Written for developers and programmers, this guide acquaints users with the basic technologies and their interrelations that will be instrumental in the development of the Semantic Web. Key technology areas are covered, such as knowledge modeling (RDF, Topic Maps), agents (DAML, FIPA), and Trust and Authentication. This broad introduction takes a basic conceptual approach so that developers and programmers with a wide range of backgrounds understand the essential nature of the Semantic Web, how it works, and which technologies are being used or proposed for the Semantic Web's development. Important points are illustrated with diagrams and code fragments to help develop a familiarity with the latest Semantic Web initiatives.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"I recommend this book to students, developers, and researchers." -- Computing Reviews
"Particularly well written . . . highly recommended." -- Choice
"Particularly well written . . . highly recommended." -- Choice
About the Author
Thomas B. Passin is principal systems engineer at Mitretek Systems, a nonprofit systems and information engineering firm. He has been involved in data modeling and created several complex database-backed web sites and has also became engaged in a range of conceptual modeling approaches and graphical modeling technologies. He was a key member of a team that developed several demonstration XML-based web service applications, and worked on creating XML versions of draft standards originally written in ASN.1. He is the coauthor of "Signal Processing in C," He lives in Reston, Virginia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The semantic web is an intelligent web, that is, a web that can be intelligently used by computers. There are two things you need to know about the semantic web. First, it doesn't exist. Second, it may never exist. If this isn't enough information for you, and you want to look at what the future may hold in the area of an intelligent web, then I can't think of a better way to get an introduction to the technologies and ideas that may be part of the semantic web than by reading this book.
The author of the book takes the layers of the semantic web as proposed by the W3C and looks at each one in turn, skipping over the familiar XML and XML schema layers. The author starts with the RDF layer and gives one of the best explanations of RDF and RDF schema that you will find. RDF is the potential meta-data language of the semantic web and the author makes it clear and understandable. Other than XML, RDF is the most real layer of the W3C layer cake so this section is also the most accessible. The next chapter delves into ontology which is vaguer and less clearly defined. The chapter on web services seems a bit unnecessary except as how they fit into the semantic web. A chapter on how intelligent agents may work is included. The last section deals with how information may be verified for truthfulness and authenticity.
If you are interested in RDF then you may want this book just for that section. If you are interested in what the semantic web might look like then this book may be of interest. If you are looking for practical programming samples or ways to build intelligent agents then this isn't the book for you. This is an explorer's guide for those having no fear to tread into unknown waters.... Read more ›
The author of the book takes the layers of the semantic web as proposed by the W3C and looks at each one in turn, skipping over the familiar XML and XML schema layers. The author starts with the RDF layer and gives one of the best explanations of RDF and RDF schema that you will find. RDF is the potential meta-data language of the semantic web and the author makes it clear and understandable. Other than XML, RDF is the most real layer of the W3C layer cake so this section is also the most accessible. The next chapter delves into ontology which is vaguer and less clearly defined. The chapter on web services seems a bit unnecessary except as how they fit into the semantic web. A chapter on how intelligent agents may work is included. The last section deals with how information may be verified for truthfulness and authenticity.
If you are interested in RDF then you may want this book just for that section. If you are interested in what the semantic web might look like then this book may be of interest. If you are looking for practical programming samples or ways to build intelligent agents then this isn't the book for you. This is an explorer's guide for those having no fear to tread into unknown waters.... Read more ›
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By akempo
Format:Paperback
This book is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The book's organization, content, and layout were well thought out. There are excellent high
level explanations of RDF, OWL, and other Semantic Web concepts. This is all well and good, but it fails with respect to one major point:
what exactly am I supposed to be exploring? The Semantic Web as described in the book sounds great... but there are more technologies
required to make it work than those described in this book. The most telling thing in this book is the fact that most of the technologies
are already available, smoe in limited form, some better defined, and yet, the author has difficulty coming up with practical applications
for almost any of it, outside of the passing mention of RSS, and an appendix detailing Friend of a Friend (FOAF).
