Posted:September 5, 2006

A Smooth WordPress 2.0.4 Upgrade

Though version 2 was first released to the public on December 31, 2005, I waited until the bugs-worked-out 2.0.4 version was released on July 29 to actually upgrade my blog’s WordPress software (and, then, late at that!). I thank BrightPlanet‘s most able sys admin, Kevin Klawonn, for doing the actual upgrade. As usual, Kevin, much thanks!

As early readers of this blog know, I have been recounting my blogging and software experiences in a series of posts, now distributed as the popular Comprehensive Guide to a Professional Blog Site. It would thus only be fair to congratulate the WordPress folks for a very smooth upgrade installation. Until last week, I had been using version 1.5.2. Kevin threw the switch on the WordPress 2.0.4 (http://wordpress.org/development/2006/07/wordpress-204/) upgrade last Friday according to the very able instructions in the Detailed Instructions or How to Upgrade in Five Steps.

Like desktop productivity software such as MS Office, I reluctantly and rarely upgrade, and then only to stable versions that have been proven for some time in the marketplace. A six-month time between a major upgrade release such as WordPress 2x and its more stable follow-on is not atypical.

So far, I generally like the new version. (I discuss later the new rich text editor, TinyMCE, and some quirks about how WordPress handled its integration.) I like the posting preview feature and the (apparently better, I haven’t yet pulled the trigger! Yikes, make sure backups exist!) permalinks options. I also like the fact this new version is much cleaner in producing valid XHTML v. 1.0 code.

It truly is amazing the quality of open source software now available, isn’t it? Thanks, WordPress!

New Wiki Listing of Semantic Web Books

The W3C’s ESW semantic Web wiki, which I recently featured for its listing of 70 semantic Web tools, has now added a compilation of semantic Web books and conference proceedings, strictly defined. The listing presently contains about 20 books, mostly from the last two years, and a similar number of book-length conference proceedings. Though the predominance of listings is for English, books are also listed in French, German and Hungarian.

Readers are encouraged to add to this list, which should be a good reference point moving forward. My only question is what Ivan Herman’s definition of ‘strictly’ really means. For example, I think it is notable that Jeffrey Pollock’s and Ralph Hodgson’s Adaptive Information: Improving Business Through Semantic Interoperability, Grid Computing, and Enterprise Integration (ISBN: 0471488542) is not listed. Does ‘semantic Web’ specifically need to occur in the title to be considered?

I will suggest Adaptive Information for the listing when my review of it is complete. Meanwhile — and perhaps for a long time — you way want to check out this W3C listing.

Posted:August 30, 2006

A Semantic Web Primer

A Semantic Web Primer, by Grigoris Antoniou and Frank van Harmelen, achieves just what it sets out to achieve: to be a useful undergraduate introduction to the semantic Web. This actually has much broader applicability, because, in the words of the authors’:

The question arises whether there is a need for [such an introductory undergraduate] textbook, given that all information is available online. We think there is a need because on the Web there are too many sources of varying quality and too much information. Some information is valid, some outdated, some wrong, and most sources talk about obscure details. Anyone who is a newcomer and wishes to learn something about the Semantic Web, or who wishes to set up a course on the Semantic Web, is faced with these problems. This book is meant to help out.

I obtained the book for that very same purpose, and it does provide a fairly useful basis for self-study for the layperson practitioner. It also contains exercises at the end of each section making it useful for course teaching.

The book proceeds from a general discussion of the semantic Web and progresses through XML to XML Schema, XPath and XSL and XSLT, then the RDF and RDF Schema frameworks, on to then OWL and predicate logic, applications, example uses and ontologies and possible future developments. The progression builds in line with Berner-Lee’s "layer" cake diagram (see my earlier post) and explains concepts clearly and well.

But it is a prettly slim volume. After removal of blank pages, listings of markup code and accounting for wide white space margins, there are perhaps only 110 pages of useful content in the whole volume.

The references at the end of each section are excellent and will be important follow-on reading for serious students.

