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ISBN 978-952-5726-09-1 (Print)<br />
Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Networking and Network Security (ISNNS ’10)<br />
Jinggangshan, P. R. China, 2-4, April. 2010, pp. 015-018<br />
Expression of XML Implicit Semantics<br />
Ying Chen, Wenping Guo , and Xiaoming Zhao<br />
School of Mathematics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Linhai, China<br />
Email: ychen222@163.com , guo_wp@126.com , tzxyzxm@yahoo.com.cn<br />
Abstract—The problem that XML formally governs syntax<br />
only but not semantics has been recognized as a serious<br />
barrier for XML-Based data integration and the extension<br />
of current Web to the semantic Web. This paper presents<br />
expression mode of XML implicit semantics, so that XML<br />
document authors may express the semantic information<br />
more clearly.<br />
Index Terms—XML, Semantics,XML Semantics ,Implicit<br />
Semantics, Semantic Web<br />
I. INTRODUCTION<br />
Since its being the W3C(The World Wide Web<br />
Consortium) recommended standard of data denotation<br />
and exchange in the web, Extensible Markup<br />
Language(XML)[1]has achieved great success, not only it<br />
enjoys wide application in the industry, but also related<br />
techniques follow fast. However, one of its serious<br />
weaknesses is more and more obvious, say conveying<br />
syntax only without formally semantics [2]. Instead of<br />
being fully given expression, the syntax information<br />
contained in XML document is just kept in the human<br />
head. When developing the XML application program,<br />
researchers need to know implications of label and<br />
document structure in advance, and then encode them<br />
into the program directly [3]. Without any normative<br />
explanation to the label implication, XML users may<br />
directly encode their different understandings into the<br />
program which results in the impossibility of<br />
applications’ mutual operation. As a result, it becomes a<br />
main difficulty in XML data integration and application<br />
integration.<br />
It comes to be a research focus for web of next<br />
generation, the semantic Web [4], to study out how to<br />
deliver XML implicit semantics so as to give XML<br />
document users full play to express semantic information<br />
clearly.<br />
II. SEMANTICS<br />
Known as an ambiguous word, semantics contains<br />
different meanings if being introduced in different fields<br />
such as computer science, philosophy, psychics and<br />
linguistics. We need to analyse what it means in different<br />
situations to understand its semantic description and<br />
XML essence.<br />
In Semantic Web, semantics is a key factor to develop<br />
our familiar internet [5]. Semantics can be simply<br />
regarded as an implication from its concept represented<br />
by the data (symbol), relations among the implications<br />
and abstract or higher-level logic expression to the data.<br />
In the field of computer science, semantics generally is a<br />
kind of explanation to computer symbol which are used<br />
© 2010 ACADEMY PUBLISHER<br />
AP-PROC-CS-10CN006<br />
15<br />
by users to describe the real world. To be simple, it is a<br />
way for users to connect computer symbol with real<br />
world. To relational database as an example, simply<br />
speaking, data in the database is stored into formats. For<br />
example, students’ basic information is stored into<br />
“Students’ Format”, then as to the ensemble from data of<br />
each column in the format, its implication is<br />
corresponding concept of the column, which reflects<br />
designers’ given name to corresponding property of this<br />
column, such as NAME, GENDER etc. The relation<br />
among properties is equivalent to that among data’s<br />
concept. Totally, all are the property of the entity of the<br />
students. Properties and relations in database format can<br />
be recognized as date semantic information.<br />
Surely, semantics is absolutely not so simple; relation<br />
it represents may be more sophisticated, even more than<br />
expression range of modelling language of database such<br />
as E-R model. In fact, semantic is a new concept<br />
introduced to IT. Instead, it is long employed in the<br />
database to distinguish model and data, and creates a<br />
niche in database modelling, search and tasks<br />
management technique. In a word, semantics is a key<br />
element to ensure the expansibility, high effectiveness<br />
and robustness of data management system.<br />
A. Expression Form of Semantic in Computer Science<br />
The understanding of computer to the semantics of a<br />
symbol actually is a semantic expression that is<br />
understandable for a computer. That is to say, semantics<br />
embodies the description to the symbol.<br />
As for most computer application nowadays, the<br />
information is not described in a uniform syntax format,<br />
which causing information disparity in the semantic<br />
description and semantic heterogeneity in the information<br />
expression. As to explanation to the semantics, meaning<br />
of the information, it is written into the application in a<br />
hard coding way, this so-called procedural semantics [6]<br />
isolates information semantics and its syntactic<br />
description and solidifies information understanding to<br />
certain code logic in the way of information semantic<br />
model, all which leading to its great limitation of without<br />
expansibility and generality and difficulty in maintenance<br />
and integration. The opposite as information modelling<br />
way of procedural semantics, declaration semantic<br />
modelling way has nothing to do with material data and<br />
application logic with nice adaptable and reusability by<br />
isolating data semantic description and certain application<br />
logic, fitting data semantic description to data layer, and<br />
leaving data semantic explanation to general<br />
formalization system (such inference system as first-order<br />
logic, description logic, datalog). Data semantic<br />
description is to describe data semantics in declaration