design and development

This book's supposed survey of the field boils down to little more than some name-dropping of projects, some explanation of vocabulary, and some examples (none really enlightening), with no really useful explanation of how to do anything. It is a perfect example of how some people in the computer industry have perfected consultant-speak: the art of talking impressively and at length about a field without actually saying anything. And to add insult to uselessness, the book wasn't even adequately proof-read for typos.

This book is a must-read for anyone, including researcher, developer or CXO who is involved or plans to be involved with Semantic Web. Although, I have been involved with related technologies, namely ontology engineering since the late 80s, I could not put this book down until I finished it cover to cover. The breadth and depth of the subjects discussed are fabulous and was a great refresher for me on how technologies such as web services, XML, RDF and ontologies tie together. What most people do not realize is that technologically, we are ready for the semantic web. It is just as matter of time before everyone in the Internet industry realize the value of this technology and start a new gold rush towards providing the tools and products that will make it possible for machines to talk to other machines in a semantic web of programs that will expand corporate intranets, extranets and ultimately the Internet.

The examples the authors use are very helpful and to the point. In addition, the authors do a great job in identifying what is out there already and how it all fits together.

I highly recommend this book for readers looking for a firm foundation in Semantic Web terminology and concepts. I found it to be a solid reference book because I keep coming back to it as I research further and develop my skills. My recommendation is to study the book carefully and then keep it close as you discover and monitor the vast amount of information available on the web itself.

The level of detail in this guide is just right for printed material. It is deeper and richer than just an overview presentation, yet not too deep in implementation details - that would make the book quickly out of date anyway. There are many tutorials and implementation guides on the web, but it is difficult to make sense of them without a solid foundation. This book is designed to give the reader a good foundation of understanding. (This is why six out of nine chapters begin with the word "Understanding...")

My favorite chapters are:
Chapter 1: What is the Semantic Web?
Chapter 2: The Business Case for the Semantic Web
Chapter 9: Crafting Your Company's Roadmap to the Semantic Web

These chapters are well written and thoughtful. Executives and managers should study these three chapters thoroughly, and then refer back to Chapters 3 through 8 ("Understanding...") as they move on to other sources.

One last accolade: I have not seen a printed guide that does a better job of listing references and hyperlinks throughout its pages. The appendix, which lists 121 very relevant sources, is alone worth the price of the book.