Semantics in Wiki - Community-Built Databases: Research and Development - page 235

Chapter 10
Semantics in Wiki

Lorna Uden

Abstract Wikis provide flexible ways for supporting the quick and simple crea-
tion, sharing and management of content. Despite the obvious benefit of a wiki, its
contents are barely machine interpretable. Structural knowledge, for example about
how concepts are interrelated, can neither be formally stated nor be automatically
processed. In addition, numerical data is available only as plain text and thus cannot
be processed by its actual meaning. Semantic Wikis provide the ability to capture
(by humans), store and later identify (by machines) further meta-information or
metadata about those articles and hyperlinks, as well as their relations. Semantic
Web provides intelligent access to heterogeneous, distributed information, enabling
software products (agents) to mediate between user needs and the information
sources available. This chapter describes the use of semantic technologies in wiki.

10.1 Introduction

Wikis are usually viewed as tools to manage online content in a quick and easy way
by editing some simple syntax known as wiki-text. A typical wiki is a repository of
information. That information is placed on pages, which are interconnected through
a web of links. Also, pages are categorised and have a heading. The aim of wiki is to
organise the collected knowledge and to share this information. Despite the obvious
benefit of a wiki, its contents are barely machine interpretable. Structural knowl-
edge, for example about how concepts are interrelated, can neither be formally
stated nor be automatically processed. In addition, numerical data is available only
as plain text and thus cannot be processed by its actual meaning.
Since Wikis are by nature unstructured, use of semantics can greatly facilitate
the process of sifting through the information. In a corporate wiki, which has been
in use for a lengthy period of time, the amount of information on projects,