to RDF: how do templates work?
The following attempts to explain how a template works from the perspective of: How do I, as a template creator, create a form for a cataloger to declare a thing to be an instance (little "i") of a Class, and then make a bunch of statements about the thing? In other words, what RDF do you, as the template creator, eventually want to be the result of someone using your template in cataloging?
A template gives Sinopia instructions for creating a form. (This form, in turn, holds instructions for a cataloger or metadata creator: it tells which fields to fill out, which are required, which sources to use for URIs, suggested default values, and help text about fields.)
Every field on the form, when filled in, will create an RDF statement, where the subject of the statement is the URI that Sinopia will assign when you save the data entered in the form.
For example, if your template says something like:
This template is for an instance of class <Thing>.
The data entered in Field 1 will be the object of property <hasName>.
The data entered in Field 2 will be the object of property <hasAddress>.
The data entered in Field 3 will be the object of property <hasPhone>.
Then the form will look like this:
And when filled in will look like this:
And when previewed, will result in these statements, where <> represents the URI that will be assigned by Sinopia to this instance of class <Thing>:
Once the data entered in the form is saved, Sinopia replaces <> with a newly minted URI.