The Plan of this Book


The first third of this book (Chapters 1 through 5) is descriptive. It steeps you in what semantics is and explains why something so seemingly simple can be so complex. We deal briefly with the history of semantics and some of the closely related fields, to familiarize you with this rich subject. To make sure that you are clear about what aspects of our semantic conundrum were created by our systems and which were there before computers, we start the investigation of semantics in business systems before the arrival of computers. We then follow the progression through to the present, having looked at some of the areas that have used semantics the most to date: data modeling and metadata development.

The second third of the book (Chapters 6 through 10) is prescriptive and covers approaches and methodologies to uncover and make more explicit the semantics that are already implicit in your business and your business systems. This section is built for practitioners who wish to suffuse what they currently do with techniques and approaches that will raise the level of semantic awareness in all their system-related activities. As such we will cover the role of interpretation in semantics, as well as ways to elicit, record, and convey a more complete semantic understanding of the systems and processes.

The last third of the book (Chapters 11 through 15) is subscriptive in that it deals with relatively new technologies and approaches, some or all of which you are likely to be subscribing to in the future and each of which has a semantic twist to it. The chapter on XML deals with getting maximum value out of the tags, which have the potential to carry semantic information. The EAI chapter deals with using the study of semantics to overcome the single largest cause of integration difficulty: late discovery of semantic incongruities. To prevent Web Services from re-creating the tangle of point-to-point connections that characterize so many integration efforts, we describe a semantically inspired approach to their adoption. Chapter 14 discusses the Semantic Web, the follow-on project to the World Wide Web. Fortunately, we don't need to explain the semantic aspect of it, but we do cover some of the less obvious technologies that are being promoted along with the Semantic Web, as well as a scenario that should be helpful in visualizing how the Semantic Web will be used.

The book wraps up with a short chapter on getting started in your semantic endeavors, and two appendices: one a set of annotated resources for those who would like to pursue this further, and the other a glossary of the many arcane terms that this subject involves.




Semantics in Business Systems(c) The Savvy Manager's Guide
Semantics in Business Systems: The Savvy Managers Guide (The Savvy Managers Guides)
ISBN: 1558609172
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 184
Authors: Dave McComb

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