Bridging the gap between the semantic web and existing network services

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of a mechanism for bridging the gaps between the Semantic Web data and services, and existing network-based services that are not semantically-annotated or do not meet the requirements of Semantic Web-based applications. The Semantic Web is a relatively new set of technologies that mutually interoperate well but often require mediation, translation or wrapping to interoperate with existing network-based services. Seen as an extension of network-based services and the WWW, the Semantic Web constitutes an expanding system that can require significant effort to integrate and develop services while still providing seamless service to users. New components in a system must interoperate with the existing components and their use of protocols and shared data must be structurally and semantically equivalent. The new system must continue to meet the original system requirements as well as providing the new features or facilities. We propose a new model of network services using a knowledge-based approach that defines services and their data in terms of an ontology that can be shared with other components.