Intro to the Semantic Web, LITA Social Software Showcase 2009

The Semantic Web
Julia Bauder, Grinnell College Libraries
Social Software Showcase 2009

What is the Semantic Web?
A Web where information is formatted to be read and processed by machines, not people.
Why should you care?
It will save you time!

ISBNs
978-0618645619 = Lord of the Rings 50th Anniversary one-volume edition, hardcover
ISSNs
1547-3155 = Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review, print version
Library of Congress Authorized Headings
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973
Uniform Identifiers in Libraries

URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers)
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/sh85047114#concept = Fantasy fiction
http://dbpedia.org/resource/J._R._R._Tolkien = J. R. R. Tolkien
http://dublincore.org/2008/01/14/dcelements.rdf#creator = Creator
http://www4.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/bookmashup/doc/books/0618645616 = Lord of the Rings 50th Anniversary one-volume edition, hardcover
Uniform Identifiers on the Web

Using an XML-based language called RDF, combine URIs to assert something:
J. R. R. Tolkien is the creator of The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien (http://dbpedia.org/resource/J._R._R._Tolkien)
is the creator of (http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator)
The Lord of the Rings 50th anniversary edition, hardcover (http://www4.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/bookmashup/doc/books/0618645616)
Make a Statement with URIs

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/">
<rdf:Description rdf:about="http://www4.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/bookmashup/doc/books/0618645616 ">
<dcterms:creator rdf:resource="http://dbpedia.org/resource/J._R._R._Tolkien"/>
</rdf:Description></rdf:RDF>
Syntax from
http://dublincore.org/documents/dc-rdf/
In RDF

A novelist is a type of writer.
A writer is a type of person.
A person is a type of intelligent agent.
(A hobbit is a type of intelligent agent, too!)
An intelligent agent can know about things.
(Taken from OpenCyc, http://www.opencyc.org)
Add Some Information about Classes of Things

<owl:Classrdf:about="Mx4rvdRsSZwpEbGdrcN5Y29ycA"> <rdfs:labelxml:lang="en">hobbit</rdfs:label>
<rdfs:subClassOfrdf:resource="Mx4rvVinb5wpEbGdrcN5Y29ycA"/> <rdfs:subClassOfrdf:resource="Mx4rwQwwBZwpEbGdrcN5Y29ycA"/>
<rdf:typerdf:resource="Mx4rvVjf5JwpEbGdrcN5Y29ycA"/> <owl:sameAsrdf:resource="http://umbel.org/umbel/sc/Hobbit"/> <owl:sameAsrdf:resource="http://dbpedia.org/resource/Hobbit"/> </owl:Class>
Human-readable version: http://sw.opencyc.org/concept/Mx4rvdRsSZwpEbGdrcN5Y29ycA
What it looks like inside Opencyc

(Someday Soon)Let the Semantic Web Do the Work
“Computer, I want a list of awards won by fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford, for books they have written!”

DBpediaknows that Tolkien is a member of the group “fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford”;
DBpediaknows that http://dbpedia.org/resource/J._R._R._Tolkien is the same as http://rdf.freebase.com/rdf/en.j_r_r_tolkien;
Freebase knows that Tolkien won the 1957 International Fantasy Award for Fiction for Lord of the Rings;
Etc.
Voila!

<fb:award.award_winner.awards_won> −
<fb:award.award_honor rdf:about="http://rdf.freebase.com/ns/guid.9202a8c04000641f80000000073950b9">
<fb:award.award_honor.year>1957</fb:award.award_honor.year>
<fb:award.award_honor.award_winner rdf:resource="http://rdf.freebase.com/ns/en.j_r_r_tolkien"/>
<fb:award.award_honor.award rdf:resource="http://rdf.freebase.com/ns/en.international_fantasy_award_for_fiction"/>
<fb:award.award_honor.honored_for rdf:resource="http://rdf.freebase.com/ns/en.the_lord_of_the_rings"/>
</fb:award.award_honor>
</fb:award.award_winner.awards_won> −
What it looks like inside Freebase

There are a few Semantic Web browsers available, including Disco (http://www4.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/rdf_browser/)
To browse the Semantic Web, start by entering a URI, not text.
Try the URI for Tolkien: http://dbpedia.org/resource/J._R._R._Tolkien
Browse the Semantic Web Today!

Contact information:
Julia Bauder
bauderj@grinnell.edu
Explore:
http://dbpedia.org
http://www.freebase.com
http://sw.opencyc.org
Learn more:
http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/
http://dublincore.org/documents/dc-rdf/
Thanks!

Intro to the Semantic Web, LITA Social Software Showcase 2009

by bauderj on Jul 07, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

1 Embed 2

Statistics

Intro to the Semantic Web, LITA Social Software Showcase 2009 — Webinar Transcript