[topicmapmail] Open Source Options?

[Robert Parks]

Hi Steve,
Has anyone used Ontopia, or another Topic Map tool with the 
Euro-WordNet data?  I'd like to find software that will allow me to 
create a small multi-lingual semantic network (multi-lingual 
dictionary with semantic relations thesaurus) for language learning. 
Any pointers would be very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Bob

At 10:58 AM +0200 7/26/07, Steve Pepper wrote:
>* Gary Kopp
>|
>| My real question is whether I have any "inexpensive" options
>| for off-the-shelf topic map editing software.
>
>Hi Gary,
>
>I highly recommend Ontopia's free ontology-driven editor Ontopoly [1].
>
>I have been using it recently for several of my own topic maps (although not
>yet the Italian Opera topic map) and found it a joy to work with. (I can say
>that now that I'm no longer with Ontopia and in any case wasn't very
>involved in the tool's original design and development :-)
>
>Like any tool that does a lot of clever stuff, the interface takes a little
>getting used to, but - believe me - it's well worth making the effort.
>
>Creating topic maps is a two-step process: First you design the ontology.
>(In your case you could start with the MyThesaurus ontology, based on SKOS,
>which is included in the distribution.) Then you populate the topic map via
>a forms-based interface that is automatically configured for each topic type
>based on the information in the ontology: input fields and drop-down lists
>are generated for creating identifiers, names, occurrences and associations,
>and you even get to control the order and appearance of those fields.
>
>You should be aware that a deliberate design decision was taken (in order to
>keep the user interface simple) *not* to support the full panoply of Topic
>Maps features, in particular reification, scope, and variant names, in the
>first version of Ontopoly. I would dearly like to have scope (at least on
>names), in order to support multilingual topic maps. I have also
>occasionally missed having sort names (which require variants).
>
>The good news is that there are workarounds for both of these: Firstly,
>Ontopoly supports typed names (an XTM 2.0 feature which goes some way to
>providing multilingual capabilities). Secondly, Ontopoly respects
>unsupported Topic Maps constructs, provided they are valid. This means you
>can tweak your XTM file outside Ontopoly (for example, by adding a <variant>
>element using an XML editor) and then continue editing in Ontopoly. You
>won't be able to edit the unsupported construct, but Ontopoly won't barf
>either, nor will it remove the additional information.
>
>Ontopoly is part of the OKS Samplers, which also includes the Omnigator
>topic map browser.
>
>Steve
>
>[1] http://www.ontopia.net/download/freedownload.html
>
>
>| -----Original Message-----
>| From: topicmapmail-bounces at infoloom.com [mailto:topicmapmail-
>| bounces at infoloom.com] On Behalf Of Gary Kopp
>| Sent: 26 July 2007 05:57
>| To: topicmapmail at infoloom.com
>| Subject: [topicmapmail] Open Source Options?
>|
>| Warning: newbie is here. I have studied the theory and application of
>| topic
>| maps, and I would like to use them in the building and management of
>| thesauri for various technical writing projects. But from what I've been
>| able to determine this is a technology that is currently only being served
>| well by various commercial companies, all of which seem to have set
>| relatively high prices for their topic map "suites." There are some open
>| source APIs (TM4J and PHPTMAPI), but no actively maintained open source
>| topic map creation/editing software that I've been able to locate. The
>| closest I've come is Wandora, which is only "free" for non-commercial use
>| (and I haven't found anything concerning pricing for commercial use).
>|
>| Am I missing anything? I'm thinking about building my own editing
>| environment using, say, TM4J, but in the interim I would sure like to be
>| able to create and edit topic maps with an inexpensive, preferably open
>| source, tool. If such a beast doesn't exist, another option I'm
>| considering
>| is creating thesauri using SKOS, taking an RDF-based approach. There isn't
>| much tool support there either (there is at least one open source editor,
>| ThManager, that might suit me), but my gut feel is that custom coding
>| around
>| SKOS/RDF would be easier than around a TM API, especially since I can hook
>| into existing RDF editors and extend them to deal with the SKOS
>vocabulary.
>|
>| I guess a topic maps forum isn't the right place for me to march out my
>| brainstorming on topic maps vs. RDF approaches to thesauri. My real
>| question
>| is whether I have any "inexpensive" options for off-the-shelf topic map
>| editing software.
>|
>| --Gary Kopp
>|
>| _______________________________________________
>| topicmapmail mailing list
>| topicmapmail at infoloom.com
>| http://www.infoloom.com/mailman/listinfo/topicmapmail
>
>_______________________________________________
>topicmapmail mailing list
>topicmapmail at infoloom.com
>http://www.infoloom.com/mailman/listinfo/topicmapmail


-- 
*  The best dictionary and integrated thesaurus on the web: 
http://www.wordsmyth.net
*  Robert Parks - Wordsmyth - (607) 272-2190
* "To imagine a language is to imagine a form of life."  (LW)
* "Philosophers have only interpreted the world. The point, however, 
is to change it." (KM)
*  In communicating - speaking and writing - we create community. 
Through this participation we hone our words till their meaning 
potential taps into the rich voice of our full human potential.