Professor Jorge Cardoso of the University of Madeira, Portugal, has
written a very interesting paper titled "The Semantic Web Vision: Where
are We?" Cardoso defines the Semantic Web as "a machine-readable World
Wide Web" and he notes "a significant evolution of standards as
improvements and innovations allow the delivery of more complex, more
sophisticated, and more far-reaching semantic applications." Cardoso
posted to a variety of technical e-mail lists to solicit survey
responses and sent 40 personal invitations. Two-thirds of the 627
responses came from academics and 18% from industry with 16% of
respondents working in both academia and industry. He asked survey
participants to report their use of ontology editors, ontology
languages, and reasoning engines, software applications that derive
new facts or associations from existing information. Refer to his paper
for findings. Over 50% of respondents reported using ontologies for
either or both of two purposes: to share common understanding of the
structure of information among people or software agents (69.9%) and
to enable reuse of domain knowledge (56.3%). These are knowledge
management functions, stepping-stones on the path to the vision of
autonomous software agents negotiating the Web that Tim Berners-Lee
first articulated over ten years ago. Only 12.4% of answers indicated
use of ontologies for purposes that are, perhaps, closer to
actualization of that vision, for "code generation, data integration,
data publication and exchange, document annotation, information
retrieval, search, reasoning, annotating experiments, building common
vocabularies, Web service discovery or mediation, and enabling
interoperability." Nonetheless, Cardoso concludes that "70% of people
working on the Semantic Web are committed to deploying real-world
systems that will go into production in less than 2 years."
Friday, October 19, 2007
Semantic Web Visions: A Tale of Two Studies
Professor Jorge Cardoso of the University of Madeira, Portugal, has
written a very interesting paper titled "The Semantic Web Vision: Where
are We?" Cardoso defines the Semantic Web as "a machine-readable World
Wide Web" and he notes "a significant evolution of standards as
improvements and innovations allow the delivery of more complex, more
sophisticated, and more far-reaching semantic applications." Cardoso
posted to a variety of technical e-mail lists to solicit survey
responses and sent 40 personal invitations. Two-thirds of the 627
responses came from academics and 18% from industry with 16% of
respondents working in both academia and industry. He asked survey
participants to report their use of ontology editors, ontology
languages, and reasoning engines, software applications that derive
new facts or associations from existing information. Refer to his paper
for findings. Over 50% of respondents reported using ontologies for
either or both of two purposes: to share common understanding of the
structure of information among people or software agents (69.9%) and
to enable reuse of domain knowledge (56.3%). These are knowledge
management functions, stepping-stones on the path to the vision of
autonomous software agents negotiating the Web that Tim Berners-Lee
first articulated over ten years ago. Only 12.4% of answers indicated
use of ontologies for purposes that are, perhaps, closer to
actualization of that vision, for "code generation, data integration,
data publication and exchange, document annotation, information
retrieval, search, reasoning, annotating experiments, building common
vocabularies, Web service discovery or mediation, and enabling
interoperability." Nonetheless, Cardoso concludes that "70% of people
working on the Semantic Web are committed to deploying real-world
systems that will go into production in less than 2 years."
written a very interesting paper titled "The Semantic Web Vision: Where
are We?" Cardoso defines the Semantic Web as "a machine-readable World
Wide Web" and he notes "a significant evolution of standards as
improvements and innovations allow the delivery of more complex, more
sophisticated, and more far-reaching semantic applications." Cardoso
posted to a variety of technical e-mail lists to solicit survey
responses and sent 40 personal invitations. Two-thirds of the 627
responses came from academics and 18% from industry with 16% of
respondents working in both academia and industry. He asked survey
participants to report their use of ontology editors, ontology
languages, and reasoning engines, software applications that derive
new facts or associations from existing information. Refer to his paper
for findings. Over 50% of respondents reported using ontologies for
either or both of two purposes: to share common understanding of the
structure of information among people or software agents (69.9%) and
to enable reuse of domain knowledge (56.3%). These are knowledge
management functions, stepping-stones on the path to the vision of
autonomous software agents negotiating the Web that Tim Berners-Lee
first articulated over ten years ago. Only 12.4% of answers indicated
use of ontologies for purposes that are, perhaps, closer to
actualization of that vision, for "code generation, data integration,
data publication and exchange, document annotation, information
retrieval, search, reasoning, annotating experiments, building common
vocabularies, Web service discovery or mediation, and enabling
interoperability." Nonetheless, Cardoso concludes that "70% of people
working on the Semantic Web are committed to deploying real-world
systems that will go into production in less than 2 years."
