A Semantic Solution to a Semantic Problem

To get us started, I've outlined a sketch that says, in effect: We have trillions of dollars worth of business software installed and in use. It is obsolete, or soon to become obsolete, and we are going to have to replace it. I make the claim that much of the complexity of these systems has its roots in semantics, as do most of the newer technologies with which we are now presented. And I further claim that a systematic study of the application of semantics to business systems is our best hope for the future.

But I haven't really made an airtight case for these claims. That's what the rest of the book is about.

I could have opened with the George Jetson-style world of the future where your refrigerator not only talks with your thermostat, but they have meaningful conversations. And your day timer understands the office politics of staff scheduling. But you're not likely to buy that "if only" technologic utopian world.

Instead, I'd rather appeal to that side of you that knows the current state of business systems is a deplorable mess, many times more complex than it needs to be, and yet is still not up to the tasks we have in store for it. You suspect that things could be much better than they are now. You're eager to find out what to do to make things better.

We'll get there, but before we do, let's take a moment to understand how we built this semantic cacophony.