Re: Making RDF/XML more legible for non-RDF/XML people

The Web Service that digs around in SKOS info will produce output according
to an XML Schema. So if you know that you're only interested in looking for
particular stuff, this can be useful. This is how FOAFnaut [1] gives a
really nice presentation of certain types of information.

Morten Frederiksen's FOAFexplorer [2] takes this a bit further, providing a
styled output for information it knows how to present, and then just sticking
the rest on the bottom...

IsaViz [3] tries to present anything that's RDF graphically, and allows you
to define ways to present particular known ypes of thing. I haven't ever
played with that bit, so don't know how it works out in practice.

[1] http://www.foafnaut.org - an SVG-based FOAF browser
[2] http://xml.mfd-consult.dk/foaf/explorer/
[3] http://www.w3.org/2001/11/IsaViz/

But as far as I know there isn't a single general solution. Since the
question is really "what's the clearest way to present information" I don't
expect one soon.

On the other hand I think the approach of describing properties and classes
with information about systems that actually present them nicely might help
solve the particular problem of a given user a lot of the time. There is
research work on adaptive interfaces in general that could take this
application up and help for cases where there are two different systems that
treat parts of the information you're looking to present.

I am also assuming that things like tables of triples or RDF graphs à la
RDFAuthor are not going to meet your needs. (The RDFAuthor thing might be
easier if it had a 3D flythrough view, and you could jump to different nodes
directly...)

cheers

Chaals

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004, Thomas B. Passin wrote:

>
>Kianoush Eshaghi wrote:
>> I was pointed the work on "SKOS Core Vocabulary Specification"
>> http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core/spec/ out. I have looked at this
>> site, and the specific layout of the table, which contains all classes
>> and properties. The setting of the such as table interests me, because I
>> have implemented some RDF vocabulary, which serve more and less as an
>> agreement about terminology between some developers, who develop their
>> respective components of a system. I want to illustrate my RDF
>> vocabulary for people, who haven't got any knowledge about RDF/XML. I
>> have found the layout of the table appropriate to my purpose. I would
>> know whether there are any technologies about converting from RDF/XML to
>> an other form, which will be more legible, I would name XSL for XML.
>
>It is hard to write a stylesheet to transform arbitrary rdf/xml, because
>of all the optional variations of the syntax.  OTOH, if you can limit
>the syntax you use to a specific, consistent subset of the full rdf/xml
>syntax, I have found that it can be fairly easy to do the kinds of
>things you want using xslt transformations.
>
>For example, I have a simple, quite basic OWL file, and because I know
>the format (which I control), I can produce nice tables and even insert
>hyperlinks between related terms, etc., such as links to the class
>definitions of property ranges.
>
>Of course, you do have to know your way around xslt.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Tom P
>
>--
>Thomas B. Passin
>Explorer's Guide to the Semantic Web (Manning Books)
>http://www.manning.com/catalog/view.php?book=passin
>

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Received on Wednesday, 15 September 2004 17:11:23 UTC