On Feb 26, 2015, at 9:48 AM, Owen Stephens <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I highly recommend Chapter 6 of the Linked Data book which details different design approaches for Linked Data applications - sections 6.3  (http://linkeddatabook.com/editions/1.0/#htoc84) summarises the approaches as:
> 
>   1. Crawling Pattern
>   2. On-the-fly dereferencing pattern
>   3. Query federation pattern
> 
> Generally my view would be that (1) and (2) are viable approaches for different applications, but that (3) is generally a bad idea (having been through federated search before!)


And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, owen++ because the "Linked Data book” is a REALLY good read!! [0] While it is computer science-y, it is also authoritative, easy-to-read, full of examples, and just plain makes a whole lot of sense. 

[0] linked data book - http://linkeddatabook.com/

—
Eric M.