The Semantic Web
The semantic web is an extension of the world wide web which allows for the definition and access of information, services, and content in a semantic form that enables the web to understand the requests of users and machines more effectively. The basic structure of the semantic web is based on a group of specifications some of which are intended for future use and have not yet been implemented. Some of the specifications include resource description framework or RDF, a compilation of interchange formats for information and content which encompasses XML, RDF and N3, as well as specific notations like RDF Schema. The Web Ontology Language, which is the use of language and how it relates to interpretation by computer systems on the web, is also a main component of the semantic web.
In the semantic web, data and content become part of the web itself which enables it to be used independently of the application, format, or platform on which it is stored or accessed from. Currently, the web contains millions of documents all with information needed by users. The computer systems cannot differentiate the content in documents from the content requested by the user. By making the data a part of the "fabric" of the web and semantic it allows computers to display, find, and present the most pertinent data on the web for the request or search being performed. A search for terms is based upon its semantic relationship with content and other words used, which may or may not be the information being searched for.
Using a semantic web agent a search can be performed looking for variations of the semantic relationships between the words stored in databases. Semantic web agents act upon structured databases of words and phrases and how they relate to each other. These agents then associate the semantics, or meanings, of these commonly used terms and decide what word a user is looking for and the related data. Through the use of these complex databases any term that may have multiple uses, or be used for finding multiple topics, can be narrowed down to the specifics of the search term and the information is retrieved quicker and with less intervention in the search process from the end user. By using built in communications between computers and databases, the semantic web will treat all of the information on the web as one continuous and very large database.
In order for the semantic web to work and run as intended the proper use of hypertext and RDF must be used. The idea is that RDF is to the semantic web as linking is to text, or hypertext. The semantic web aims to connect the data of the web by "linking" it through the use of RDF in the very least. This enables the data to become the distributed portions of the web instead of the pages or documents containing the data. One of the main advantages of the semantic web is that anyone can add data to the "linking" of data which means more data and information can be made available to the general public in an easier to use global system. At the same time this ability to add data at will by anyone has some apprehensive of the semantic web. If anyone can add to the web of data, the data could become corrupted or falsified.
Many opponents to the semantic web claim that it cannot encompass the true variations of human language and the use of the language as it is now. Most of the use of the semantic web is in applications of an inter company project or databases; predominantly in universities and high data storage and sharing situations. Another obstacle to the semantic web is the idea that each document will need separate versions; one for the human viewer and one for the machines to read, but many developers are blending the two 'versions' into a single application or software program enabling higher efficiencies and eliminating double workloads. Finally, some designers and developers believe it is possible to create a semantic web from the existing HTML mark up used in the current Web 2.0 and this would render the semantic web unneeded or extraneous. The debate rages on, but many companies and sites are already implementing the semantic web and its technologies are wide spread even now.
