This book provides a foundation for today's data integration applications and tomorrow's semantic Web by explaining Web standards for data management with a focus on data distribution.
The book contains various examples and case studies and strikes a balance between the conceptual and the practical. It provides a full introduction to modern global information systems for Web workers as well as for master's level courses.
Information access has been transformed by the Internet and the World Wide Web. Nowadays, users store information on a variety of devices, including cellphones, personal PCs, and websites like Youtube and Picasa.
As a result, distribution-related issues are becoming more and more important in data management concepts, methodologies, and approaches. The instruments used to process this information are now mostly located within the network.
With a focus on data distribution, this book introduces the XML syntax, the Web standard for data management. The diverse aspects of distributed data management on the Web are covered, including description logics, which are already showing up in today's data integration applications and portend the semantic Web of the future.
It also introduces the tools used to alter the massive amounts of data that have been gathered online. Several "Putting into Practice" chapters go into great depth about how the technologies and strategies can be used in practise.
The book will serve as an introduction to the new, global information systems for Web workers as well as for master's level courses since it strikes a balance between the conceptual and the practical.
