Abstract. The Semantic Web promises to open innumerable opportunities for automation and information retrieval by standardizing the protocols for metadata exchange. However, just as the success of the World Wide Web can be attributed to the ease of use and ubiquity of Web browsers, we believe that the unfolding of the Semantic Web vision depends on users getting powerful but easy-to-use tools for managing their information. But unlike HTML, which can be easily edited in any text editor, RDF is more complicated to author and does not have an obvious presentation mechanism. Previous work has concentrated on the ideas of generic RDF graph visualization and RDF Schemabased form generation. In this paper, we present a comprehensive platform for constructing end user applications that create, manipulate, and visualize arbitrary RDF-encoded information, adding another layer to the abstraction cake. We discuss a programming environment specifically designed for manipulating RDF and introduce user interface concepts on top that allow the developer to quickly assemble applications that are based on RDF data models. Also, because user interface specifications and program logic are themselves describable in RDF, applications built upon our framework enjoy properties such as network updatability, extensibility, and end user customizability -all desirable characteristics in the spirit of the Semantic Web.
Two important architectural choices underlie the success of the Web: numerous, independently operated servers speak a common protocol, and a single type of client-the Web browser-provides point-and-click access to the content and services on these decentralized servers. However, because HTML marries content and presentation into a single representation, end users are often stuck with inappropriate choices made by the Web site designer of how to work with and view the content. RDF metadata on the Semantic Web does not have this limitation: users can gain direct access to the underlying information and control how it is presented for themselves. This principle forms the basis for our Semantic Web browser-an end user application that automatically locates metadata and assembles point-and-click interfaces from a combination of relevant information, ontological specifications, and presentation knowledge, all described in RDF and retrieved dynamically from the Semantic Web. With such a tool, naïve users can begin to discover, explore, and utilize Semantic Web data and services. Because data and services are accessed directly through a standalone client and not through a central point of access (e.g., a portal), new content and services can be consumed as soon as they become available. In this way we take advantage of an important sociological force that encourages the production of new Semantic Web content by remaining faithful to the decentralized nature of the Web.
A researcher's current scientific understanding is assembled from multiple sources of facts and knowledge, along with beliefs and hypotheses of their interpretations. A comprehensive and structured aggregation of all the relevant components is to-date not possible using standard database technologies, nor is it obvious how to include beliefs, such as models and hypotheses into such a bundle. When such information is required as the basis for important decision-making (e.g., in drug discovery), scientists often resort to using commercial presentation applications. This is sub-optimal for the effective use of knowledge, and alternatives that support the inclusion of meaning are urgently needed. This paper describes a prototype Semantic Web application, BioDash 1 , which attempts to aggregate heterogeneous yet related facts and statements (using an RDF model) into an intuitive, visually descriptive and interactive display.
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