Customer Reviews

A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've read about the basics of the semantic web online, you won't get much more from this book. There's only 6 pages devoted to SPARQL, and no mention of RDFa. Later chapters (especially "Ontology Engineering") are thin and weak. You learn the dirt basics, but not how to build anything meaningful with it.

It is a really good book that clearly introduces principal aspects of ontologies: tools, applications, logic, engineering design and research topics.
The material is easy to read and suggested readings are useful for a deeper insight of the presented topics. In fact, one of the best thinks the book have are the supplemental reading suggestions.

A good overview of Semantic Web from a beginner's standpoint. Would not recommend if you are looking for more advanced reading in this area but is a fantastic entry level text. Recommended.

This book is what is states on the cover, a primer. The target audience are people who have not worked with the "semantic" web. I've gone back to school after more than a decade working as a programmer in old school environments (mainframe, Unix servers, etc). One of the courses I took was the semantic web. Many books and other resources that discuss the semantic web are as convoluted as the semantic web itself.

I am not a fan of the semantic web; I think it is quite useless. However, it's here and if you find yourself with having to understand the methods behind the semantic web, this book will help get you started. The author does not seek to convert you; just explain the working elements of RDF, OWL and related methods. It helped me understand the basics in a way the confusing and convoluted course material never could.