Sematic MediaWiki
Semantic MediaWiki (SMW) adds semantic capabilities, allowing users to annotate the wiki's content with explicit, machine-readable information.
Features
1. Semantic annotations: Users can add structured data using special syntax, such as property-value pairs. This turns the unstructured text into structured, machine-readable data.
2. Semantic search: With semantic annotations, the wiki can be queried using the added structured data, enabling more precise and targeted searches.
3. Semantic browsing: SMW automatically generates lists, tables, and other views based on the semantic annotations, facilitating data exploration and discovery.
4. Data integration: SMW allows data to be imported from and exported to external sources using formats like RDF and CSV, enabling data integration with other systems.
5. Inference: SMW can infer new facts based on the existing semantic annotations using logical reasoning, enriching the knowledge base.
6. Reusable data: The structured data added to the wiki can be reused across multiple pages and queries, promoting data consistency and reducing duplication.
Examples
Cargo, Page Forms and Semantic Drilldown extension are all extensions built on top of Semantic MediaWiki (SMW) to provide additional functionality. However, they serve different purposes and have some key differences:
1. Cargo:
- Cargo is a standalone extension that provides a way to store and query structured data within MediaWiki.
- It defines data structures using templates and stores the data in separate database tables, rather than using SMW's approach of annotating wiki pages.
- Cargo has its own query language and can be used independently of SMW.
- It is designed to handle large amounts of data more efficiently compared to SMW.
- Cargo provides a simple interface for creating and managing database tables.
2. Page Forms (formerly Semantic Forms):
- Page Forms is an extension that allows users to create and edit wiki pages using predefined forms.
- It integrates with SMW, enabling users to add structured data to pages through form input fields.
- Page Forms simplifies the process of creating and maintaining templates and forms for structured data entry.
- It provides a user-friendly interface for users to input and edit data without needing to know the underlying wiki syntax.
3. Semantic Drilldown:
- Semantic Drilldown is an extension that provides a drill-down interface for exploring and filtering data stored in SMW.
- It allows users to navigate through the data by applying filters based on the semantic properties and categories.
- Semantic Drilldown dynamically generates navigation pages based on the available data and its semantic annotations.
- It enhances the browsing and discovery of information within the wiki by providing a faceted search experience.
