- From: Dan Zambonini <dan.zambonini@boxuk.com>
- Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 16:04:47 +0100
- To: <www-rdf-interest@w3.org>
Hi, > Am new to semantic web.Can anyone elaborate abt > what is a semantic web giving with some example. > How RDF related with semantic web. > Good links to get basics about RDF. > Any projects related to semantic web. Well, you could check out a presentation I made a few months ago, available at: http://www.boxuk.com/upload/ppt/Box_UK_Semantic_Web_IW04.ppt Although it's not 100% understandable without my witty dialogue... I've also started translating it into a Beginners Guide FAQ... I've pasted it below - it's incomplete, but hopefully of some use to the uninitiated. What is it? =========== "...technologies for enabling machines to make more sense of the Web... ...making the Web more useful for humans." (Edd Dumbill) The semantic web "adds meaning to the web", by encoding statements (arguably, 'knowledge') in a machine understandable format. As the old cliché goes, it will be an evolution, not a revolution, as we can slowly build meaning on top of the existing data/content (HTML). Why should I care? ================== The long term effectiveness of the Web is (again, arguably) decreasing, as the current growth in HTML and other non-semantic (non-meaningful) data reduces the signal-to-noise (where the signal is what you're looking for, and the noise is what you're not). As well as potentially fixing this problem, it will allow us to do some really cool other stuff... What will it do? ================ In business, the semantic web will facilitate automation, integration (http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Business), and re-use of data. The Semantic Web will enable accessibility on a vast scale. Extremely precise sourcing (searching) of content will also be possible - I use the term 'sourcing' as traditional 'searching' may become outdated. The semantic web will relate information accurately: thereby any growth in the web will contribute to the signal-to-noise, rather than decrease it. The 'inference' (making a reasoned judgement, based on previous knowledge) allowed by this related information will provide new means for knowledge discovery. It will also allow software to communicate on a new level. What's the history of it? ========================= All dates approximate (no flames please...) 1983 - The Internet 1992 - The Web and HTML 1995 - Yahoo 1998 - Google 1998 - XML 1999 - RDF 2003 - OWL Yahoo and Google are important as they both represent the most popular (useful) search engines of their time. This was (again, arguably) because both used 'metadata' of sorts - Yahoo categorised websites according to an internal classification system, and Google used 'implicit metadata' (metadata implied by link relations) to classify websites. Similar ideas - plus much more powerful ideas - are used by the semantic web. What technologies does it use? ============================== XML isn't necessarily part of the semantic web, but it probably will be. As a neutral syntax for storing and communicating data, it is widely used to encode metadata (statements/knowledge). Which leads us to RDF... XML provides the syntax, but RDF provides the model. The model is relatively simple - thing A has a property B of value C - e.g. My Car (A) has a colour (B) of red (C). Although seemingly banal, this simple model allows for a great deal of knowledge to be placed on the web. OWL builds on the RDF model, allowing for more complex meaning to be communicated (e.g. a colour can be 'black' but it can't be 'George Bush', or 'black' is the opposite of 'white'). How are the technologies used? ============================== (The following sections are all uncompleted in any way...) * Taxonomies and Ontologies * Agents - software that uses semantic web - automated browsers that act on our behalf * Related/The bigger picture - XSL and CC/PP What are the problems? ====================== * Simplifying complexity - usable RDF editors? * Quality and trust "Google was created by Ray Charles" - says who? * Critical mass and catch-22 * Killer app - a solution looking for a problem? How can I get involved? ======================= * Create semantic data - XHTML, RDF * Record relevant and high-quality metadata * Expose metadata as RDF * Spread the word - educate and inform -------------------------------------- Dan Zambonini Box UK Internet Development and Consultancy t: +44 (0)29 2022 8822 f: +44 (0)29 2022 8820 e: dan.zambonini@boxuk.com w: www.boxuk.com --------------------------------------
Received on Monday, 9 August 2004 15:05:23 UTC