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Semantic Websites

The Semantic Web

Semantic Web Cube

In contrast to the conventional Web, the “Web of documents”, the Semantic Web is the “Web of data” [1]. The Semantic Web provides machine-processable data, making it possible for software agents to “understand” the meaning of information (i.e., semantics) presented by Web documents. This feature can be used for a variety of services [2], e.g., museums [3], community sites [4], or podcasting [5]. The Semantic Web is a major aspect of Web 2.0 [6].

Linked Data

Linked Data can be applied to improve the exploitation the “Web of data”. The expression refers to the publishing of structured data in a way that they can be interlinked [7] to provide a higher level of usability. By using Linked Data, it is possible to find other, related data [8].

One of the most well-known images about the variety of datasets published in Linked Data is the LOD cloud diagram (Figure 1). Contributors include the Linking Open Data community project, individuals and organizations. It is based on metadata collected and curated by CKAN directory contributors [9].

LOD cloud diagram
Figure 1. LOD cloud diagram (enlarge)

References

  1. [1] Herman, I. (ed.) (2009) How would you define the main goals of the Semantic Web? In: W3C Semantic Web FAQ. World Wide Web Consortium. www.w3.org/2001/sw/SW-FAQ#swgoals. Accessed 05 Jun 2011.
  2. [2] Sbodio, L. M., Martin, D., Moulin, C. Discovering Semantic Web services using SPARQL and intelligent agents. Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web 2010, 8(4):310–328.
  3. [3] Hyvönen, E., Mäkelä, E., Salminen, M., Valo, A., Viljanen, K., Saarela, S., Junnila, M., Kettula, S. MuseumFinland — Finnish museums on the semantic web. Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web 2005, 3(2–3):224–241.
  4. [4] Bojars, U., Breslin, J. G., Finn, A., Decker, S. Using the Semantic Web for linking and reusing data across Web 2.0 communities. Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web 2008, 6(1):21–28.
  5. [5] Celma, Ò., Raimond, Y. ZemPod: A semantic web approach to podcasting. Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web 2008, 6(2):162–169.
  6. [6] Ankolekar, A., Krötzsch, M., Tran, T., Vrandecic, D. The two cultures: Mashing up Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web. Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web 2008, 6(1):70–75.
  7. [7] Bizer, C., Heath, T., Berners-Lee, T. Linked data — The story so far. Semantic Web and Information Systems 2009, 5(3):1–22.
  8. [8] Berners-Lee, T. (2009) Linked Data — Design Issues. World Wide Web Consortium. www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html. Accessed 05 Jun 2011.
  9. [9] Cyganiak, R., Jentzsch, A. Linking Open Data cloud diagram. http://lod-cloud.net. Accessed 20 Jul 2011.

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