Biskup, Thomas, Heyer, Nils, and Marx Gómez, Jorge. (2007). Building Sound Semantic Web Frameworks for Scalable and Fault-Tolerant Systems. In: Sugumaran, V. (ed.): Application of Agents and Intelligent Information Technologies. Hershey (PA): Idea Group Publishing, pp. 153-181.

Summary
Describes a theoretical framework for implementing the Semantic Web. Core technologies: agents, ontologies, Web services, and personalization. Provides a useful overview explaining the roles that existing technologies, including: XML, RDF, HTTP and SOAP, and ontology languages like SHOE and DAML, can play. Defines the WASP (Web services, Agents, Semantic Web, Personalization) model and a related system architecture named HIVE. WASP will utilize Web services for communication, Agents for modeling typical tasks and solutions, Semantic Web technologies (e.g. XML, RDF) as “a means to provide data and information in a consistent manner that allows retrieval and reasoning”, and Personalization technologies to configure processes to meet needs expressed by individual users. Agents are the central component in this framework because they implement the business logic. Introduces the concept of hyperservices, which are derived from integrating the core WASP technologies into a new type of service infrastructure. Analyzes and presents functional requirements for Semantic Web architecture.

My impressions
This article helped me get a better understanding of the big picture and how all of the various technological pieces (e.g. XML, RDF, SOAP, etc.) could fit together to realize the Semantic Web. I am intrigued by the central role that agents play in this model, and I could see a role for people (possibly librarians, catalogers in particular) in helping to define and develop agents and metadata schema, ontologies, etc. to provide an increasingly structured environment for agents to operate in.

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