Information Visualization Versus the Semantic Web

Abstract

The appeal and potential of information visualization is increasingly recognized in a wide range of information systems. The Semantic Web sets out the blueprint of the second generation of the ever-popular World Wide Web. Information visualization aims to produce graphical representations of abstract information structure for human users, whereas the Semantic Web aims to rely on a universal descriptive framework of resources that can be utilized by software agents. On the one hand, information visualization and the Semantic Web may compliment each other on a number of fundamental issues concerning the organization of and access to large-scale information resources. On the other hand, the two distinct research fields differ in some fundamental ways in terms of how semantics is defined and represented. It is important for designers and users to be able to distinguish the key differences as well as the major similarities between the two. In this chapter, we outline the origin of information visualization and some of the latest advances in relation to the Semantic Web. An illustrative example is included to highlight the challenges that one has to face in seeking for a synergy of information visualization and the Semantic Web.