Beginner Queries

1

I recently came across Solid, while searching for a decentralised data solution.
I went through the documents available in the website and on Github (well, most of it).

I have few doubts regarding the PODS and the Data structure used in Solid:

  1. Is Pods can be compared to Docker Containers?

  2. Is the Web URI used in the system makes it a Content based addressing rather than Location Based addressing?

  3. Why Pods use Linked data structure (Turtle in this case). Is there a possibility of using something like JSON for the same?Or to have another Non- Relational DB hosted on POD?

  4. Is there a possibility to have self hosted PODS in devices like a mobile phone, so that the user will truly own his data storage without depending on a provider

  5. What kind of certification mechanism is used for authorising SOLID PODS , and is there any alternative to use Crypto wallets for authentication (Similar to the concept of :Beyond Identity - A silicon Valley startup is building)

  6. The access mechanism (From what I understood in the Example Web app) works very similar to existing Social login/SSO. Is there any way the user can restrict access to Parts Of the information available in a POD or the access is only controlled in a POD level?

  7. Is it possible to store large Data like Images and videos in PODS?Is there any Maximum Data limit for a Single POD (Like here is a maximum data size limit for a Single IPFS Node)

I am pretty new to the concept of both Sold and Linked Data, so my questions might be very basic. That is why Iā€™m trying to relate these concepts with things familiar to me like IPFS, docker and crypto wallets.
Also will appreciate if someone can give me a chronological list of documentation to understand the concept step by step, starting from Linked Data sets. (Something a newbie can easily understand) .

1 Like
2

Hi Anand, welcome!

Is Pods can be compared to Docker Containers?

Not at all: Docker containers are designed to isolate their contents from the rest of the computer theyā€™re running on. Pods store data delivered to them through the web.

Is the Web URI used in the system makes it a Content based addressing rather than Location Based addressing?

No, the URI is independent of the content stored at that URI.

Why Pods use Linked data structure (Turtle in this case). Is there a possibility of using something like JSON for the same?Or to have another Non- Relational DB hosted on POD?

Itā€™d be a bit too much to get into the why here, but the main reason is to make sure that apps accessing the same data treat it the same.

Yes, it is possible for apps to choose to store JSON instead, or even an SQLite DB, but accessing and updating that data will be pretty inefficient.

Is there a possibility to have self hosted PODS in devices like a mobile phone, so that the user will truly own his data storage without depending on a provider

Iā€™m not sure if anyoneā€™s tried it on a phone and itā€™s very likely not a good idea, but you could run it on a computer you own, for example. That does mean youā€™re responsible for making sure itā€™s safe, online, and has proper backups and all that, of course.

What kind of certification mechanism is used for authorising SOLID PODS , and is there any alternative to use Crypto wallets for authentication (Similar to the concept of :Beyond Identity - A silicon Valley startup is building)

Iā€™m not familiar enough with these to be able to answer this.

The access mechanism (From what I understood in the Example Web app) works very similar to existing Social login/SSO. Is there any way the user can restrict access to Parts Of the information available in a POD or the access is only controlled in a POD level?

Currently access is determine on a per-resource basis. I think people are thinking about how to make that even more granular, but I donā€™t know hte status of that.

Is it possible to store large Data like Images and videos in PODS?Is there any Maximum Data limit for a Single POD (Like here is a maximum data size limit for a Single IPFS Node)

Yes, but the limit is determined by whoever hosts your Pod. (For example, if you run your Pod from your own computer, it will be limited by the size of the hard drive on that computer, for one.)

2 Likes
3

Hi there!

Linked data really makes the web discoverable (by humans AND machines) and ā€œannotableā€ by anyone who wish to contribute. It provides meaning to properties and data. Meanings enables a truly new set of use cases and interoperability between applications because when you know what a property IS, you can easily share it across applications.

When I think about interoperability, take for example contacts. Letā€™s say you have defined some friends you know in your profile. That same list of friends could be used by any other apps who wish to do something with it, no matter where it is stored in your Pod as long as the applications share the same vocabularity (which is likely to be the case when talking about people using the foaf namespace). Much like on Android where you can share stuff with your contacts book store on your phone, but on the Internet here.

Iā€™m pretty new to Linked Data too, so feel free to correct me if Iā€™m wrong. Hope it will helps :slight_smile:

1 Like
4

Hi Vincent,
Thanks for the detailed answers. Cleared most of my doubtsā€¦Any suggestion for Step by step learning guide in depth?

5

Thanks Julien for the example.
If you can suggest me any beginner friendly, yet in-depth documentation on Linked Data, it will be really helpful.

6

I too am interested in any resources anyone can provide for inclusion on a curated delightful-linked-data list I plan to maintain (part of the delightful project, which is just like ā€˜awesomeā€™ lists but exclusively for FOSS and Open Data, Open Science resources).

7

I donā€™t have many resources apart from the W3C (this one about RDF in particular https://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-rdf-primer-20040210/). This article also helps me a lot when starting to get my head around Linked Data.

2 Likes