The Semantic Web Applications

语义网的应用

An Introduction, based on the presentations of W3C leaders

1. What is | 2. Roadmap | 3. Players |4. Applications

1. What is the Semantic Web 什么是语义网

a vivid picture

1998年由Tim Berners-Lee提出 Proposal by Berners-Lee in 1998 Information Management: A Proposal, Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, March 1989, May 1990, http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html (link) (local file) Web of relationships amongst named objects -> unified information management tasks. 命名的物件之间的关系网--〉 一体化的信息管理任务
当前的万维网 The Current Web Resources: 资源： identified by URI's 根据URI来辨识 untyped 未经分门别类的 Links: 联接： href, src, ... limited, non-descriptive 有限的，无描述的 User: 用户： Exciting world - semantics of the resource, however, gleaned from content 令人激动的世界，但是，资源的语义要从内容中一点点的捡出来，（拾穗） Machine: 机器： Very little information available - significance of the links only evident from the context around the anchor. 可得到的信息微乎其微-- 有关联接的重要性只能根据围绕联接点的上下文来证明。
语义网 The Semantic Web Resources: 资源： Globally Identified by URI's or Locally scoped (Blank) 在全球都可以根据URI或者有地方上有重点范围的来辨识 Extensible 可扩充 Relational 相关的 Links: 联接： Identified by URI's 根据URI来辨识 Extensible 可扩充 Relational 相关的 User: 用户： Even more exciting world, richer user experience 更加令人激动的世界， 更加丰富的用户经历 Machine: 机器： More processable information is available (Data Web) 可得到更多能用机器处理的信息 Computers and people: 计算机与人： Work, learn and exchange knowledge effectively 有效的工作，学习和交流知识

2. A roadmap of the Semantic Web

Philosophy "Web" URI->Resource static mapping Creates navigable "space" Shared space = new genre of communication Self-describing documents URIs as identifiers not recipes "Semantic" Machine processable (not natural language, human inference) For data: what you can do with it For the future: conversion Declarative		Architecture Source: Tim Berners-Lee, http://www.w3.org/2000/Talks/1206-xml2k-tbl
RDF+Schema layer Minimalist model - (thing), Class, Property Subproperty, Subclass Domain & Range Comments & labels Very wide interoperability		Ontology layer More metainformation, such as Transitive property Unique, Unambiguous, Cardinality, etc Ontology community exists- DL, OIL, SHOE, etc. etc. Huge extra usage for extra functionality Not Turing complete Wide interoperability & interconversion	Logic layer Universal language for monotonic logic Any rule system can export, generally cannot import No one standard engine - - inference capabilities differ Many engines exist (SQL to KIF, Cycl, etc) Any system can validate proofs
Enabling Standards RDF - the Resource Description Framework - is a standard a way for simple descriptions to be made RDF Schema - a means for declaring and relating semantics used in description OWL - a means for way to develop richer subject - or domain - specific vocabularies and stipulating constraints RDF, RDF Schema and OWL build on XML for providing a serialization syntax and URIs for unique identification		RDF record example (link) Basic OWL (link)

3. The Players

• Semantic Web Best Practices and Deployment Working Group
  • Lots of people from many different communities trying to do similar things
  • Reducing the cost of Web-ifying thesauri, classification schemes, controlled vocabularies, etc.
  • Share lessons learned from corporate, community experiences.
  • Share ROI experiences, business cases, application areas, etc.
    
• RDF Data Access Working Group
• Semantic Web Advanced Development
  • Collaborative development - creation of core components (ala libwww) that will form the basis for the Semantic Web.
  • Stimulate complementary areas of development
  • Facilitate the deployment of the Semantic Web and identify areas of future standards work
  • Several collaborative projects focused on different levels of deployment
    • SWAD DAML - access control, collaboration
      
    • SWAD Europe - news syndication, sitemaps, calendaring, thesauri
      • providing practical demonstrations:
        • sitemaps, news channel syndication, calendaring, thesauri, classification, etc.
          
