Topic map applications and implementation
December 2004
This article originated as member question about topic
maps. The requestor wanted to know:
| "What are some real
applications for topic maps? How are other members using them? Is
is possible to convert a taxonomy into a topic map? If so, how? What
software do people use to implement topic maps?" |
What's a topic map?
A simplistic definition of a topic map is an electronic
thesaurus in which you get to define the kinds of relationships between
the words. Imagine for a moment that a farmer and a lawyer in France decide
to share an office and hire a librarian to manage their joint book collection.
The farmer has an article about to grow avocados ("avocat" in
French), and the lawyer has a directory of attorneys ("les avocats"
in French). The librarian creates two cards in the "A" section
of the subject card catalog — one for "avocat (fruit)"
and another for "avocat (profession)." When the librarian decides
to automate the card catalog, she could use a topic map data structure
to enable the computer to tell whether a document is about avocados or
lawyers.
This example illustrates three points about topic maps:
1. They are used to help computers sort
out complex and/or ambgiuous semantic relationships. Humans communicating
in their native language within a single social or professional culture
are pretty good at it already.
2. Topic maps are useful when you're looking for
information in a heterogenous electronic collection (i.e. one
that deals with more than one business function, profession, industry,
or language). The number of heterogenous collections has exploded with
the advent of the Internet, the rise of multi-cultural governing bodies
(e.g. the European Union), and the mandate for closer cooperation among
government agencies since the 9/11 disaster.
3. Topic maps are behind-the-scenes data structures
intended to extend the functions of the classic back-of-the-book
index and thesaurus in an electronic environment. However, instead of
using these familiar terms and concepts to describe them, the IT industry
has borrowed a vocabulary from philosophy and linguistics — an
obstacle to interdisciplinary collaboration and communicating with business
managers.
What do topic maps look like?
More
... (members only) How to become a member
Created on 1/6/2005 l Updated on
November 1, 2006
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