A comparative study of rdf and topic maps development. Steve peppers former company, ontopia, still offers open source topic maps software. Top 4 download periodically updates software information of rdf full versions from the publishers, but some information may be slightly outofdate using warez version, crack, warez passwords, patches, serial numbers, registration codes, key generator, pirate key, keymaker or keygen for rdf license key is illegal. Furthermore, because ontologies are topic maps themselves, they can also be merged thus allowing for the automated integration of information from diverse sources into a coherent new topic map. The topic maps data model is the heart of the topic maps standards and is supported by several file formats, query languages and modeling languages. Rdf is a languages for expressing binary relationships between resources. Rdf and topic maps are both identitybased technologies. Topic maps were originally developed in the late 1990s as a way to represent backofthebook index structures so that multiple indexes from different sources could be merged. Topic maps, owl and rdf its been quite a while since my last post. Rdfowl is to mathematics as topic maps is to natural language.
Topics are computer representations of objects uniquely describing a subject of conversation. Luckily, theres still users and advocates of topic maps. However, rdf and topic maps differs and suffers from the interoperability problem due to difference in their fundamental architectures, approaches, techniques, and. One way of mapping from topic maps to rdf is that of defining the topic map model using an rdf schema, and implementing something that can export topic maps in this rdf form. Feb 28, 2015 rdf and topic maps based applications were developed to achieve the above goals and provide users the facility to create and manage semantic web technologies in a simple and flexible way. The rdf topicmaps project explores subject navigation of web sites using semiautomatically generated finding aids. Not going to details, but when hand crafting an rdf schema for the finnish museum of photography at that time there were no robust rdf modeling tools i learnt that creating an ontology for human users was very laborious. A comparison of the two models, a study of rdfs and owl applied to topic maps, a proposal for data conversion in both directions, and more. An rdf schema for topic maps by lars marius garshol. The topic maps and rdf technology stacks are quite complex, and its not easy to see how the various pieces compare. Topic maps explicitly support the concept of merging of identity between multiple topics or topic maps. They consist of the syntax for description, data model, restrictions language, query language, etc.
Rdf and topic maps based applications were developed to achieve the above goals and provide users the facility to create and manage semantic web technologies in a simple and flexible way. Survey of rdftm interoperability proposals, a w3c working draft. This document contains information relevant to xml topic maps and is part of the cover pages resource. Dec 01, 2010 the paper also discusses the tools for automatically creating topic maps, with particular emphasis on how the synergies between topic maps and rdf can be exploited in the process of autogenerating topic maps from structured and semistructured source data. A topic map in a software system is usually managed using a topic maps engine. Perhaps most importantly, they have significantly different goals rdf and owl are positioned as enablers for largescale data integration andor an artificially intelligent web for software agents. Both topic maps and rdf resource description framework are popular semantic web standards designed for machine processing of web documents. Therefore, it is perfectly possible, and right, to represent the majority of rdf structures through the use of syntax for topic maps, and viceversa freese 2003. Many institutions are struggling to solve problems with their official web sites, but the contents constantly change, and. Download links are directly from our mirrors or publishers website, rdf.
Spcs is a valuable tool that will automate many of the time consuming tasks. Creating enterprise web sites with topic maps and xslt. Topic maps are similar to concept maps and mind maps in many respects, though only topic maps are standardized. It is well and good to embrace standards for semantic content such as rdf or owl, but without mechanisms for standardly expressing schemas it is difficult to actually map and resolve. An rdf schema that translates the standard application model for topic maps into rdf with the one restriction that all locators must be uris. Topics covered include tutorials for using the xtm specification, topic maps for website information architecture, knowledge representation, ontological engineering, elearning, visualisation, relationship to rdf, information about various software implementations a bit dated now, but still valuable, as well as sample topic maps and xslt code. This has mostly been due to spending a large amount of time playing with some topic map the ontopia omnigator and owl protege software. The topic maps data model is a structured way to describe a topic as a composite object. If the pmtm4 model is adopted for this purpose, the corresponding rdf arcs will never need to be reified, even the very first time someone needs to make an assertion about a buttering. The w3c organization has just published an update on a survey of rdftopic maps interoperability proposals. Topic maps, rdf graphs, and ontologies visualization. Topic maps are a form of semantic web technology, and some work has been undertaken on interoperability between the w3cs rdf owl sparql family of semantic web standards and the iso s family of topic maps standards. Constructing web subject gateways using dublin core, the.
In rdf one starts with information resources and attaches metadata structures to them. Rdf and topic maps applications can provide adaptive and customized views by analyzing the user current taskactivity. In this way, mapping 1 is better as it makes rdf data available to topic maps, albeit generally in a limited form. Names can be represented in both topic maps and rdf, but only in topic maps is it possible for software with no knowledge of the schema to know which properties are names. However, the developers quickly realized that with a little additional. A software system for viewing and querying automatically. Topic maps and the semantic web topic maps and all that. Topic maps family and rdf family xtm hytm ltm rdf xml n3 topic maps tmql tmcl rdf rdfs. Comparison of a rdf standard family and a topic maps standard family is shown in the following figure. An artificially intelligent web for software agents. A new report from norway compares topic maps, rdfowl, uml and others.
Topic maps are a new standard since 2000 and are slowly becoming more popular. Semantic web best practices and deployment working group. Since topic maps are a way of thinking about data structures, not a technology stack, they are rather timeless. Topic maps are a standard for managing metadata somewhat similar to rdf. Since these representations were originally created. A mustread in this context is steve peppers 2002 article ten theses on topic maps and rdf. This makes topic map data available to rdf but does not make common rdf availble to topic maps. Living with topic maps and rdf, by lars marius garshol. This note, dated feb 10, updates the previous version of one year ago. Reification is the process by which an abstract idea about a computer program is turned into an explicit data model or other object created in a programming language.