      • In particular SWAD-Europe's Thesaurus Activity
        • RDF representations for thesaurus data and expressing mappings between concepts from different thesauri.
          
        • Use Cases
          
        • Open web service API
          
        • Open demonstrator for RDF thesaurus technology
          
    • SWAD Oxygen - pervasive, human-centered computing
      
    • SWAD Simile - libraries and personal information management
      (Semantic Interoperability of Metadata and Information in unLike Environments)
      
      • Simile will leverage and extend DSpace, enhancing its support for arbitrary schemas and metadata
      • Implement a digital asset management and dissemination architecture based upon Semantic Web standards.
      • an example (screenshot)

4. 应用与实验 Applications and Experiments

从应用角度看，语义网要有以下三个基本成分：

• 实用分类系统 （根据不同程度的规定来描述数据）
• 分类者/推理者 （从现有的陈述中推断出新的关系）
• 标注 -- 这是一个过程，文献的内容被（分类者/推理者）标注上从实用分类系统中取来的概念（或关系）。有时候这叫做‘标码’（动词）。标注不一定要放在原文献中。

生产语义数据 -- Adobe的可扩充元数据平台
Creating Semantic Data - Adobe's eXtensible Metadata Platform (XMP)

• Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a labeling system that allows you to embed data about a file (“metadata” or data about data) into the file itself. Adobe的可扩充元数据平台是一种置标系统，让你能将关于一个文件的数据（元数据）‘嵌’在文件中。
• Cross product metadata toolkit 可跨几种出版软件使用。
• leverage RDF/XML with a focus on reducing cost and makes for more effective management of digital resources 借用RDF/XML的力量, 以便减少支出，更有效地管理数字化资源。
• "10 Million Dublin Core records in RDF/XML by the end of the year" - Semantic Web Developers Day 2002 " 至2002年底生产10万条用RDF/XML格式的都柏林核心数据记录” (主要数据由机器自动生产，）
• "We developed Adobe XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) based on RDF, because it provided a flexible and interoperable framework for fostering the capture, preservation, and interchange of metadata across digital media and workflows." - David Burkett, Director of Product Management, Adobe Systems

[Students: View the graphics in the following document, starting from page 4: XMP in Action: Adobe Photoshop. http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp/pdfs/whitepaper_503.pdf | offline pdf ]
[You may want to read other articles listed at: http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp/in-depth.html]
[see also Adobe XML Architecture]

生产语义数据的另一实例：w3photo
w3photo.org -- A Semantic-Photo History of the IW3C2 Conferences

The purpose of a Semantic Photo-History of the W3 conferences:

1. document the WWW 2004 conference in digital photos
2. retrieve/organize visual history of W3 conferences and impact back to 1994
3. create an open, enduring, royalty-free image collection for R & D
4. link photographs to conference material and events ( e.g. , papers, sessions)
5. demonstrate emerging semantic tools sets and proposed standards

[Students: Go to http://w3photo.org/ --> click on Browse WWW2004 Photos! --> Click the link on the top of an image --> view the image which embedded metadata and the RDF record. For example, from page 1 of the 2004 photos, click the link on the top of the last image, http://w3photo.org/photos/www2004/IMG_2484_2.ftw ,
you will see the image which embedded annotation metadata for the two persons. The RDF record is displayed.

See my own experience of creating semantic data through w3photo.org. (html)
请看我自己在w3photo.org上放的图像和由软件自动生成的RDF语义数据。 (html 网页)

语义网的导航 -- Foafnaut社交圈
Navigating the Semantic Web - Foafnaut

• Social networks - 'Friend of a Friend' 社交圈-‘朋友的朋友’
• Distributed RDF/XML records describing people, who they know, projects they work on, etc.
  分布式的 RDF/XML 记录，描述人，他们认识谁，参与的项目，等等
• Web interface for displaying complex data 用网页界面显示复杂数据
• Benefits of SVG, SMIL, RDF integration 将SGV, SMIL, RDF联合起来用，取各家之长
• Open source collaboration 开放资源，合作
• Example of RDF network effect combining foaf and rdf image co-depiction 是有效地将FOAF与RDF图像同时描述相结合的RDF网络的实例。

