What is topicmapsforge.org?

topicmapsforge.org is a web portal and a show-case for publishing high quality topic maps. It is meant to promote Topic Maps as a powerful state-of-the-art semantic technology based on a family of ISO standards. To that end, topicmapsforge.org will be hosting a growing number of topic maps covering diverse domains, one of which will be life sciences. The life science use cases will be supplemented by topic maps of general interest, addressing a wider audience.

Who is behind topicmapsforge.org?

Currently, topicmapsforge.org is exclusively supported by Nexxor, a Stuttgart-based software company specializing in Topic Maps technologies. topicmapsforge.org is driven by topicWorks software of Nexxor.

What is Topic Maps?

"Topic Maps" is - mind the singular and the capital letters - the name of a semantic technology for encoding knowledge and connecting this encoded knowledge to relevant information resources. The technology is based on a growing family of ISO standards such as ISO 13250-2. If you are interested in the technology you may want to visit the Topic Maps Lab at the University of Leipzig.

What is a topic map?

According to the definitions in ISO 13250-2 a topic map is a set of "topics" and "associations". A "topic" is a symbol representing one, and only one, subject in order to allow statements about the subject. An association is a representation of a relationship between one or more subjects. And finally, a subject is "anything whatsoever, regardless of whether it exists or has any other specific characteristics, about which anything whatsoever may be asserted by any means whatsoever".

More questions? We'll skip the twenty-something other definitions in the glossary of ISO 13250-2, since for most readers they will possibly not explain what a topic map is. Nevertheless, this brief excursion into the ISO standard hopefully shows that a topic map may represent next to any kind of knowledge. We assure you, that you may also link any kind of digitally accessible information resource to the knowledge represented in a topic map.