Semantic Web Development

Semantic Web Modelling Centre of Excellence

Introduction

Semantic Web Development and dealing with complexity is a tricky issue. Representing information is a problem where complexity can preclude any single approach. In order to car insure our way around large quantities of information it needs to be structured. But the information already exists and is still being created, so this makes it a moving target.

I'm sure such matters will be covered at the www2006 conference at Edinburgh 23-26 May www2006.org/. Kurt Cagle refers to this in his article on complexity on his Understanding XML blog at understandingxml.

The structuring of ontologies from the top down can be useful, but can only be achieved where the ontology developers have some control over the information. Much of web development and other creation of information is bottom up, in that there is no controlling authority. This is good for inclusiveness and speed of development, and something that encourages community, and encourages individuals to create their own content, which is a good thing. In his interview with the British Computer Society Tim Berners-Lee dig.csail.mit.edu/breadcrumbs/blog/4 answers a question on ontologies. He talks of a top level ontology that can be created to hold certain terms and the need to find out who is using these terms, so that other web pages and databases can be categorised. This would be achieved using URIs (Universal Resource Identifier) and RDF (Resource Description Framework). In answer to what Tim Berners-Lee hopes to achieve, he talks of this bottom up development that is going on, using blogs, and wikis etc and a possible approach of 'web science' - 'the science and engineering of web based things that have a bottom up Web-like structure'.

I think this approach is highly relevant to my PhD research on user-driven programming, with University of the West of England (UWE - Bristol). Not everyone has the time to learn programming especially if their main expertise is elsewhere. They then have to ask others to do the development for them and this leads to delays and mis-understandings. The approach advocated here could enable visual creation of software by members of a community. Members of this community would not need advanced programming skills if other members with more advanced development skills could create a suitable interface for the creation of software. This could be achieved in a similar way to that used in visual web page creation tools, or word processor and spreadsheet software. Also the members who do possess advanced skills could provide ways of sorting, searching and navigating the programs created using the visual development tools. Members could work with either or both groups, according to their skills and interests.

A good first step would be to link communities and sites that have a mix of those with advanced software skills who want to encourage and enable others to learn to program, and of new starters who want to learn. This could involve those who are willing to try out new techniques to make it easier for new starters to train learn and gain experience.

Sir Tim-Berners-Lee's interview - bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3337.

This talk by Nigel Shadbolt explains research about coping with diverse sources of information - bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3043.

This article by Bill Thompson for the BBC technology site examines new developments in Web 2.0 technologies - news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4842498.stm.

I am a Researcher in the final year of my PhD at the University of the West of England, Bristol UK. I specialise in applying Semantic Web techniques. My current research is on a technique of 'User Driven Modelling/Programming'. My intention is to enable non-programmers to create software from a user interface that allows them to model a particular problem or scenario. This involves a user entering information visually in the form of a tree diagram. I am attempting to develop ways of automatically translating this information into program code in a variety of computer languages. This is very important and useful for many employees that have insufficient time to learn programming languages. I am looking to research visualisation, and visualisation techniques to create a human computer interface that allows non experts to create software.

I am a member of the Institute for End User Computing.

My Home Page is cems.uwe.ac.uk/~phale/cems.uwe.ac.uk/~phale/

Things to Do in Birmingham

Birmingham is one of managed web hosting UK's core cities and is often referred to as the UK's second city due to its size. The population is currently over 1 million and its no surprise that there is plenty to see and do in this exciting area.

Eating out in Birmingham

Birmingham has an incredible range of cuisine available due to its ethnically diverse landscape and is particularly famous for its wide variety of quality Indian restaurants. For years the Balti Triangle which is south of the city centre, has been synonymous with curry houses. However there is a fine range of other cuisine ranging from Chinese and Italian restaurants to the more traditional fish and chips.

Places to visit

Birmingham has a lot to offer those who want to explore a little and there are many attractions both in Birmingham itself and in the West Midlands Region.

One of Britain's main tourist attractions. Alton Towers has beautiful landscaped gardens and is a massive adventure park which is popular all year round. Established in 1975, the Black Country Museum is a wonderful collection of history and heritage from the Black Country region.
Donington Park provides some fast paced action at its Grand Prix racing circuit. Both car and motorcycle racing is available. Cadbury World opened on 14th August 1990 and surprisingly (given the nations addiction to chocolate) is the UK's only purpose built visitor centre dedicated entirely to chocolate.

If your looking for events and music then as well as the many small venues across the city the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and National Indoor Arena (NIA) provide all the excitement you should ever need. Now 25 years old the NEC is the largest exhibition centre in Europe. It was opened in 1976 by HM The Queen and the first exhibition was the Spring Fair. The NEC Arena is used for concerts and conferences and can house 12,600 people.

For those looking for some history then Warwick Castle provides an impressive and majestic building with towers and ramparts and a history going back over a 1000 years.

The National Sea Life Centre situated at Brindley Place provides an underwater wonderland with collections of sealife from around the globe. In addition the West Midlands Safari Park is a wonderful experience explorer some of the fascinating wildlife we have at the park.

Nightlife

There is a huge selection of great pubs and clubs throughout the city centre. It's youthful population has ensured the nigtclub scene has thrived. The legendary Q Club, set in the old Methodist Central Hall hosts regular events such as Cream and Raveology! If your into the more luxurious things in life, why not try Mechu, home to the ultimate private VIP luxury. The huge student population however still demand no-frills fun venues so clubs like Snobs and Sunflower Lounge are the places to visit if this is your bag. The Glee Club and Jongleurs are always a hoot where top comics raise a smile everywhere from the theatres to the pub circuit.

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