For a few months, I was a member of the W3C RDF-Schema WG, so I looked forward to reviewing Creating the Semantic Web with RDF. I couldn't wait to see how the potential of RDF and the semantic Web would be explained without creating major digestive problems and headaches (or unintentionally developing a drug-free cure for insomnia).

In general it was a pleasure to read this book by Johan Hjelm. It starts with the subject of metadata, what RDF is, and how RDF-Schema fits into the picture. The discussion is comprehensive, even if sometimes a bit lengthy for my taste. As a "bonus track,," you'll find a brief introduction to XML.

The book then covers metadata vocabularies and discusses Device Descriptions and User Profiles. While you can argue about the practical deployment of Composite Capabilities/Preference Profile (CC/PP) and the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P), readers get a few interesting ideas for creating their own personalization profiles in e-business applications.

Much to my delight the following chapters are about rules and ontologies and finally bring autonomous agents into the picture. Johan manages to describe in fairly clear terms two subjects that are hard to grasp (and even more difficult to explain).

The final chapter of the book includes an in-depth (and useful) collection of resources on the subjects discussed. These resources are also easily accessible via the material and references provided on the accompanying CD-ROM.

If you're a developer looking for a hands-on, detailed how-to or a reference guide, this book isn't for you (the foreword also makes it clear that it's not a programmers' book). If, however, you're a strategist, architect, or simply a practitioner in the field who wants an introduction to what metadata is, how it is being used today (or rather could be), and how it can make your Web site and Internet architecture more efficient, I recommend this book.

Creating the Semantic Web with RDF
By Johan Hjelm
John Wiley & Sons
May 2001
ISBN: 0471402591

Reviewed by Norbert H. Mikula