Bottom line: if you're looking for a good, high level explanation of the various technologies, this a very good book to read. If you're
looking for something that can provide you with a springboard to develop ideas for the Semantic Web, this is definitely not the book for you.
level explanations of RDF, OWL, and other Semantic Web concepts. This is all well and good, but it fails with respect to one major point:
what exactly am I supposed to be exploring? The Semantic Web as described in the book sounds great... but there are more technologies
required to make it work than those described in this book. The most telling thing in this book is the fact that most of the technologies
are already available, smoe in limited form, some better defined, and yet, the author has difficulty coming up with practical applications
for almost any of it, outside of the passing mention of RSS, and an appendix detailing Friend of a Friend (FOAF).
Bottom line: if you're looking for a good, high level explanation of the various technologies, this a very good book to read. If you're
looking for something that can provide you with a springboard to develop ideas for the Semantic Web, this is definitely not the book for you.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not usually a fan of "explorer's guides", but this book is different. Technical books either cover how things are done, or why they are done. Most often it's about the 'how', and explorer's books just spread a thinner 'how to' over lots of topics. The value of this book is in the perspective it provides, the 'why', as opposed to just a 'how to'.
It covers both how and why for RDF, OWL, Web Services, Agents and a number of other topics. And gives you a complete perspective for the entire field. Of course, what you don't get is a complete how-to guide on any one of these topics. Which is fine by me.
I recommend this book for anyone who knows nothing about these technologies, but wants a perspective on the entire field. That's not something you are going to find in reference books on each of these individual subjects. Not that I have been able to find a good book on RDF.
It covers both how and why for RDF, OWL, Web Services, Agents and a number of other topics. And gives you a complete perspective for the entire field. Of course, what you don't get is a complete how-to guide on any one of these topics. Which is fine by me.
I recommend this book for anyone who knows nothing about these technologies, but wants a perspective on the entire field. That's not something you are going to find in reference books on each of these individual subjects. Not that I have been able to find a good book on RDF.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Curious about the future of the web? Interested for ideas on what the web will be able to do and how it will be doing it? Curious about the technologies being used to develop the semantic web? Looking for ideas from future technologies that you can apply and use today in your applications? Want to know just what the heck the Semantic Web is all about? In easy-to-read, clear, not-over-your-head technical descriptions, Thomas B. Passin's "Explorer's Guide to the Semantic Web" answers those questions, and more.
If the Semantic Web is mostly a new topic for you, as it was for me before reading this book, Passin's book provides a strong base of knowledge and understanding of the emerging Semantic Web concepts and technologies, including describing data with RDF, navigating information with topic maps, annotation, searching, ontology, semantic web services and intelligent agents.
If you're already quite familiar with the Semantic Web and the technologies behind it, while this book might help you to develop a more complete picture of how the technologies and ideas work into the bigger picture, you may prefer a more technical book with larger, more detailed descriptions and examples.
If the Semantic Web is mostly a new topic for you, as it was for me before reading this book, Passin's book provides a strong base of knowledge and understanding of the emerging Semantic Web concepts and technologies, including describing data with RDF, navigating information with topic maps, annotation, searching, ontology, semantic web services and intelligent agents.
If you're already quite familiar with the Semantic Web and the technologies behind it, while this book might help you to develop a more complete picture of how the technologies and ideas work into the bigger picture, you may prefer a more technical book with larger, more detailed descriptions and examples.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By S. Kant
Format:Paperback
I am a semantic web researcher and as someone actively working in this field, this book was a breath of fresh air. Since lots of the other SemWeb books either seemed like conference proceedings or hoity-toity handwaving. This book is an excellent read for people who have some basic understanding of web technologies and want to learn where they are headed next. Business analysts, CEOs, CIOs, Computer Programmers, poets and painters- anyone and everyone with an interest in web-related development should read this book.
The only reason that I did not give a 5-star is because it tried to be more concise than necessary, when I felt more detail should be given.
The only reason that I did not give a 5-star is because it tried to be more concise than necessary, when I felt more detail should be given.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very lightweight introduction
This book gaves a very shallow introduction to semantic technologies. If you're completely new to it then it might be a good place to start, but you'll need something more... Read more
Published on August 11, 2009 by Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent overview for the non-expert.
This book helped me a lot. I am not a Web expert. It provided me with a basic understanding of the principles and technologies involved in the Semantic Web. Read more
Published on May 3, 2008 by Compulsive Explorer
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