A Topic map is an abstract model and a pertinent SGML and/or XML based data format mentioned for the formulation of knowledge structures, also Ontologien. Topic maps were standardized 1999 as ISO standard ISO/CInternational Electronical Commission 13250 and formulated later than XML Topic map (XTM) in XML.

A Topic map serves the collection of knowledge over subjects, thus thes subject or topics of the description. Topics can be arbitrary things, like e.g. Persons, places, events. It differentiated between-addressable subjects (that is everything that can be stored in a computer) and non-addressable subjects (everything that in a computer is not storable, e.g. It, which you read this side, the idea of the liberty etc.). Articles or topics are to be able and often not changed, if over them knowledge is gained. Topics are used to represent the thes subject of the description in a Topic map. Further ones Bestandteileeiner Topic map are associations, the linkages between Topics describe and Occurrences, which connect Topics with documents e.g. in the WWW. The moreover one there are to Names and roles (designations of the function of a Topics in an association). A Topic can contain several names, which are then assigned to a Scope. In this way a Topic can know several names to have (e.g. in different languages) and several Topics the same names to possess. Scopes determine, when which name applies. Thus can do a Topic, that for the sun stands e.g. three for names has (sun, sun, soleil). The Scope English applies is only the name sun valid for etc. can through in such a way simple-sets the correct Scopes a topic map in different languages to appear. A further example: The name duck can stand both for an animal and for an incorrect press report. Therefore two Topics can exist, which possess this name. In the first case the Scope animal world could read and go out in second RDF and OWL with the background of a formalizing understandable for the computer, continues Topic map the need computerized by the structures of index and thesaurus, worked satisfactorily in the human knowledge processing, out and to develop it for. Due to their origin Topic maps do not avoid often operated requirements to the knowledge specification, which were defined with view of inference machines.

Topic maps are to make better navigation and search possible in Internet resources and other documents and serve the exchange of meta data. They have their roots in glossaries, classification systems (for example the topic order of the open directory) and thesaurus, go however in their expression strength beyond these. Thus maps Ontologien can be formulated with Topic, which can be illustrated among other things for the semantic Web and also on RDF. Suggestions to implement Topic map with RDF and OWL lie forwards (Cregan 2005).

With the Tolog Query engine concerns it for example a system, which makes it possible to derive new knowledge over a pro-log-well-behaved inquiry.

In practice with Topic maps often only simple (acetted) classifications are modelled, so that for it with the eXchangeable Faceted Metadata LANGUAGE (XFML) a simplified subset one created independently.

As standardized API for working on Topic to maps TMAPI exists.

See also

• Mindmap
• Concept map
• Clustering
• Knowledge representation
• Semantic net
• Web Ontology LANGUAGE

Literature

• Stefan Smolnik: Knowledge management with Topic map in kollaborativen environments - identification, Explikation and visualization of semantic networks in organisationalen memories Shaker, Aachen, February 2006, ISBN 3-8322-4494-8
• Lutz Maicher and Jack park (Hrsg.): Charting the Topic map Research and Applications Landscape Springer, 2006, ISBN 3540325271
• Jack park and SAM Hunting: XML Topic map: Creating and Using Topic map for the Web. Addison-Wesley, 2002, ISBN 0-201-74960-2 (in bibliography)
• Richard Widhalm and Thomas Topic map: Semantic search in the Internet. Springer publishing house, March 2002, ISBN 3-540-41719-2
• Bibliography of the literature to Topic map technologies

Related links

• The TAO OF Topic map, article of Steve Pepper
• XML Topic map (XTM) 1,0 - standard
• XML Topic map (XTM) 2,0 - standard (draft)
• ISO/CInternational Electronical Commission sports club 34/WG 3 - further standards and Working Drafts
• Topic map - an introduction
• Tools (English)
• Groupware was based Topic map
• TMAPI
• TMAPI Tutorial
• German-language Topic map mailing list
• Wiki over Topic map with Visualiser
• TM4J - Java API for the processing of XML Topic map
• German-language Topic map terminology
• International Topic map conference

Articles in category "Topic map"

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Related Websites

We found here 4 related websites.

• Topic Map
  Resources and examples of Topic Maps, Topics at topicmap.com.


• TopicMaps.Org
  TopicMaps.Org consortium has developed XTM, the XML Topic Maps specification, during the year 2000.


• XML Topic Maps - XTM 1.0
  The XTM 1.0 specification is an XML syntax for expression and interchange of Topic Maps.


• XML.com: What Are Topic Maps
  An introduction to XML Topic Maps, an XML standard that can be used to index and capture relationships between concepts, improving the findability of ...