Semantic Web Services, Part 1
Semantic Web services (SWS) has been a vigorous technology research
area for about six years. A great deal of innovative work has been done,
and a great deal remains. Several large research initiatives have been
producing substantial bodies of technology, which are gradually maturing.
SOA vendors are looking seriously at semantic technologies and have
made initial commitments to supporting selected approaches. In the
world of standards, numerous activities have reflected the strong
interest in this work. Perhaps the most visible of these is SAWSDL
(Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema). SAWSDL recently
achieved Recommendation status at the World Wide Web Consortium.
SAWSDL's completion provides a fitting opportunity to reflect on the
state of the art and practice in SWS -- past, present, and future.
This two-part installment of 'Trends & Controversies' discusses what
has been accomplished in SWS, what value SWS can ultimately provide,
and where we can go from here to reap these technologies' benefits.
The essays in this issue effectively define service technology needs
from a long-term industry perspective. Brodie starts by recognizing
that, although industry has embraced services as the way forward on
some of its most pressing problems, SOA is a framework for integration
rather than the solution for integration. He outlines the contributions
that are needed from semantic technologies and the implications for
computing beyond services. Leymann emphasizes the broad scope of
service-related technical requirements that must be addressed before
SWS can effectively meet businesses' IT needs and semantically enabled
SOA can be regarded as an enterprise solution rather than a mere
packaging of applications. He argues that a great deal remains to be
done in several important areas. More Information See also W3C SAWSDL Click Here
area for about six years. A great deal of innovative work has been done,
and a great deal remains. Several large research initiatives have been
producing substantial bodies of technology, which are gradually maturing.
SOA vendors are looking seriously at semantic technologies and have
made initial commitments to supporting selected approaches. In the
world of standards, numerous activities have reflected the strong
interest in this work. Perhaps the most visible of these is SAWSDL
(Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema). SAWSDL recently
achieved Recommendation status at the World Wide Web Consortium.
SAWSDL's completion provides a fitting opportunity to reflect on the
state of the art and practice in SWS -- past, present, and future.
This two-part installment of 'Trends & Controversies' discusses what
has been accomplished in SWS, what value SWS can ultimately provide,
and where we can go from here to reap these technologies' benefits.
The essays in this issue effectively define service technology needs
from a long-term industry perspective. Brodie starts by recognizing
that, although industry has embraced services as the way forward on
some of its most pressing problems, SOA is a framework for integration
rather than the solution for integration. He outlines the contributions
that are needed from semantic technologies and the implications for
computing beyond services. Leymann emphasizes the broad scope of
service-related technical requirements that must be addressed before
SWS can effectively meet businesses' IT needs and semantically enabled
SOA can be regarded as an enterprise solution rather than a mere
packaging of applications. He argues that a great deal remains to be
done in several important areas. More Information See also W3C SAWSDL Click Here
Revised Civic Location Format for PIDF-LO
Members of the IETF Geographic Location/Privacy (GEOPRIV) Working Group
have released an updated version of "Revised Civic Location Format for
PIDF-LO." The work was produced within the IETF Real-time Applications
and Infrastructure Area. RFC 4119 "A Presence-based GEOPRIV Location
Object Format" defines a location object which extends the XML-based
Presence Information Data Format (PIDF), designed for communicating
privacy-sensitive presence information and which has similar properties.
RFC 4776 "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCPv4 and DHCPv6)
Option for Civic Addresses Configuration Information" further defines
information about the country, administrative units such as states,
provinces, and cities, as well as street addresses, postal community
names, and building information. The option allows multiple renditions
of the same address in different scripts and languages. This document
("Revised Civic Location Format for PIDF-LO") augments the GEOPRIV civic
form to include the additional civic parameters captured in RFC 4776.
The document also introduces a hierarchical structure for thoroughfare
(road) identification which is employed in some countries. New elements
are defined to allow for even more precision in specifying a civic
location. The XML schema (Section 4, 'Civic Address Schema') defined
for civic addresses allows for the addition of the "xml:lang" attribute
to all elements except "country" and "PLC", which both contain
language-neutral values. The IETF GEOPRIV Working Group was chartered
to assess the authorization, integrity and privacy requirements that
must be met in order to transfer [location] information, or authorize
the release or representation of such information through an agent. As
more and more resources become available on the Internet, some
applications need to acquire geographic location information about
certain resources or entities. These applications include navigation,
emergency services, management of equipment in the field, and other
location-based services. But while the formatting and transfer of such
information is in some sense a straightforward process, the implications
of doing it, especially in regards to privacy and security, are
[underspecified]. Also in scope: authorization of requestors and
responders; authorization of proxies (for instance, the ability to
authorize a carrier to reveal what timezone one is in, but not what
city; an approach to the taxonomy of requestors, as well as to the
resolution or precision of information given them. More Information
have released an updated version of "Revised Civic Location Format for
PIDF-LO." The work was produced within the IETF Real-time Applications
and Infrastructure Area. RFC 4119 "A Presence-based GEOPRIV Location
Object Format" defines a location object which extends the XML-based
Presence Information Data Format (PIDF), designed for communicating
privacy-sensitive presence information and which has similar properties.