That is, thekey concept in both is symbols representing identifiable things,which statements can be made about. Jun 16, 2000 moore may have the last word on thisstill in grad school, he has a gut feeling that you can implement topic maps in rdf,and plans a detailed analysis of the relationship between the implicit rdf metamodel and the implicit tm metamodel as the topic for his ph. Tim strehles blog topic maps as a standard are dead, im. The paper also discusses the tools for automatically creating topic maps, with particular emphasis on how the synergies between topic maps and rdf can be exploited in the process of autogenerating topic maps from structured and semistructured source data. Welcome to rdf software, home of the structural pest control system for windows. The cover pages is a comprehensive webaccessible reference collection supporting the sgmlxml family of meta markup language standards and their application. My point written above is that rdf is essentially the facet part of the iso topic map standard, nothing more, a. Topic maps are a standard for the representation and interchange of knowledge, with an emphasis on the findability of information. Jun 23, 2017 rdf and topic maps partially overlapped, but the general philosophy differed. Topic maps use nary relations, and both direct and indirect locators. The principal objective in this public access knowledgebase is to promote and. Applications based on rdf and topic maps can store and organize knowledge in a better way and manage large repositories in an efficient manner. They can be used to generate navigation for a website, and for lots of other metadata tasks. Survey of rdf tm interoperability proposals, a w3c working draft.
Topic maps is a language for expressing nary associations of members, each with its own role in the association. Topic maps association roles also make it possible to go beyond binary relationships. Topic maps family and rdf family xtm hytm ltm rdfxml n3 topic maps tmql tmcl rdf rdfs. This document analyzes the development background of both. Other issues context topic maps have a concept of context that provides a way to identify an environment in which the association is valid. Topic maps and rdf are two independently developed proposals for the representation, interchange, and exploitation of modelbased data on the web. Things a thing in the real world s a symbol in the computer domain the heart of rdf and topic maps is the same.
Describes and compares the different attempts at rdftm. My point written above is that rdf is essentially the facet part of the iso topic map standard, nothing more, a way to attach metadata to resources. Jun 14, 2015 since topic maps are a way of thinking about data structures, not a technology stack, they are rather timeless. Rdf and topic maps evolved in parallel during the 1990s within two communities that were scarcely aware of each others existence. Enlightened selfinterest dictates that the rdf camp consider topic maps as an important and basic rdf application.
Rdf is resourcecentric, whereas topic maps are subjectcentric. A topic map is a standard for the representation and interchange of knowledge, with an emphasis on the findability of information. My experiences with both rdf and topic maps fully support your analysis. Jun 07, 2008 a new report from norway compares topic maps, rdfowl, uml and others. If we happen to implement a concept map engine on top of the xtm specification, those concept maps would be converted to topic maps, which will gain the ability to be shared, merged, and archived in a standard format for. Org, which developed the xml topic maps xtm specification.
Living with topic maps and rdf simon fraser university. Altogether, they constitute a topicmapped space, which aims at capturing the semantic organization of an information repository. Rdf needs topic maps in order to make scalable management of knowledge emanating from disparate sources simple, practical and predictable. It is based on information and machine interpretable metadata language expressed in rdf resource description framework. Leading open source topic maps engines are exposing their functionality in tmapi, implementations of a tmcl3.
Rdf resource description framework evolved out of mcf and pics with input from the dublin core community. Topic maps is an international industry standard iso 250 for information management and interchange. Using xml topic maps to build knowledge repositories. However, in the latter direction representing topic maps with rdf structures part of the semantics is lost. This document contains information relevant to rdftopic maps and is part of the cover pages resource. No, the title does not refer to no as in no, nyet, nein, non or ne, but no as in norway norstella, the norwegian foundation for ebusiness and trade procedures, has published a 51pp pdf report edited by oyvind aassve, called the sim report. Topic maps article about topic maps by the free dictionary. So in one sense rdf and topic maps have diametrically opposed points of view.
A survey of rdftopic maps interoperability proposals w3c working group note 10 february 2006, pepper, vitali, garshol, gessa, presutti eds. The result is that in any interface topics can be represened by their names, something that requires schema knowledge in rdf. Topic maps is all about findability and knowledge federation for humans. Knowledge representation, ontological engineering, and topic maps. Many institutions are struggling to solve problems with their official web sites, but the contents constantly change, and the editors cant exercise sufficient control. The wandora people who continue to work on a free java desktop. May 18, 2006 the w3c has made an attempt to establish standard guidelines for resource description framework rdf topic maps interoperability. Rdf, topic maps, and the semantic web researchgate. This, as already mentioned, is the approach taken by lacher01 and ogievitsky01.
A semantic web primer for objectoriented software developers w3c working group note 9 march 2006, knublauch, oberle, tetlow, wallace eds. That is, the key concept in both is symbols representing identifiable things, which statements can be made about. A computableaddressable objecta resourceis created in a system as a proxy for a non computableaddressable object. The great strength of rdfowl is that it is based on formal logic. By means of reification, something that was previously implicit, unexpressed, and possibly. Topic maps is a standard for the representation and interchange of knowledge, with an emphasis on the findability of information. Neither topic maps nor rdf had stable formalized data models. Topic maps are often described as a kind of superimposed semantic metadata layer for indexing often dispersed and heterogeneous information resources but topic maps may in fact realize a number of organization schemes ranging from simple taxonomies to semantically rich ontologies garshol, 2004. The pmtm4 model is an example of a model of the meaning of topic maps that can easily be translated into rdf once and for all topic maps. Luckily, such a point exists with rdf and topic maps, and, what is even better, this point sits at the heart of both technologies. See my blog post topic maps as a standard are dead, im afraid.
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