SPOC-Web Icon, semantic Knowledge Management

Individuen: Dinge, Eigenschaften und Verbindungen

Spoc-Web - the Application

From a high Level Point of View, the Spoc-Web Application is a graphical User Interface to view and edit semantic Networks and tabular Data.

Spoc-Web Design Principles

These are the Principles that guided us through the Spoc-Web Design. Knowing them will help You to grasp the Spirit of this Application.

  • Simplicity: Spoc-Web is easy to start with, even for Kids: Reading and Writing is all You need.
  • Cooperation: Part of this Simplicity is the Conflict Resolution Policy when synchronizing with other Databases. The simple Rule here is: last Edit wins. There will be Warnings on concurrent Edits and You can undo any Change in the Undo/Redo Log, but...
    • due to the granular Structure, Conflicts between regularly synchronized Data Sources are extremely unlikely
    • You must rely on Your Colleagues anyway
    • it is usually more important to go forward in Your Work than to inspect each possible Conflict or Change.
  • Openness: Spoc-Web does not lock up Your Data into a closed System. We use regular Files for Attachments, Text Files for Configuration and open Database Formats for structured Data.
  • Flexibility: We leave a lot of Flexibility to You in using Spoc-Web and don't prevent You from using it in new, unexpected Ways. Therefore and due to its Openness, it is possible for You to even break it, although we built in some Checks. But we rather offer a powerful Feature than restraining You. This is an Application for Power Users.
  • Learning: Spoc-Web is a Tool that can help You to work on higher and higher Levels of Abstractions. Learning to master these Levels is an excellent Qualification for Problem Solving.
  • Power: Spoc-Webs Power grows with Your Experience. The more Data You have and the better You know how to structure it, the more You get out of it.
  • Robustness: Spoc-Web does not easily break. You can change Data, but not the whole System.
  • Performance: Although Flexibility has a higher Precedence, Performance and Space Consumption are important Factors to us too and we try to find the optimum Solution to these conflicting Forces.

Spoc-Web Internals

Multilingual unique Names, URIs and IDs

You know Your Object via unique Names, but Spoc-Web uses unique integer IDs internally. It is often insightful to view these IDs, because they are also used to build Relations between the Tables.

By consistently using the same IDs across all Tables, Spoc-Web allows to add arbitrary Properties and Connections to tabular Data. Even more: different Aspects of the same Object can be stored in separate Tables to reduce Coupling and foster Reuse in Applications building on the Spoc-Web Infrastructure.

The semantic Web is built on unique URIs. URIs are close Cousins to the well-known Browser-URLs in Your Browser's Address Field. The current Page should have this URL: http://www.spoc-web.com/english/introduction/application/

Unlike URLs though, URIs are not expected to return something when entered into the Browser. Every Spoc-Web Object also has a unique URI consisting of the Namespace Prefix http://www.spoc-web.com/ and the unique Computer and Database IDs defined when registering Your License with us.

Regular automatic Backups

Spoc-Web automatically backs up the Database when it has been changed. To preserve Disk Space, these Backups are compressed and 'thinned'. That means, Backups of the recent Week are kept daily, while older Backups have longer gaps between them. The Backups of the recent Year will contain about 50 Entries.

Separate Database Files and Data Directories

As a Principle, Spoc-Web tries to keep its Data as open as possible. Part of this is to store Files and Attachments in the File System, where You can continue to process them with all other Tools You have. We do not try to lock You up into a closed System.

Any fine granular Data must be stored in a *.sdf Database File though, for Efficiency and SQL Support. Currently two Database Technologies are supported and You can use the many free and commercial Tools for them:

  • MS SQL Server for shared Data and maximum Speed
  • MS SQL ServerCompact for Convenience and Mobility