Introduction: Linked Data and the Semantic Web

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce and discuss the problems that Linked Data solve and the concepts that are related to these problems. We introduce and analyze the basic concepts that are related to the generation of Linked Data and the Semantic Web in general. We provide a brief history of the Semantic Web and the associated evolution of concepts, problem frameworks and solution approaches, all targeted at offering efficient and intelligent solutions to information representation, management and exploitation. More specifically, we introduce the main reasons for the creation of the Semantic Web and the problems that it addresses. Next, we discuss the distinctions between basic terms such as data, information, knowledge, metadata, ontologies, semantic annotations etc. We introduce the notions of interoperability, integration, merging, mapping, and continue with introducing ontologies, reasoners, knowledge bases, all fundamental concepts in the Linked Data ecosystem.