How to Create a Topic Map ?
Topic maps are a new ISO standard for describing knowledge structures and associating them with information resources. As such they constitute an enabling technology for knowledge management. Dubbed "the GPS of the information universe", topic maps are also destined to provide powerful new ways of navigating large and interconnected corpora.
While it is possible to represent immensely complex structures using topic maps, the basic concepts of the model Topics, Associations, and Occurrences (TAO) are easily grasped. This paper provides a non-technical introduction to these and other concepts (the IFS and BUTS of topic maps), relating them to things that are familiar to all of us from the realms of publishing and information management, and attempting to convey some idea of the uses to which topic maps will be put in the future.[1]
Note
The original version of this paper was published in June 2000 and thus predates the development of XTM (XML Topic Maps). The purpose of XTM was to adapt the topic map standard (ISO 13250) for use with XML and the Web. XTM provides an alternative, XML-based syntax for expressing topic maps and also clarifies certain concepts, especially those relating to subject identity.
Since this paper deliberately avoids syntactical issues, the fact that there are now two standard interchange syntaxes for topic maps (HyTM and XTM) is not a problem. However, doing justice to the clarification of concepts would require a substantial reworking of the paper. While this updated version includes certain minor amendments to reflect changes due to XTM, readers are advised to consult [XTM 1.0] to get the full picture, paying particular attention to the notion of subject indicators, and the distinction between addressable and non-addressable subjects.
If the concepts described in this paper turn you on, look for pointers to further reading at [Ontopia 2002]. To see topic maps in action, try out the online demo of Ontopia 's Omnigator, a
While it is possible to represent immensely complex structures using topic maps, the basic concepts of the model Topics, Associations, and Occurrences (TAO) are easily grasped. This paper provides a non-technical introduction to these and other concepts (the IFS and BUTS of topic maps), relating them to things that are familiar to all of us from the realms of publishing and information management, and attempting to convey some idea of the uses to which topic maps will be put in the future.[1]
Note
The original version of this paper was published in June 2000 and thus predates the development of XTM (XML Topic Maps). The purpose of XTM was to adapt the topic map standard (ISO 13250) for use with XML and the Web. XTM provides an alternative, XML-based syntax for expressing topic maps and also clarifies certain concepts, especially those relating to subject identity.
Since this paper deliberately avoids syntactical issues, the fact that there are now two standard interchange syntaxes for topic maps (HyTM and XTM) is not a problem. However, doing justice to the clarification of concepts would require a substantial reworking of the paper. While this updated version includes certain minor amendments to reflect changes due to XTM, readers are advised to consult [XTM 1.0] to get the full picture, paying particular attention to the notion of subject indicators, and the distinction between addressable and non-addressable subjects.
If the concepts described in this paper turn you on, look for pointers to further reading at [Ontopia 2002]. To see topic maps in action, try out the online demo of Ontopia 's Omnigator, a
Bibliography: van Dijck Introduction to XFML; van Dijck, Peter, XML.com, January 22, 2003, http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2003/01/22/xfml.html ISO2788 ISO 2788:1986 — Guidelines for the establishment and development of monolingual thesauri, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 1986 ISO5964 ISO 5964:1985 — Guidelines for the establishment and development of multilingual thesauri, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 1985 Ranganathan Ranganathan for IAs; Steckel, Mike, Boxes and Arrows, October 7, 2002, http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/ranganathan_for_ias.php Svenonius The Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization; Svenonius, Elaine, MIT Press, 2000, ISBN 0-262-19433-3