Extensible use of RDF

Extensible use of RDFin a Business Context

Kerstin ForsbergViktoria Institute and Adera

[email protected]

Lars DannstedtVolvo Information Technology, Web Program Center

[email protected]

Resource Description Framework

Challenges forThe next generation of intranets

Must take into account the ever ongoingchange of content

Must enable new ways to communicate Must support the constantly change of context

A scenario:News about one of our services

Web based form adapted to our context Always valid data and metadata

Exchange mechanisms Overview of all relevant persons and organisations

how will the receive the news Implicit - due to the defined relations

in the business network Explicit - due to subscriptions and

distribution-lists The way to communicate is chosen by

each receiver Complete distribution list available afterwards

Information discovery Enhanced through the added metadata

Adding correct

information!

To whom it may

concern!

They shouldfind it!

Current focus on metadata:Enhance discovery of information

What to cover in a metadata

recommendation for our intranet?

Centrally defined recommendations with code examples:<meta name=”Org” content=”VIT, 2510”><meta name=”Subject” content=”IT, Security”><meta name=”Author.name” content=”Pelle Persson”><meta name=”Author.email” content=”[email protected]”>

What is metadata?

How can we use Dublin Core on our intranet?

Dublin Core:A metadata element set for Internet

DC.Metadata

The Dublin Core (DC) vocabulary

a) Content; title, subject, description, type, source, relation and coverage

b) Intellectual property;creator, publisher, contributor and rights

c) Instantiation; date, format, identifier and language.

Discoverableinformation

A code example:<meta name=”VC.Creator" content="Pelle Persson, [email protected]">

Information

Resource

Problems applying Dublin Core on an extensive intranet

Fail to make the assumptions made about the business explicit

Only takes into account communication through static web pages

Often defined top-down which does not fit the flat organizations of today

Seldom used for metadata creation and validation

Not taking into account the context in which end users create and consume information.

Our point of departure:Resources in Context

Resources are assets – if they have:a structured description, which makes them maintainable, usable, and reusable.

“Metadata is structured, encoded data that describe characteristics of information-bearing entities to aid in the identification, discovery, assessment, and management of the described entities.”

Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, Task Force on Metadata

Resource

Metadata

Asset

Structuredresource

description

Schemas“Schemas constrain the context in which defined resources may be used.”

RDF Tutorial Pierre-Antoine Champin

Three differentresource descriptions areas

Descriptions ofInformation resources

Descriptions ofBusiness resources

Descriptions ofCommunication resources

Document

Dublin Core Metadata Element Set

Schema

Mobile Devices

Composite Capability/Preference Profiles

Schema

Business Unit

OIM BusinessEngineering Model

Schema

Our model for News Exchange 1(4)

Business vcb:

Information vci:

Communication vcc:

Volvo Corevc:

A model for describing and integrating the resources description areas

OrgNode vcbo:

Business vcb:

Information vci:


Service vcbs:

Employee vcbe:

Communication vcc:

Volvo Corevc:

A model for describing and integrating the resources description areas using namespaces, …


BizObject

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

OrgNode vcbo:

Service vcbs:

OrgNodeEmployee vcbe:

Business vcb:

InfoObject

Information vci:

CommunicationObject

Communication vcc:

CommunicationChannel

Volvo Corevc:

BusinessArea

Dept

News InstructionWebPage

Distri-bution

Subscrip-tion

Employee Service

A model for describing and integrating the resources description areas using namespaces, classes and subclasses, …

News

InfoObject


A model for describing and integrating the resources description areas usingnamespaces, classes and subclasses, and different property constraints.

abstractcommunication

coveragecreator

dateTypeemployeeRef

headline longDescrshortDescr

uri

BizObject

communicationChannel destination moreInfo

BusinessArea

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

Dept

Valid type values ofproperty 'date’:

- ValidFrom- ValidTo

Valid type values ofproperty ’relation’:

- BelongTo- Contain- CooperateWith

OrgNode vcbo:




- Supply

Service vcbs:

ServiceOrgNode


- Employeed- Retired


- EmployedBy- ResponsibleFor- MemberOf

Employee vcbe:

Employee

fullnamedateType

relationType

Business vcb:

InfoObject


Information vci:Valid type values ofproperty ’date’:

- BestBefore- Creation- Obsolete- Release

Valid references toan employee

- EmployeeId- Email- FullName- Dept

CommunicationObject

distributeTo

Communication vcc:Valid type values of'yes or no' property:

- Yes- No

Subscription

elementRefsortOrder

subscriptOf

Distribution

CommunicationChannel(Email, Fax, Paper, Web)

graphicsAllowedmaxSize

Volvo Corevc:

Volvo-core main property types:

termPropertyfactPropertyactionPropertyinferenceProperty

Volvo-core general properties

daterelation

serviceOfferingdateType

relationType

dateTyperelationType




coveragecreator

dateTypeemployeeRef


uri

BizObject


BusinessArea

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

Dept





OrgNode vcbo:




- Supply

Service vcbs:

ServiceOrgNode





Employee vcbe:

Employee

fullnamedateType

relationType

Business vcb:

InfoObject






CommunicationObject

distributeTo


- Yes- No

Subscription

elementRefsortOrder

subscriptOf

Distribution



Volvo Corevc:




daterelation


relationType





coveragecreator

dateTypeemployeeRef


BizObjectcommunicationChannel

destination moreInfo

BusinessArea

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

Dept





OrgNode vcbo:




- Supply

Service vcbs:

ServiceOrgNode





Employee vcbe:

Employee

fullnamedateType

relationType

Business vcb:

InfoObject






CommunicationObject

distributeTo


- Yes- No

Subscription

elementRefsortOrder

subscriptOf

Distribution



Volvo Corevc:




daterelation


relationType





coveragecreator

dateTypeemployeeRef




BusinessArea

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

Dept





OrgNode vcbo:




- Supply

Service vcbs:

ServiceOrgNode





Employee vcbe:

Employee

fullnamedateType

relationType

Business vcb:

InfoObject


Information vci:

Valid type values ofproperty ’date’:


CommunicationObject

distributeTo


- Yes- No

Subscription

elementRefsortOrder

subscriptOf

Distribution



Volvo Corevc:




daterelation


relationType





coveragecreator

dateTypeemployeeRef




BusinessArea

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

Dept


- BelongTo- Contain- Cooperate With

OrgNode vcbo:




- Supply

Service vcbs:

ServiceOrgNode





Employee vcbe:

Employee

fullnamedateType

relationType

Business vcb:

InfoObject


Information vci:

Valid type values ofproperty ’date’:


CommunicationObject

distributeTo


- Yes- No

Subscription

elementRefsortOrder

subscriptOf

Distribution



Volvo Corevc:




daterelation


relationType


Different ’kinds of’ properties Describe a resource itself

example: headline Relate a resource to other resource areas

example: coverage Types of properties

Further qualify the property itself, and its lifecycle example: date that for a InfoObject could be

qualified as BestBefore, Creation, Obsolete, Release Further qualify a relation to another resource

example: relation that for a OrgNode to another OrgNode could be qualified as BelongTo / Contain, CooperateWith

Different property constraints

An example of a local schema, VIT extensions

VIT:

Information vci:

InfoObject

News Instruction

Communication vcc:


CommunicationObject

SubscriptionDistribution

Employee

vcbe:

Employee

Service vcbs:

ServiceBusinessUnit

SupportUnit

OrgNode vcbo:

OrgNode

BusinessArea

Dept

ServiceBureauNews

BPU TeamAppl

ServiceService Bureau

Volvo Corevc:

WebPage

Business vcb:

An example of a local schema, VIT extensions

VIT:

Information vci:

InfoObject

News Instruction

Communication vcc:


CommunicationObject

SubscriptionDistribution

Employee

vcbe:

Employee

Service vcbs:

ServiceBusinessUnit

SupportUnit

OrgNode vcbo:

OrgNode

BusinessArea

Dept

ServiceBureauNews

BPU TeamAppl

ServiceService Bureau

Volvo Corevc:

WebPage

Business vcb:

RDF and RDF Schema mechanisms used in our model for News Exchange

RDF Statement RDF Schema Classes and subclasses RDF Schema Property declarations

- Property categories- Property typing- Domain and range constraints

RDF Statement

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:vci="http://volvo.se/vci-namespace/schema.rdf#"> <rdf:Description rdf:about="http://vit.volvo.se/153-news/vits-0067.xml"> <rdf:type resource=”http://volvo.se/vci-namspace/schema.rdf#News”/> <vci:headline>XML consultancy ...</vci:headline> </rdf:Description></rdf:RDF>

vits-0067.xmlheadline

resource property property value

To be read: vits-0067.xml of the class News HAS headline “XML consultancy during the millennium shift”

XML consultancy during the

millennium shift

RDF Statement, abbreviated form

Or in abbreviated form:

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:vci="http://volvo.se/vci-namespace/schema.rdf#"> <vci:News rdf:about="http://vit.volvo.se/153-news/vits-0067.xml">

<vci:headline>XML consultancy during the millennium shift </vci:headline>

</vci:News></rdf:RDF>

vits-0067.xmlheadline

resource property property value

To be read: vits-0067.xml of the class News HAS headline “XML consultancy during the millennium shift”

