| CODE | CSA3221 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Semantic Technologies for the Web | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Intelligent Computer Systems | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The current Web has experienced tremendous changes to connect information, people and knowledge. This is the aim behind the Semantic Web, which is also being referred to as Web 3.0 and which is heavily embedded in the Artificial Intelligence area. Its long-term goal is that of enhancing the human and machine interaction by representing the data in an understandable way for the machine to mediate data and services. This first part of the study-unit will provide an introduction to Knowledge Representation, since this is an important component of Artificial Intelligence and provides the fundamentals for the various Semantic Web languages. In this part we will consolidate the work done on the first-order-logic as a knowledge representation language and give an overview of various other Knowledge Representation Schemes.. In the second part of the study-unit will focus on i) Ontology, since this is the backbone of the Semantic Web and ii) Linked Data. An Ontology models the semantics of the data and paves the crucial way to facilitate Web functionality and interoperability. In this part of the course we deal with ontology-engineering surveys the most popular ontologies, such as FOAF, SIOC and others. A number of ontology defines languages, such as RDF, RDFS and OWL and their use in various applications will be considered. We also focus on the Linked Data initiative since this lies at the heart of what Semantic Web is all about: large scale integration of, and reasoning on, data on the Web. The third part of the study-unit will focus on agent technology since it is at the centre of automated intelligent software that acts on behalf and in the interest of the user. The Semantic Web is the ideal playground for such technologies that elicit the use of Web Services and Architectures supporting this service-oriented paradigm. Topics that will be covered include: i. Basic Intelligent Software & Artificial Life ii. Agents communication languages and standards iii. Agent Applications, Semantic Web & Web Services iv. Virtual Worlds & Future Directions Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to introduce a wide range of methods, techniques and applications that are currently used and researched in the Semantic Web today. Learning Outcomes: By the end of this study-unit the student will be able to: i. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the technical architecture of the Semantic Web, and its integration with the World Wide Web; ii. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the underlying knowledge representation formalisms in use on the Semantic Web; iii. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of common ontology design methodologies; iv. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of common application vocabularies in use on the Semantic Web; v. appreciate the role of agent based computing as a solution to various problems; vi. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts in distributed systems necessary to appreciate and make use of (Semantic) Web Services specifications and proposals. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: i. critically evaluate developments on the Semantic Web; ii. isolate and organise conceptual elements of simple domains of discourse; iii. use common Semantic Web tools to design, document and verify ontologies; iv. evaluate the suitability of an agent-based approach to a given problem; v. identify the key characteristics of the (Semantic) Web Services architecture; vi. design and Build (Semantic) Web Services. Textbooks: • Knowledge Representation: Logical, Philosophical, and Computational Foundations, John Sowa, (ISBN-13: 978-0534949655). • Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies, Pascal Hitzler, Markus Krotzsch, Sebastian Rudolph (ISBN: 978-1-4200-9059-5). • Agency and the Semantic Web, Christopher Walton, ISBN-13: 978-0199292486. • Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, 3rd Edition, Stuart Russell, Peter Norvig (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-604259-4). Supplimentary: • Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, Brachman & Levesque (ISBN-13:978-1-55860-932-7). • A Semantic Web Primer, 2nd Edition, Grigoris Antoniou and Frank van Harmelen, (ISBN-13: 978-0-262-01242-3). • Ontological Engineering: Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing, Gomez-Perez, A., M. Fernandez-Lopez, and O. Corcho. 2003, Berlin: Springer (ISBN: 978-1-85233-551-9). |
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| RULES/CONDITIONS | Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU ARE ADVISED TO TAKE CSA2171 | |||||||||
| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Students taking this study-unit need to have a technical background. | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Charlie Abela Matthew Montebello (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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