Semantic Web for Dummies (ISBN - 0470396792)

435 Pages·2021·7.41 MB·English

Jeffrey T. Pollock

Learn to:
• Recognize how the Semantic Web differs
from the traditional Internet

• Make sense of the technology, with
simple hands-on exercises

• Identify applications for Semantic
Web technology

Receive $100 off the registration fee for
SemTech Conference — see inside
for details

Semantic Web

Making Everything Easier!™

Open the book and find:

• What defines Web 3.0

• A quick primer on tech
specifications

• How business will change as the
Semantic Web takes hold

• Ten common Semantic Web myths

• How to sort the hype from the
reality

• Interesting case studies of early
Semantic Web successes

• Key priorities for CIOs

• How familiar technologies fit with
the Semantic Web

Jeffrey T. Pollock is a software industry veteran whose startup experience
and standards community leadership have helped the Semantic Web go
from ivory tower to industrial strength. Currently he manages the data
integration product portfolio for Oracle and consults with key clients about
their Semantic Web strategies.

$29.99 US / $35.99 CN / £19.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-39679-7

Internet/Web Page Design

Go to dummies.com®

for more!

Get up to speed on the
most exciting evolution
in the history of the Internet

Meet the Web of tomorrow — today! The Semantic Web
completely changes how we interact with data in the
vastness of the Internet. So whether you’re a consumer
doing research online, a business owner who wants to offer
your customers the most useful Web site, or an IT manager
eager to understand Semantic Web solutions, this book is
the place to start!

• What’s Web 3.0? — explore how the Internet has evolved and
where it’s going

• Change is coming — know how the typical Internet user will
recognize the effects of the Semantic Web

• Data or documents? — see how the Semantic Web is about data
while the “old” Internet was about documents

• It’s business — explore the data Web’s many benefits to
businesses

• Speak the language — get into the languages that make it all
work: Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology
Language (OWL)

• Jobs, jobs, jobs — sneak a peek at the variety of information
workers that will be needed in our data-driven economy

• Some geeky stuff — tour the architectures, strategies, and
standards involved in Semantic Web technology

• Already there — look at existing Semantic Web sites

Semantic Web

Pollock

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by Jeff rey T. Pollock

Semantic Web

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

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Semantic Web For Dummies®

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit-
ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
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Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley
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Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009922582

ISBN: 978-0-470-39679-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Jeffrey T. Pollock is a technology visionary and author of the enterprise soft-
ware books Semantic Web For Dummies and Adaptive Information (both pub-
lished by Wiley). Currently a Senior Director with Oracle’s Fusion Middleware
group, responsible for management of Oracle’s data integration product
portfolio, Mr. Pollock was formerly an independent systems architect for the
Defense Department and Vice President of Technology at Cerebra and Chief
Technology Offi cer of Modulant, developing semantic middleware platforms
and inference-driven SOA platforms since 2001. Throughout his career, he
has architected, designed, and built application server/middleware solutions
for Fortune 500 and U.S. Government clients. Previously, Mr. Pollock was a
Principal Engineer with Modem Media and Senior Architect with Ernst &
Young’s Center for Technology Enablement. He is a frequent speaker at
industry conferences, author for industry journals, active member of W3C
and OASIS, and formerly an engineering instructor with UC Berkeley’s
Extension for object-oriented systems, software development process, and
enterprise systems architecture.

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Dedication

For my family: Kathryn, Carson, Sienna, and Sirus. Especially for my wife,
who as a former ontologist is more understanding and patient than most
people could ever be with a semantics-obsessed husband. Without her love
and support, this book would not have been possible.

Author’s Acknowledgments

Semantic Web is a passion for me. Without the inspiration of Tim Berners-
Lee, Jim Hendler, Ora Lassila, Deb McGuinness, Ian Horrocks, and others
like them, I would not have ever embraced this vision for the future. Without
people like Nova Spivack, Mark Greaves, Eric Miller, and Dean Allemang con-
stantly evangelizing and refi ning the way we all talk about the Semantic Web
vision, I would not have been able to simplify and distill my own thoughts
into a coherent whole. Finally, I owe very special thanks to Samir A. Batla and
David Provost, whose contributions to several chapters in this book have
made it a better work, more practical and more encompassing of the full
scope of the Semantic Web.

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Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form
located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer
Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax
317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions and Editorial

Project Editor: Kim Darosett

Acquisitions Editor: Katie Mohr

Copy Editor: Virginia Sanders

Technical Editor: Samir A. Batla

Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Erin Smith

Layout and Graphics: Samantha K. Allen,
Reuben W. Davis, Cheryl Grubbs,
Christine Williams

Proofreaders: Jessica Kramer, Toni Settle

Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC

Special Help
Linda Morris

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

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Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

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Contents at a Glance

Introduction ................................................................ 1

Part I: Welcome to the Future of Data and the Web ........ 7

Chapter 1: Getting the Gist of the Semantic Web ..........................................................9
Chapter 2: The Semantic Web in Your Life ...................................................................25
Chapter 3: The Data Web at Work for Business ...........................................................43

Part II: Catch the Wave of Smart Data Today .............. 67

Chapter 4: A Quick Semantic Web Primer ....................................................................69
Chapter 5: Why the Semantic Web Is New Technology, Not Hype............................89
Chapter 6: The Problem with Metadata ......................................................................117

Part III: Building the Semantic Web ......................... 151

Chapter 7: Using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) ...............................153
Chapter 8: Speaking the Web Ontology Language .....................................................181
Chapter 9: Exploring Semantic Web Enablers ............................................................225

Part IV: Putting the Semantic Web to Work ............... 247

Chapter 10: The Rise of the Information Worker .......................................................249
Chapter 11: Discovering the Enterprise Semantic Web ............................................269
Chapter 12: Scalable Architectures .............................................................................295
Chapter 13: Assessment Strategies .............................................................................315
Chapter 14: Exploring the Limitations of the Semantic Web ...................................329
Chapter 15: A Guide to Essential Vendor Implementations .....................................339

Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................... 365

Chapter 16: Ten Myths About the Semantic Web .....................................................367
Chapter 17: Ten Things to Look Forward to Beyond Web 2.0 .................................377
Chapter 18: Ten Next Steps to Take from Here..........................................................387

Index ...................................................................... 395

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