Wolfram Conen

Semantics in Web engineering: applying the Resource Description Framework

The authors present an extensible Web modeling framework that applies the Resource Description Framework to Web engineering, providing an interoperable exchange format. The framework uses the same (meta) data model to specify a Web applications structure and content, to make statements about a Web applications elements, and to reason about the data and metadata.

Prerequisites for collaborative problem solving

In order to answer the question of whether the World Wide Web can serve as an infrastructure for business applications in a globally distributed and collaborative business environment, one has to step back and address firstly the questions concerning the prerequisites of collaborative problem solving: what is involved in collaborative problem solving in a business context in general and which techniques and what mechanisms available in the Internet can be used to support this task. The paper tries to develop a framework for classification and evaluation of current approaches and to offer perspectives for the development of new infrastructural concepts.

Exchanging Semantics with RDF

E-Commerce applications require the exchange of data in an interoperable manner. XML enables syntactic interoperability but more sophisticated E-Commerce applications require semantic interoperability as well. RDF is an application of XML intended to exchange semantics between Web applications. RDF schemata can be used to describe the concepts and constraints of a specific application domain at a semantic level. However there is no formal mechanism to state sophisticated semantics beyond the static set of concepts and constraints provided by RDF. This paper presents an approach extending RDF in a standard manner and utilizing a host formalism for formally defining semantics of new RDF schemata. An elaborated example applies the approach to security management. A tool, the RDF Schema Explorer, is available on-line,allowing to process, validate and query a first-order-logic interpretation of(extended) RDF Schemata.

A Perspective on Technology-Assisted Collaboration

The traditional view of information systems is primarily data oriented within the scope of a single enterprise. Typically, the maxim of an information system development project is to develop an enterprise-wide conceptual model based on the main business processes and to implement it in a more or less centralized database system. We think that it is time to question this traditional view since it does not reflect the current needs and trends. Firstly, the traditional view is too narrow in scope. With the acceptance of Internet technology and the resulting range of cooperation chances the scope of an information system must be extended beyond the firewall of the single enterprise. Secondly, and even more important, the strong data orientation of the traditional view should be replaced by a human orientation: the main purpose of an information system should be to enable efficient and effective collaboration between individuals and groups. This should be valid for collaboration within the enterprise and for collaboration with external partners. The information system should not freeze the current state but should offer individuals access to the information assets of the enterprise and allow them to be reused in creative ways. The information system should become more of a communication and coordination system that eases and fosters collaboration. The huge acceptance of Web technology even in its current, immature state is evidence that this human collaboration centered view is gaining a lot of momentum. Coordination technology is one of the basic building blocks required to enable collaboration. This book concentrates on the relationship between coordination technology and business and application requirements. The book tries to identify general elements of a coordinative infrastructure allowing the construction of collaborative applications.