Interoperability of Information Systems and Heterogenous Databases Using XML

Interoperabilily of information systerrrs is the most critical issue facing businesse! that need to access information from multiple idormution systems on tlifferent environments ancl diverse platforms. Interoperability has been a basic requirement for the modern information systems in a competitive and volatile business environment, particularly with the advent of distributed network system and the growing relevance of inter-network communications. Our objective in tltis paper is to develop a comprehensiveframework tofacilitate interoperability smong distributed and heterogeneous information systems and to develop prototype software to validate tlte application of XML in interoperability of infurmation systems and databases

XML for Domain Viewpoints

Within research institutions like CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) there are often disparate databases (different in format, type and structure) that users need to access in a domain-specific manner. Users may want to access a simple unit of information without having to understand detail of the underlying schema or they may want to access the same information from several different sources. It is neither desirable nor feasible to require users to have knowledge of these schemas. Instead it would be advantageous if a user could query these sources using his or her own domain models and abstractions of the data. This paper describes the basis of an XML (eXtended Markup Language) framework that provides this functionality and is currently being developed at CERN. The goal of the first prototype was to explore the possibilities of XML for data integration and model management. It shows how XML can be used to integrate data sources. The framework is not only applicable to CERN data sources but other environments too.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, conference report from SCI'2001 Multiconference on Systemics & Informatics, Florid

Lost in translation: data integration tools meet the Semantic Web (experiences from the Ondex project)

More information is now being published in machine processable form on the web and, as de-facto distributed knowledge bases are materializing, partly encouraged by the vision of the Semantic Web, the focus is shifting from the publication of this information to its consumption. Platforms for data integration, visualization and analysis that are based on a graph representation of information appear first candidates to be consumers of web-based information that is readily expressible as graphs. The question is whether the adoption of these platforms to information available on the Semantic Web requires some adaptation of their data structures and semantics. Ondex is a network-based data integration, analysis and visualization platform which has been developed in a Life Sciences context. A number of features, including semantic annotation via ontologies and an attention to provenance and evidence, make this an ideal candidate to consume Semantic Web information, as well as a prototype for the application of network analysis tools in this context. By analyzing the Ondex data structure and its usage, we have found a set of discrepancies and errors arising from the semantic mismatch between a procedural approach to network analysis and the implications of a web-based representation of information. We report in the paper on the simple methodology that we have adopted to conduct such analysis, and on issues that we have found which may be relevant for a range of similar platformsComment: Presented at DEIT, Data Engineering and Internet Technology, 2011 IEEE: CFP1113L-CD

Three Steps to Heaven: Semantic Publishing in a Real World Workflow

Semantic publishing offers the promise of computable papers, enriched visualisation and a realisation of the linked data ideal. In reality, however, the publication process contrives to prevent richer semantics while culminating in a `lumpen' PDF. In this paper, we discuss a web-first approach to publication, and describe a three-tiered approach which integrates with the existing authoring tooling. Critically, although it adds limited semantics, it does provide value to all the participants in the process: the author, the reader and the machine.Comment: Published as part of SePublica 201