[Students: 1. Go to http://www.foafnaut.org/ --> 2. click "launch forfnaut" --> 3. drag anyone from the chart to see the extended network --> 4. check the data displayed on the left side box. Change another person and try again.]
[Note: Note: you may need to install the Adobe SVG plugin to use these documents.
If you have not installed SVG plugin, just walk through the screenshots I made. (html)]
如果你没有安装SVG, 请看我根据该网站工具编制的一套图示 （html 网页)

语义网的导航 -- FoafCORP 企业人物圈
Navigating the Semantic Web - FoafCORP (FoafCORP Viewer)

• Social network visualization of corporate boards of directors 企业人物社交圈的图示化
• Another Web interface for displaying complex data 用网页界面显示复杂数据
• Again demonstrates benefits of SVG, SMIL, RDF integration 将SGV, SMIL, RDF联合起来用，取各家之长

[Students: 1. Go to http://www.grorg.org/2002/10/foafcorp/ --> 2. read the instruction --> 3. click "launch the demo" on the top of the page --> 4. choose any company name --> 5. click on the green dot to expand the node --> 6. choose a fat cat who also has a green dot, expand the node and see what other company board he serves --> 7. click the blue dot to view the RDF record --> 8. expand the node of this new company and see how many board members it has and how many of them have the green dot.]
[If you have not installed SVG plugin, just walk through the screenshots I made. (html)]
如果你没有安装SVG, 请看我根据该网站工具编制的一套图示 （html 网页)

客户方调节的语义网浏览界面-- Haystack
Semantic Web in the Client - Haystack

• User configurable universal information client
  Haystack is a tool for creating, exploring, and organizing information:
  是一个创制，发掘，组织信息的工具：
  • – Personal information: e-mails, contacts, documents, etc.
    个人信息（电子邮件，合同，文献等）
  • – Bioinformatics: proteins, publications, genes, etc.
    生物信息学： 蛋白质，出版物，基因等
• Personalization of information management 个人化的信息管理
• Universal information client - benefits from universal model of information
• RDF model represents everything - data, layout, preferences, etc. 用RDF模式表达所有信息--数据，显示，preferences, 等。
• IBM Research and MIT's work.
  
• Semantic Web Tutorial Using N3 http://www.w3.org/2000/10/swap/doc/

[Students: 1. go to http://haystack.lcs.mit.edu/ --> 2. click on the "screenshots" --> 3. choose "Photo Albums" (pay attention to the 'categorize' list) --> Take a look at the "Exploring relationships" or other screenshots.] EDITED SCREENSHOTS (HTML) 请看图示 (html 网页 )

企业界的语义网 -- Sun 的“剑鱼”
Semantic Web in the Enterprise - Sun's SwoRDFish

• Desire to support effective management and distribution of corporate digital assets.
  期望能有支持效管理和分布企业的数字财产
• The Global Knowledge Engineering Group (GKE) in Sun Services division is leveraging W3C's Semantic Web technologies and standards (RDF)
  SUN公司服务处的全球知识工程小组(GKE) 正致力于从语义网技术和标准(RDF)中找到法宝
• focus on consist use of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set and several localized terms (e.g. sun:product.)
  重点放在一致使用都柏林核心元数据集以及几个本地化的术语（例如，sun:product)
• facilitated by suite of tools and technologies based on Sun's One framework and Open Standards to effectively share RDF vocabularies / taxonomies across the organization
  在Sun的一元框架和开放标准原则上建立的一套工具包，用于有效地在全机构内分享RDF术语（元数据元素）和分类系统。
• "Sun's own internal enterprise ontology management solution is based on RDF and associated Semantic Web technologies. RDF provides Sun with the foundation for superior knowledge aggregation and application integration." - Lew Tucker, V.P. Internet Services, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

