The promise of the semantic web–in which machines can find, share, and combine data on the Web–is not just a technical possibility, but a practical reality. Programming the Semantic Web (O’Reilly Media, $39.99 USD) demonstrates several ways to implement semantic web applications, using current and emerging standards and technologies. You’ll learn how to incorporate existing data sources into semantically aware applications and publish rich semantic data.

Each chapter walks you through a single piece of semantic technology and explains how you can use it to solve real problems. Whether you’re writing a simple mashup or maintaining a high-performance enterprise solution, Programming the Semantic Web provides a standard, flexible approach for integrating and future-proofing systems and data.

This book will help you:

• Learn how the semantic web allows new and unexpected uses of data to emerge
• Understand how semantic technologies promote data portability with a simple, abstract model for knowledge representation
• Become familiar with semantic standards, such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and the Web Ontology Language (OWL)
• Make use of semantic programming techniques to both enrich and simplify current web applications

In the preface of the book, authors Toby Segaran, Colin Evans, and Jamie Taylor, state that whether or not the semantic web can do anything interesting is solely up to you, the developer. They continue, "While the vision of the semantic web holds a great deal of promise, the real value of this vision is the technology that it has spawned for making data more portable and extensible. Whether you’re writing a simple ‘mashup’ or maintaining a high-performance enterprise solution, this book provides a standard, flexible approach for integrating and future-proofing systems and data."

Advanced Praise

"The technologies are here, the tools are ready, and this book will show you how to make it work for you."
–Jim Hendler, AI researcher and one of the originators of the semantic web

"’Programming the Semantic Web’ is hands-down the best practical introduction to the semantic web, a must-read for all engineers new to the Web of data. This book will give you the tools to both publish data on the Web and to exploit metadata in your own applications."
–Peter Mika, Researcher and data architect, Yahoo!

About the Authors

Colin Evans combines machine learning and semantic analysis into a deadly one-two punch against information entropy and noisy data. The results of his efforts appear as millions of facts in Freebase.

Toby Segaran is the author of Programming Collective Intelligence, a very popular O’Reilly title. He was the founder of Incellico, a biotech software company later acquired by Genstruct.

Jamie Taylor started one of the first ISPs in San Francisco so he could get a better connection at home. He is now helping to organize the world’s structured information at Metaweb where he oversees data operations.

Additional Resources

For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596153816

Programming the Semantic Web
Toby Segaran, Colin Evans, Jamie Taylor
ISBN: 9780596153816, 298 pages,
Book Price: $39.99 USD, £30.99 GBP
Ebook Price: $31.99 USD
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About O’Reilly

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