The explosive growth of the World Wide Web is fueling the need for a new generation of technologies for managing information flow, data, and knowledge. This developer's overview and how-to book provides a complete introduction and application guide to the world of topic maps, a powerful new means of navigating the World Wide Web's vast sea of information. With contributed chapters written by today's leading topic map experts, XML Topic Maps is designed to be a "living document" for managing information across the Web's interconnected resources. The book begins with a broad introduction and a tutorial on topic maps and XTM technology. The focus then shifts to strategies for creating and deploying the technology. Throughout, the latest theoretical perspectives are offered, alongside discussions of the challenges developers will face as the Web continues to evolve. Looking forward, the book's concluding chapters provide a road map to the future of topic map technology and the Semantic Web in general. Specific subjects explored in detail include: Topic mapping and the XTM specification Using XML Topic Maps to build knowledge repositories Knowledge Representation, ontological engineering, and topic maps Transforming an XTM document into a Web page Creating enterprise Web sites with topic maps and XSLT Open source topic map software XTM, RDF, and topic maps Semantic networks and knowledge organization Using topic maps in education Topic maps, pedagogy, and future perspectives Featuring the latest perspectives from today's leading topic map experts, XML Topic Maps provides the tools, techniques, and resources necessary to plot the changing course of information management across the World Wide Web. 0201749602B08282002