XML consultancy during the

millennium shift

RDF Schema Classes and subclasses

<rdfs:Class rdf:ID="News"> <rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#InfoObject"/> <rdfs:label>News</rdfs:label> <rdfs:comment xml:lang="en"> The News class is comprised of all information about changes or events at Volvo, like pressreleases, product launches and organisational changes. </rdfs:comment></rdfs:Class>

Class:News

Subclass of:InfoObject

<rdfs:Class rdf:ID="InfoObject"> <rdfs:label>Information object</rdfs:label> <rdfs:comment xml:lang="en"> The InfoObject class is comprised of textual, graphical and video-based information objects. </rdfs:comment></rdfs:Class>

Class:InfoObject

Resources are defined in the vci schema

Property categories

Term properties used for definition of terms

Example: shortDescr

Fact properties used to describe resources

Example: headline

Action Properties for invocation of actions (triggering conditions).

Example: date (release, obsolete, etc)

Inference inference or derivation of a business rule. The property value will be

derived dynamically instead of explicitly stored.)Example: distributeTo

Derived from the Meta Data CoalitionOpen Information Model(OIM)

Property typingExample: declaration of type of date

<rdfs:Class rdf:ID="DateType"/>

<DateType rdf:ID="BestBefore"><rdfs:label xml:lang="en">Best-before date</rdfs:label>

</DateType> <DateType rdf:ID="Creation">

<rdfs:label xml:lang="en">Creation date</rdfs:label> </DateType> <DateType rdf:ID="Obsolete">

<rdfs:label xml:lang="en">Obsolete date </rdfs:label></DateType>

<DateType rdf:ID="Release"><rdfs:label xml:lang="en">Release date</rdfs:label>

</DateType>

<rdf:Property ID="dateType"><rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#InfoObject"/><rdfs:range rdf:resource="#DateType"/>

</rdf:Property>

Property typing Example: RDF encoded type of date

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:vc="http://volvo.se/vc-namespace/schema.rdf#" xmlns:vci="http://volvo.se/vci-namespace/schema.rdf#"> <vci:News rdf:about="http://vit.volvo.se/153-news/vits-0067.xml"> <vc:date rdf:parseType="Resource"> <rdf:value>2000-01-05</rdf:value> <vci:dateType rdf:resource="http://volvo.se/vci-namspace/schema.rdf#BestBefore"/> </vc:date> ...

</vci:News> </rdf:RDF>

2000-01-05

BestBefore

vc:daterdf:value

vci:dateType

vits-0067.xml

Properties for a Resource: Example News with ”headline” property

Domain: InfoObject-

subClassOf:vci:InfoObject

Schemas

News

vci:News

about

Instance

headlinecoverage...

vci:headline =

”XML consultancy during the millennium shift”

- subPropertyOf:factProperty

headline

Properties for a Resource: Example News with ”coverage” property

Domain:InfoObject Range:

BizObject

date/validFrom date/validTorelation/Supply...

vit:ApplService

vci:coverage =vit153:#WebConsulting

vci:News

about

Instances

headlinecoverage...

Schemas

- subClassOf:vci:InfoObject

News

- subPropertyOf:vc:factProperty

coverage- subClassOf:vcb:BizObjectvcbs:Service

ApplService

Summary: RDF and RDF Schemamechanisms used in our approach

RDF Statement RDF Schema Classes and subclasses RDF Schema Property declarations

- Property categories- Property typing- Domain and range constraints

UML -> RDF support XML editor with RDF-API Web browser with RDF support Generic database support for RDF RDF knowledgeable search engines

Wish list: Tools

Takes into account the context in which end users create and consume information.

Enables context sensitive editingfor users creating information

Enhances context driven views and navigationfor users consuming information

RDF used in a Business Context enables next generation of intranets

Appendix: A framework for the next generation of intranets

BizObject

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

OrgNode vcbo:

Service vcbs:

OrgNodeEmployee vcbe:

Business vcb:

InfoObject

Information vci:

CommunicationObject

Communication vcc:

CommunicationChannel

Volvo Corevc:

BusinessArea

Dept


Distri-bution

Subscrip-tion

Employee Service

2) An extension to the model describing and organising the communication of information in the business.

3 ) An extension to the model describing and integrating nodes and relations in networking organisations.

1) A model for describing three different areas of resources: business, information and communication, and integrating the resources description areas by means of generic classes, constrains and relations.


coveragecreator

dateTypeemployeeRef


uri

BizObject


BusinessArea

BusinessUnit

SupportUnit

Dept





OrgNode vcbo:




- Supply

Service vcbs:

ServiceOrgNode





Employee vcbe:

Employee

fullnamedateType

relationType

Business vcb:

InfoObject






CommunicationObject

distributeTo


- Yes- No

Subscription

elementRefsortOrder

subscriptOf

Distribution



Volvo Corevc:




daterelation


relationType


Appendix: The complete model for the News Exchange application

Education

Extensible use of RDF