Iridescent: a Tool for Rapid Semantic Annotation of Web Service Descriptions

T. Stavropoulos, D. Vrakas, I. Vlahavas, “Iridescent: a Tool for Rapid Semantic Annotation of Web Service Descriptions”, Proc. 3nd International Conference on Web Intelligence, Mining and Semantics (WIMS' 13), ACM, pp. 12:1-12:9, 2013.

Although the Semantic Web and Web Service technologies have al-ready formed a synergy towards Semantic Web Services, their use remains limited. Potential adopters are usually discouraged by the number of different methodologies and the lack of tools, which both force them to acquire expert knowledge and commit to exhausting manual labor. This work proposes a novel functional and user-friendly graphical tool, named Iridescent, intended for both expert and non-expert users, to create and edit Semantic Web Service descriptions, following the SAWSDL recommendation. The tool’s aim is twofold: to enable users manually create descriptions in a visual manner, providing a complete alternative to coding, and to semi-automate the process by matching elements and concepts and suggesting annotations. A state-of-the-art survey has been carried out to reveal critical points and requirements. The tool’s functionality is presented along with usage scenarios that demonstrate how the tool and SAWSDL enable Intelligence in an Ambient Intelligence environment. Finally, Iridescent was methodically tested for its usability and evalu-ated by a range of both expert and non-expert users.