[Students: follow this link to the section on swordfish, or to the full report.]
[Students: go to http://www.ibm.com ==> view 'source' of the webpage (or click here to see the captured source code ) ==> pay attention to the metadata vocabulary and data embedded in the webpage. Even though this is not the Sun page, it is a good example of how integrated metadata vocabularies are used. ]

语义网与内容管理 - Brandsoft
Semantic Web and Content Management - Brandsoft

• focus on 'Enterprise Business Models' 重点放在企业商务模式上
• Strategic models for controlling and publishing Web sites across extended enterprise operations
  控制与出版跨整个企业操作的网站的策略性模式
• Models for content management, page publishing, access 内容管理，网页出版，管理的模式
• Models represented in RDF 用RDF表述的模式
• Common models allow for distributed maintenance across organization with coherent integrated result 允许跨机构的分布式的管理

[Students: 1. go to http://www.brandsoft.com/Home --> 2. choose "Take a Tour".
3. See summary of Brandsoft functions (http://www.brandsoft.com/Brandsoft%20Resource%20Manager). ]

语义网与查寻--TAP
Semantic Web and Searching - TAP

• TAP - designed to help enable the Semantic Web by providing some simple tools that make the web a giant distributed database.
  TAP -- 为了能够让语义网通过一些简单易用的工具来将整个万维网变成为巨大的分布式的数据库而设计
• Local, independently managed knowledge bases can be aggregated
  地方的，独立管理的知识库也可以被聚集起来
• Can be recombined / tailored for different applications
  可以为不同应用而重新组合/剪裁
• TAP 'Semantic Search' - Demonstrates full-text integrated with structured information searching
  TAP"语义查寻” -- 显示出将全文与结构化的信息一体化的查寻

[Students: 1. go to http://tap.stanford.edu/ -->2. Demos --> 3. Activity Based Search --> 4. type "Sting" and see the details of different types of 'Sting' search results.]
[Screenshots for searching 'Sting' on TAP demo (html)] 请看图示 (html 网页 )

语义网日程表 -- Semaview's Sherpa
Semantic Web Calendars - Semaview's Sherpa

• RDF representation of calendaring information
  用RDF来表达日程表信息
• Publish and merge personal (work, home, etc) events
  出版并合并个人的活动 （工作，家庭，等等）
• Publish and merge calendaring events of friends and colleagues
  出版并合并朋友和同事的活动

[Students: 1. Go to http://www.eventsherpa.com/ --> 2. follow the "Product Feature " of eventSherpa. --> 3. Go to "Screen Shots"]
[A quick tutorial is under 'support']

Some Tools

• HP's Jena 2 - A Semantic Web Framework http://www.hpl.hp.com/semweb/jena.htm
  Jena is a Java framework for writing Semantic Web applications
  Jena 2是一个用于写语义网应用产品的JAVA框架
  
• RDFLib.net http://rdflib.net/
  RDFLib is a Python library for working with RDF. The library contains an RDF/XML parser/serializer, a TripleStore, an InformationStore and various store backends.

See also:

• Semantic Web testimonials from enterprise-scale implementors and independent developers illustrate current uses of RDF / OWL on the Web today.
  
• Implementation report for the RDFCore Working Group
  
• Implementation report for Web Ontology Working Group
  
• These highlight a large and growing number of products and open source tools and toolkits (Parsers, Reasoners, APIs, etc.) in various languages (Java, Lisp, Python, PHP, Perl, C, C#, etc.)

Future Directions for the Semantic Web Activity

• Facilitate Semantic Web infrastructure - stimulate the network effect of data
• Data Access
• Best Practices for vocabulary / ontology development
• Development of ontology registries for Open vocabularies to help bootstrap application deployment in interoperable manners
• Increased focus on stimulating domain-specific / vertical-market applications
• Investigate additional enabling standards that help build the Semantic Web