The Hidden Web, XML and Semantic Web: A Scientific Data Management Perspective

TL;DR

This paper explores the evolution of the Web beyond HTML, emphasizing the roles of the hidden Web, XML, and the Semantic Web in scientific data management and how they facilitate data organization and retrieval.

Contribution

It provides a detailed explanation of these Web developments and demonstrates their application in managing scientific data, aiming to bridge database research and Web technologies.

Findings

XML is the dominant language for Web data exchange.

Semantic Web enhances data integration and retrieval.

Real-world scientific examples illustrate practical benefits.

Abstract

The World Wide Web no longer consists just of HTML pages. Our work sheds light on a number of trends on the Internet that go beyond simple Web pages. The hidden Web provides a wealth of data in semi-structured form, accessible through Web forms and Web services. These services, as well as numerous other applications on the Web, commonly use XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. XML has become the lingua franca of the Internet that allows customized markups to be defined for specific domains. On top of XML, the Semantic Web grows as a common structured data source. In this work, we first explain each of these developments in detail. Using real-world examples from scientific domains of great interest today, we then demonstrate how these new developments can assist the managing, harvesting, and organization of data on the Web. On the way, we also illustrate the current research avenues in these domains. We believe that this effort would help bridge multiple database tracks, thereby attracting researchers with a view to extend database technology.