CS 6795 Semantic Web Techniques

Course Outline Sep.-Dec. 2007


Syllabus
Assigns
Notes
Labs
Project
Resources

The Semantic Web is a W3C Activity for representing information in the World Wide Web in a machine-readable fashion: such that it can be used by machines not just for display purposes, but for automation, integration, and reuse across applications. This course introduces techniques that are useful stand-alone and can be integrated for building a semantic web.


 

Instructors

Harold Boley, Bruce Spencer, NRC,

Classes

Location: NRC TR 1; Thurs, 2:30 PM-5:20PM

Course Web Site

http://www.cs.unb.ca/~bspencer/cs6795swt


Marking

30% assignments

40% project (including presentation)

30% exam


Lecture Schedule Overview

The Semantic Web Activity of W3C: Overview of techniques and standards.

10%

XML with Document Type Definitions and Schemas

15%

Transformation/Inference rules in XSLT and RuleML

20%

Metadata with RDF (Resource Description Framework)

15%

Metadata taxonomies with RDF Schema.

15%

The proposed W3C ontology language OWL.

15%

Integrating these techniques for high-precision search engines.

10%

Hands on Lab

To be arranged, four 3-hour lab sessions throughout the term


 

Reference Material

Books

A Semantic Web Primer, MIT Press, 2004 (1st edition, 2nd edition upcoming),  Grigoris Antoniou and Frank van Harmelen, http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10140  *

 

Spinning the Semantic Web - Bringing the World Wide Web to Its Full Potential, MIT Press, 2002, Dieter Fensel, James A. Hendler, Henry Lieberman, and Wolfgang Wahlster (Eds.) http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=7728223F-89EE-45F3-9A3C-83DE01C154AE&ttype=2&tid=9182  *

 

The Semantic Web: A guide to the future of XML, Web Services and Knowledge Management, Wiley Publishing, 2003, Michael C. Daconta, Leo J. Obrst, Kevin T. Smith, http://www.wiley.com/legacy/compbooks/daconta/sw/

 

XML Bible, 2nd Edition. Hungry Minds, New York, NY 2001, Elliotte Rusty Harold, http://www.ibiblio.org/xml/books/bible2/

Especially Chapter 17: XSL Transformations  http://www.ibiblio.org/xml/books/bible2/chapters/ch17.html,

and  Chapter 24: Schemas http://www.ibiblio.org/xml/books/bible2/chapters/ch24.html.

 

Creating the Semantic Web with RDF: Professional Developer's Guide, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2001, Johan Hjelm, http://www.wileyeurope.com/cda/product/0,,0471402591,00.html  *

 

The Description Logic Handbook, Cambridge University Press, 2003, Franz Baader (Ed.), http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521781760  *

 

 

*These will be available on reserve at the Engineering library, 24 hour loan.

 

Journals

Journal of Web Semantics, Elsevier B.V., T. Finin, C. Goble, R. Studer (Eds.), http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/671322/description

 

Markup Languages: Theory and Practice, MIT Press, B. Tommie Usdin and C.M. Sperberg-McQueen (Eds.) http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=CC708048-D8A6-4CB2-9DB7-DBAB1B0E4AD7&ttype=4&tid=14

 

Online Resources

W3C Semantic Web Activity

http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/

 

Feature Synopsis for OWL Lite and OWL, W3C

http://www.w3.org/TR/owl-features/

 


Maintained by Bruce Spencer