Re: Not a review -- correcting an error by another reviewer, December 2, 2005

books:


	• A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems) Grigoris Antoniou, Frank van Harmelen The MIT Press, 2004 - 258 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Great introduction to semantic web technologies

This book is clearly organized and steps you through the technologies and ideas underlying the semantic web. Starts out with some basic concepts about the semantic web, goes on to describe XML -> RDF -> OWL -> logic/inference. It wraps it up with some examples and ontology engineering.

Great introduction with enough references to help the more advanced reader find what they're looking for.

Book Lives Up to Title

A Semantic Web Primer, by Grigoris Antoniou and Frank van Harmelen, achieves just what it sets out to achieve: to be a useful undergraduate introduction to the semantic Web. This actually has much broader applicability, because, in the words of the authors':

"The question arises whether there is a need for [such an introductory undergraduate] textbook, given that all information is available online. We think there is a need because on the Web there are too many sources of varying quality and too much information. Some information is valid, some outdated, some wrong, and most sources talk about obscure details. Anyone who is a newcomer and wishes to learn something about the Semantic Web, or who wishes to set up a course on the Semantic Web, is faced with these problems. This book is meant to help out."

I obtained the book for that very same purpose, and it does provide a fairly useful basis for self-study for the layperson practitioner. It also contains exercises at the end of each section making it useful for course teaching.

The book proceeds from a general discussion of the semantic Web and progresses through XML to XML Schema, XPath and XSL and XSLT, then the RDF and RDF Schema frameworks, on to then OWL and predicate logic, applications, example uses and ontologies and possible future developments. The progression builds in line with Tim Berner-Lee's "layer" cake diagram and explains concepts clearly and well.

But it is a prettly slim volume. After removal of blank pages, listings of markup code and accounting for wide white space margins, there are perhaps only 110 pages of useful content in the whole volume.

The references at the end of each section are excellent and will be important follow-on reading for serious students.

I think -- as an introductory guide and as a quick way to cut through all of the overlapping and confusing resources on the Web -- that this hardcover book deserves attention. But it does not, unfortunately, alone constitute the one-stop introductory resource it could have been. After reading this, it is time to move on to the more detailed section references. I actually suspect that it will also be little consulted as a reference source on the shelf.

But, if you have been wanting a pretty good global, easy introduction to the semantic Web, this is probably worth your purchase.

for more information click here

Re: Not a review -- correcting an error by another reviewer, December 2, 2005

Hello,

Rather harsh correction, I'd say, Mr. "_x".

An ontology is merely a kind of (type of, subclass of, ... pick your term of choice) taxonomy. Any taxonomy always has principles of organization, even if the logical principles are inconsistent. Otherwise all biological taxa would be exercises in futility, for instance. Are you suggesting that everyone from Aristotle to Linnaeus to modern day biologists/taxonomists are morons?

Now let's get back to that big word you threw out there: subsumption. You precede this with the statement, "No sound reasoning is possible in a taxonomy." As opposed to an ontology? For sound reasoning in all cases, a logic must be both decidable and consistent. First order logic is neither -- we can thank Kurt Godel for this unfortunate predicament. In other words, subsumption is sound (consistent and decidable) only for certain subsets of first order logic.

So if subsumption in a given ontology is as expressive as first order logic, technically, you lose all the sound principles for organizing the hierarchy, and you're back to being a taxonomy.

Ah, ..., amateur ontologists are indeed the bane of a taxonomist's existence ... :-)

Cheers,
Sunit.

PS. My apologies to the gentle reader for not posting a review of the book (which was recommended by someone who's judgment I respect), and instead getting into an old-fashioned "flame-war," but I didn't want you to not buy this book because someone claiming to be an expert turns out to be just whingeing.