RFC 4776 "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCPv4 and DHCPv6)
Option for Civic Addresses Configuration Information" further defines
information about the country, administrative units such as states,
provinces, and cities, as well as street addresses, postal community
names, and building information. The option allows multiple renditions
of the same address in different scripts and languages. This document
("Revised Civic Location Format for PIDF-LO") augments the GEOPRIV civic
form to include the additional civic parameters captured in RFC 4776.
The document also introduces a hierarchical structure for thoroughfare
(road) identification which is employed in some countries. New elements
are defined to allow for even more precision in specifying a civic
location. The XML schema (Section 4, 'Civic Address Schema') defined
for civic addresses allows for the addition of the "xml:lang" attribute
to all elements except "country" and "PLC", which both contain
language-neutral values. The IETF GEOPRIV Working Group was chartered
to assess the authorization, integrity and privacy requirements that
must be met in order to transfer [location] information, or authorize
the release or representation of such information through an agent. As
more and more resources become available on the Internet, some
applications need to acquire geographic location information about
certain resources or entities. These applications include navigation,
emergency services, management of equipment in the field, and other
location-based services. But while the formatting and transfer of such
information is in some sense a straightforward process, the implications
of doing it, especially in regards to privacy and security, are
[underspecified]. Also in scope: authorization of requestors and
responders; authorization of proxies (for instance, the ability to
authorize a carrier to reveal what timezone one is in, but not what
city; an approach to the taxonomy of requestors, as well as to the
resolution or precision of information given them. More Information
Thursday, October 18, 2007
ebXML Messaging Services 3.0 Approved as an OASIS Standard
OASIS announced that its members have approved the "ebXML Messaging
Services (ebMS) version 3.0: Part 1, Core Features" specification as
an OASIS Standard. ebMS 3.0 defines a Web services-based method for
the reliable, secure exchange of business information. It is the latest
addition to the ebXML family of specifications that was launched as a
global initiative by OASIS and the United Nations Centre for Trade
Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and has been adopted
worldwide. ebMS is designed to be used either with or without any of
the other ebXML standards, including ebXML Business Process Specification
Schema (BPSS) 2.0.4 and a forthcoming version of ebXML Collaboration
Protocol Profile and Agreement (CPP/A). By design, ebMS 3.0 also fully
supports composition with other SOAP-based Web services specifications.
ebMS was developed under the Royalty-Free on Limited Terms Mode of the
OASIS Intellectual Property Rights Policy. Axway, Fujitsu Computer
Systems, and NEC all verified successful use of ebMS 3.0, in accordance
with eligibility requirements for all OASIS Standards. The OASIS ebMS
Technical Committee continues work on Part 2 of ebMS 3.0 that will
provide functional extensions to the ebMS 3.0 Core. Participation in
the Technical Committee remains open to all companies, non-profit groups,
governments, academic institutions, and individuals. More Information See also the specification: Click Here
Services (ebMS) version 3.0: Part 1, Core Features" specification as
an OASIS Standard. ebMS 3.0 defines a Web services-based method for
the reliable, secure exchange of business information. It is the latest
addition to the ebXML family of specifications that was launched as a
global initiative by OASIS and the United Nations Centre for Trade
Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and has been adopted
worldwide. ebMS is designed to be used either with or without any of
the other ebXML standards, including ebXML Business Process Specification
Schema (BPSS) 2.0.4 and a forthcoming version of ebXML Collaboration
Protocol Profile and Agreement (CPP/A). By design, ebMS 3.0 also fully
supports composition with other SOAP-based Web services specifications.
ebMS was developed under the Royalty-Free on Limited Terms Mode of the
OASIS Intellectual Property Rights Policy. Axway, Fujitsu Computer
Systems, and NEC all verified successful use of ebMS 3.0, in accordance
with eligibility requirements for all OASIS Standards. The OASIS ebMS
Technical Committee continues work on Part 2 of ebMS 3.0 that will
provide functional extensions to the ebMS 3.0 Core. Participation in
the Technical Committee remains open to all companies, non-profit groups,
governments, academic institutions, and individuals. More Information See also the specification: Click Here
W3C First Public Working Draft: Language Bindings for DOM Specifications
W3C announced that members of the Web API Working Group have released
the First Public Working Draft for "Language Bindings for DOM
Specifications." The document was produced as part of the Rich Web
Clients Activity in the W3C Interaction Domain. The specification
defines an Interface Definition Language (IDL) to be used by
specifications that define a Document Object Model (DOM). How interfaces
described with this IDL correspond to constructs within ECMAScript and
Java execution environments is also detailed. It is intended to specify
in detail the IDL language used by W3C specifications to define DOM
interfaces, and to provide precise conformance requirements for
ECMAScript and Java bindings of such interfaces. It is expected that
this document acts as a guide to implementors of already-published DOM
specifications, and that newly published DOM specifications reference
this document to ensure conforming implementations of DOM interfaces
are interoperable. The interface definition language (defined in a
language independent manner) is based on the Object Management Group's
Interface Definition Language, and is syntactically a subset thereof.
