Technology

Technical Specifications

Scalable, Robust Architecture

ITM is a robust application based on Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), and leverages the Enterprise Java Bean architecture to guarantee transactional integrity. ITM uses the distributed and clustering features of J2EE servers to guarantee scalability via load balancing and high-reliability via fail-over mechanisms. ITM can communicate and synchronize with other information system applications using the Java Message Service (JMS) and Web Services.

Supported J2EE servers include BEA Weblogic, IBM Websphere, Oracle Application Server, and JBoss.

Large Datastore

The ITM database can handle several million entities with their semantic relations and attributes while maintaining mission critical response times. ITM also leverages its underlying database's full-text indexing and XML storage features to maximize its semantic storage and query performances and functions.

Supported database management systems include Oracle 9i, 10g and PostgreSQL 8.x.

Open Architecture

ITM is an open, standards based solution leveraging XML, Java and Web Services. The web based user interface guarantees access from any browser, while the Java and Web Service APIs permit easy integration in enterprise information systems. The APIs also allow creation of ontology based semantic applications, whether thick or thin client.

Semantic Web Standards

Mondeca uses many W3C standards, particularly those defined within the framework of the Semantic Web Activity. We recommend that our partners and customers use the same standards in their semantic applications. Mondeca actively participates in the the definition, improvement and adoption of these standards, both through participation in work groups such as the Semantic Web Best Practices and Deployment Working Group and through their deployment in our products and solutions.

• XML is the generic syntax for all data imported and exported from ITM, and is the underlying data exchange mechanism between all components of Mondeca implemented solutions, from data acquisition to storage and publication.
• RDF is the underlying format used to represent data and metadata used in semantic web applications. Mondeca can integrate data in RDF format in our applications, and ITM exports the RDF based formats OWL and SKOS.
• OWL is the most expressive ontology definition language based on RDF. It integrated certain elements of its predecessor RDF Schema. Mondeca participated in the completed Web-Ontology working group which developed this language, and ITM uses the OWL model internally in ITM to represent ontologies. This allows ITM to be used for development, modification and interchange of ontologies created with RDF-OWL editors such as Protégé or SWOOP.
• SKOS is an RDF vocabulary for the representation of thesauri, taxonomies, classification schemas and other structured vocabularies use for document classification, indexation, search and navigation. This vocabulary is currently being finalized by the W3C by the Semantic Web Deployment Working Group, with whom Mondeca actively collaborates. SKOS is the standard format used for the import and export of reference terminologies, and Mondeca maintains the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's Thesaurus in this format. SKOS is also the format used for taxonomies generated from ITM for use in search engines, and for publication and navigation interfaces.
• SPARQL is a query language for RDF that is currently being standardized. Mondeca are currently exploring its potential use in our solutions, in tandem with several large customers, for applications ranging from automatic indexation of documents using RDF metadata, integration of SKOS vocabularies, connecting knowledge bases with navigation taxonomies, etc.