I think — as an introductory guide and as a quick way to cut through all of the overlapping and confusing resources on the Web — that this hardcover book deserves attention. But it does not, unfortunately, alone constitute the one-stop introductory resource it could have been. After reading this, it is time to move on to the more detailed section references. I actually suspect that it will also be little consulted as a reference source on the shelf.

But, if you have been wanting a pretty good global, easy introduction to the semantic Web, this is probably worth your purchase. The book can be obtained for about $30 new from Amazon (April 2004, MIT Press, 272 pp.).

Posted:August 29, 2006

‘Semantic Technologies’ in the Enterprise

Ian Delaney, a journalist based in London, reports on an interview he had with John Davies of BT (the former British Telecom) during a Semantic Lunch. I have previously written about Davies’ BT colleague Paul Warren and his call for the need for semi-automation. This interview is also helpful because Davies makes the related points that semantic Web ideas will first find traction in the enterprise and therefore the term ‘semantic technologies’ is more precise than the global challenges of the semantic Web. As Delaney summarizes part of Davies’ views in this conversation:

We'll see the first applications of semantic technologies in the enterprise space. Its need is more acute. They have lots of databases, all built by different people according to different rules. Integrating the information from those is already a very costly and time-consuming activity. One database may talk about CustomerName, another may refer to CustomerID, for example. Joining these things together, so perhaps, a support department knows about what equipment the logistics department has installed for a customer, improves business efficiency. Semantic technologies put what Davies called a "wrapper" around these different data sources to create overarching access, connecting different datasources in a way that doesn't require nearly so much human effort.

I agree totally with the evolutionary, incremental view of semantic Web adoption beginning in the enterprise as an earlier posting argued, with its initial role being to help overcome semantic heterogeneities. I may also begin to work in the phrase ‘semantic technologies’ more into my writings.

Posted:August 27, 2006

You’ve Lost That Bitchin’ Insight

A key aspect of adaptive organizations is to document lessons learned and insights as they are encountered. This objective sounds easier than it truly is in action. People don’t naturally and easily document and share their insights for personal, cultural, past practices or institutional reasons.

BrightPlanet has been grappling with this issue from the standpoints of technology, infrastructure, incentives, you name it. Our last approach was a sing-a-long with the Righteous Brothers to the tune of “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” (no copyrght infringement intended):

You’ve Lost That Bitchin’ Insight

You never remember anymore when I try to offer tips.
And there's no memory when I try to avoid stupid slips.
You're trying hard not to write it, (to the wiki).
But baby, baby I know it . . .

You've lost that bitchin' insight,
Whoa, that bewitchin' insight,
You've lost that bitchin' insight,
Now it's gone . . .gone . . .gone . . .wooooooh.

Now there's no welcome look in your eyes when I document for you.
And now your're starting to criticize little things I do.
It makes me just feel like crying, (baby).
'Cause baby, our documentation is dying.

You've lost that bitchin' insight,
Whoa, that bewitchin' insight,
You've lost that bitchin' insight,
Now it's gone . . .gone . . .gone . . .wooooooh.

Baby, baby, I write it all down for you.
If you would only write it down like you used to do, yeah.
We had an insight . . .an insight . . .an insight you don't find everyday.
So don't . . .don't . . .don't . . .don't let it slip away.

Baby (baby), baby (baby),I beg of you please . . .please,
I need your notes (I need your notes),
I need your notes (I need your notes),
So write it all down (So write it all down),
Write it all down (so write it all down).

Wiki that bitchin' insight,
Whoa, that bitchin' insight
Wiki that bewitchin' insight,
'Cause if you don't, it's gone . . .gone . . .gone,
and our company can't go on, noooo . . .

Bring back that bitchin' insight,
Whoa, that bewitchin' insight
Bring back that bitchin' insight,
'Cause it's gone . . .gone . . . .

The key lesson we’re trying to draw from this is: Document as you go! It does take a bit of discipline, and organizational awards need to be attuned to it. Fortunately, wikis are a key enabler that we are using with increasing frequency internally.

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Author: Mike Bergman