The W3C Web API Working Group was chartered to develop specifications
that enable improved client-side application development on the Web.
This includes the development of programming interfaces to be made
available in a Web client. The target platforms for this Working Group
includes desktop and mobile browsers as well as many specialty,
browser-like environments that use Web client technologies. The goal
is to promote universal access both for devices and users, including
those with special needs. Additionally, the Working Group has the goal
to improve client-side application development through education,
outreach and interoperability testing. More Information
the First Public Working Draft for "Language Bindings for DOM
Specifications." The document was produced as part of the Rich Web
Clients Activity in the W3C Interaction Domain. The specification
defines an Interface Definition Language (IDL) to be used by
specifications that define a Document Object Model (DOM). How interfaces
described with this IDL correspond to constructs within ECMAScript and
Java execution environments is also detailed. It is intended to specify
in detail the IDL language used by W3C specifications to define DOM
interfaces, and to provide precise conformance requirements for
ECMAScript and Java bindings of such interfaces. It is expected that
this document acts as a guide to implementors of already-published DOM
specifications, and that newly published DOM specifications reference
this document to ensure conforming implementations of DOM interfaces
are interoperable. The interface definition language (defined in a
language independent manner) is based on the Object Management Group's
Interface Definition Language, and is syntactically a subset thereof.
The W3C Web API Working Group was chartered to develop specifications
that enable improved client-side application development on the Web.
This includes the development of programming interfaces to be made
available in a Web client. The target platforms for this Working Group
includes desktop and mobile browsers as well as many specialty,
browser-like environments that use Web client technologies. The goal
is to promote universal access both for devices and users, including
those with special needs. Additionally, the Working Group has the goal
to improve client-side application development through education,
outreach and interoperability testing. More Information
OOXML Payback Time as Global Standards Work in SC 34 "Grinds to a Halt"
As you will recall, Microsoft's OOXML submission to ISO/IEC via Ecma did
not garner enough votes to obtain approval in the first round of voting,
which closed on September 2. As you may also recall, in the run up to
that vote there were many sudden increases in membership not only in
national standards bodies, but in SC 34, the ISO/IEC JTC1 committee where
the national votes were cast. As part of the same trend, eleven countries
upgraded their membership from Observer to Participating status in SC 34,
in order to secure the greater influence over the final vote that could be
gained as "P" members. The great majority of those upgrading companies
voted to approve OOXML, but this influx was still insufficient to carry
the day. Many felt that these events damaged the integrity of the standards
process. It now appears that the damage is extending beyond reputation,
and is affecting the ability of the standards process to function at all.
Due to the fact that these newly minted "P" members have not participated
in any of the voting required by SC 34 members other than the OOXML vote,
the work of this very important committee, in the words of its chair, has
"ground to a halt." In fact, not a single vote has achieved sufficient
participation to pass - other than the OOXML vote - since the new members
arrived. More Information See also the SC 34 Secretariat Manager's Report: Click Here
not garner enough votes to obtain approval in the first round of voting,
which closed on September 2. As you may also recall, in the run up to
that vote there were many sudden increases in membership not only in
national standards bodies, but in SC 34, the ISO/IEC JTC1 committee where
the national votes were cast. As part of the same trend, eleven countries
upgraded their membership from Observer to Participating status in SC 34,
in order to secure the greater influence over the final vote that could be
gained as "P" members. The great majority of those upgrading companies
voted to approve OOXML, but this influx was still insufficient to carry
the day. Many felt that these events damaged the integrity of the standards
process. It now appears that the damage is extending beyond reputation,
and is affecting the ability of the standards process to function at all.
Due to the fact that these newly minted "P" members have not participated
in any of the voting required by SC 34 members other than the OOXML vote,
the work of this very important committee, in the words of its chair, has
"ground to a halt." In fact, not a single vote has achieved sufficient
participation to pass - other than the OOXML vote - since the new members
arrived. More Information See also the SC 34 Secretariat Manager's Report: Click Here
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