Time to start releasing some code.
The Metaform RDF extension and plugins are finally really for beta use.
The Metaform Extension creates a new page in your WordPress weblog that provides a home for all metadata extensions. You’ll also need to add a few lines to your wp-configure.php file and a couple of your templates. The install.txt file has installation instructions.
Included in the installation is a stripped down version of RAP: RDF API for PHP. This should work in PHP 4.3 and up, and will require no other external libraries.
The first plugin is the Links Plugin, which will parse out hypertext links in a post and store them as RDF data. This then can be used to add a link list to your syndication feed or your post, or however else you want to use the data. Again, follow the instructures in install.txt to use it.
I plan to finish packaging a few others for release tonight. My hope is, though, that the Metaform infrastructure will encourage a whole host of RDF-based plugins; using those I’ve created as templates and expanding in ways I haven’t imagined. Regardless, the extension and the plugins do demonstrate that RDF isn’t just for large, esoteric applications requiring a host of PhDs to create.
A few weeks ago the discussion about RDF focused on how complex it is, how hard it is to use; how difficult it is to use in hacking, or for creating simple applications. What Metaform demonstrates is that RDF can be hackable, simple, and immediately useful. It may not be as sexy as Web 2.0, but it is real.
The SeeAlso Plugin allows you to add one or more external references to a post, and have a list of these printed out in the page and/or syndicated feed. Follow the install.txt for how to install.
The Photo plugin accesses the Flickr API to gather metadata about a Flickr embedded photo in the post. The data is then output via a link, added by plugin.
A future version will have access to Google maps, and processing of XMP data.
