Little Ink

• Semantic Web as Webized Database "In the absense of the close coupling of designers, developers, users, and applications that is found in successful database implementations, what do the semantic web technologies offer in the way of establishing a shared view of the corespondence between the data and real world?" Links to Adam Bosworth's Learning from THE WEB.


• "IRIS is a semantic desktop application framework that enables users to create a “personal map” across their office-related information objects. IRIS includes a machine-learning platform to help automate this process. It provides “dashboard” views, contextual navigation, and relationship-based structure across an extensible suite of office applications, including a calendar, web and file browser, e-mail client, and instant messaging client." Screenshots.


• A relational algebra for SPARQL "Despite being in the Last Call stage of the W3C recommendation track, the SPARQL query language document currently lacks mathematical rigor and fails to accurately define the semantics for some cases...SPARQL doesn’t use a special value to indicate missing information, but simply leaves variables unbound. There’s no explicit heading. The SPARQL model does not, for example, distinguish between an OPTIONAL variable that is unbound in some solutions, and a variable that is not used in the query at all."