SKOS (was Re: [Sigia-l] for Information Architects

[Alexander Johannesen]

Hey,

On 2/14/06, andrew at friendlymanual.com <andrew at friendlymanual.com> wrote:
> Hi Alexander,

Hey. :) Ok, so I'm not *that* Alexander, but I'll have a stab at this anyways ;

> I suppose this is a question for everyone: how many people are still using topic
> maps, and how many people have abandoned them for SKOS (Simple Knowledge
> Organisation System)?

I use both at the same time. :) SKOS is basically an ontology (a set
of words and relationships that is defined in the specification called
SKOS) that I can easily reuse in Topic Maps.

> I've used topic maps in the past but recently came across SKOS, and am curious
> about real-world applications of the 'replacement'.

I reckon SKOS is in fairly low use, given its young age. There is no
replacement per se; The good thing about SKOS is that an ontology is
defined and standardised, but there is an assumed RDF at the bottom of
it. Luckily this can be replaced with Topic Maps quite easily, and
made even easier these days with the DRF/Topic Maps Interoperability
Guidelines (http://www.ontopia.net/work/guidelines.html).


Alex
--
"Ultimately, all things are known because you want to believe you know."
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