for more information click here

Excellent and clear technical overview of the semantic web

Thanks to this book I now have new found confidence on the subject of the semantic web. "A semantic Web Primer" takes the reader for a fast trip around the key concepts which underlie the subject and then goes on to help the reader develop an understanding of the key tools and applications which make this technology actually work. The book lays out why expertise in this area is useful very clearly - and in itself this is valuable and very useful.
Chapter One of the book sets out the basic concepts clearly. It explains the need for semantic Web technologies and also explains, with useful examples, exactly how this could work and what we could gain from it in terms of access to relevant, timely and accurate information. The authors set out the role of ontologies in the development of the semantic Web and also emphasize a very practical and evolutionary view of the potential future for the semantic Web. This chapter makes it very clear that we are not dealing with a single technology but with a set of tools and technologies, that these need to be actively taken forward and that they will require integration and development over time to realize the potential that the authors describe.
Chapters 2 through 5 deal with the specific tools and technologies that can take the semantic Web from an abstract idea to a functioning tool, providing a guide to XML, RDF, OWL and rules in the context of the development of the semantic Web. These are not detailed tutorial chapters and the authors point to a set of resources for very specific and detailed knowledge on all of these areas for those who want or need them.
Chapter 6 gives some examples of the use of semantic Web technologies - primarily in data integration - as well as charting out a few key areas where the authors believe that impacts can and will be made in the medium term. The examples are well chosen and the chapter provides a convincing case for the development of the technologies and techniques in these areas, while acknowledging that there is a long way to go before the state of the art advances to the point where the benefits will be realized on any large scale.
Chapter 7 provides a practical guide to the development of ontologies and also provides a guide to resources which can be used to help the reader actually develop an ontology for a given area. A practical task is given at the end of the chapter which should form the basis of a useful project for anyone who wants to get hands-on experience with the concepts and available tools. Actually, this book has exercises and smaller projects at the end of each chapter.
Chapter 8 effectively poses the question 'Where next?' - but doesn't answer it in any detail. Instead, the chapter presents a brief guide to the issues which need to be resolved and expresses the view that the semantic Web will form a part of our future development of the World Wide Web.
In summary this is a useful guide and a source of some much needed clarification on the semantic Web. The authors successfully describe the main concepts and provide a guide to the key tools and technologies. They emphasize the range of technologies and the need for successful integration of them. They also emphasize the complexity of overall development in the semantic web and the need for active involvement and development if we are to see this ambitious development succeed.
Amazon does not show the table of contents so I do that here:
1 THE SEMANTIC WEB VISION 1
Today's Web; From Today's Web to the Semantic Web: Examples; Semantic Web Technologies; A Layered Approach; Book Overview; Summary; Suggested Reading;

2 STRUCTURED WEB DOCUMENTS IN XML 23
Introduction; The XML Language; Structuring; Namespaces; Addressing and Querying XML Documents; Processing; Summary; Suggested Reading; Exercises and Projects;

3 DESCRIBING WEB RESOURCES RDF 61
Introduction; RDF: Basic Ideas; RDF: XML-Based Syntax; RDF Schema: Basic Ideas; RDF Schema: The Language; RDF and RDF Schema in RDF Schema; An Axiomatic Semantics for RDF and RDF Schema; A Direct Inference System for RDF and RDFS; Querying in RQL; Summary; Suggested Reading; Exercises and Projects;

4 WEB ONTOLOGY LANGUAGE: OWL 109
Introduction; The OWL Language; Examples; OWL in OWL; Future Extensions; Summary; Suggested Reading; Exercises and Projects;

5 LOGIC AND INFERENCE: Rules 151
Introduction; Example of Monotonic Rules: Family Relationships; Monotonic Rules: Syntax; Monotonic Rules: Semantics; Nonmonotonic Rules: Motivation and Syntax; Example of Nonmonotonic Rules: Brokered Trade; Rule Markup in XML: Monotonic Rules; Rule Markup in XML: Nonmonotonic Rules; Summary; Suggested Reading; Exercises and Projects;

6 APPLICATIONS 179
Introduction; Horizontal Information Products at Elsevier; Data Integration at Audi; Skill Finding at Swiss Life; Think Tank Portal at EnerSearch; e-Learning; Web Services; Other Scenarios; Suggested Reading;

7 ONTOLOGY ENGINEERING 205
Introduction; Constructing Ontologies Manually; Reusing Existing Ontologies; Using Semiautomatic Methods; On-To-Knowledge Semantic Web Architecture; Suggested Reading; Project;

8 CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK 223
How It All Fits Together; Some Technical Questions; Predicting the Future;

Appendix Abstract OWL syntax 227
Index 235

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

The development of the Semantic Web, with machine-readable content, has the potential to revolutionize the World Wide Web and its use. A Semantic Web Primer provides an introduction and guide to this emerging field, describing its key ideas, languages, and technologies. Suitable for use as a textbook or for self-study by professionals, it concentrates on undergraduate-level fundamental concepts and techniques that will enable readers to proceed with building applications on their own. It includes exercises, project descriptions, and annotated references to relevant online materials. A Semantic Web Primer is the only available book on the Semantic Web to include a systematic treatment of the different languages (XML, RDF, OWL, and rules) and technologies (explicit metadata, ontologies, and logic and inference) that are central to Semantic Web development. The book also examines such crucial related topics as ontology engineering and application scenarios.

After an introductory chapter, topics covered in succeeding chapters include XML and related technologies that support semantic interoperability; RDF and RDF Schema, the standard data model for machine-processable semantics; and OWL, the W3C-approved standard for a Web ontology language more extensive than RDF Schema; rules, both monotonic and nonmonotonic, in the framework of the Semantic Web; selected application domains and how the Semantic Web would benefit them; the development of ontology-based systems; and current debates on key issues and predictions for the future.

for more information click here

hot