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Expand Up @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ @misc{jsonld:2020
@inproceedings{Taelman:2018,
author = {Taelman, Ruben and Van Herwegen, Joachim and Vander Sande, Miel and Verborgh, Ruben},
title = {Comunica: a Modular SPARQL Query Engine for the Web},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 17th International Semantic Web Conference},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 17th {I}nternational {S}emantic {W}eb {C}onference},
year = {2018},
month = oct,
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
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54 changes: 27 additions & 27 deletions paper/paper.md
Expand Up @@ -49,20 +49,20 @@ Semantic Web. SKOS provides a standard way to represent these vocabularies using
passing data between computer applications in an interoperable way.

SKOS vocabularies record controlled vocabularies as a set of concepts, collections
and their relations. A concept being something a researcher wants to describe and define,
a collection being a grouping of a number of concepts.
and their relations. A concept is something a researcher wants to describe and define,
and a collection is a grouping of a number of concepts.
Flanders Heritage is active in the domain of cultural heritage and
describes concepts such as [Roman period](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/dateringen/1223) [@Slechten:2004],
[oppida](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/1052) or
[oppida](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/1052), and
[archaeological excavations](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/gebeurtenistypes/38). A
typical collection would be [settlements by function](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/1034),
a grouping of settlement types according to their function, as opposed to by size or form.
Similar concepts and collections are grouped in a conceptscheme, eg. the
conceptscheme of [heritage types](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes)
consists of concepts and collections that describes types of heritage, ranging from
Similar concepts and collections are grouped in a conceptscheme, e.g., the
[heritage types](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes) conceptscheme
consists of concepts and collections that describe types of heritage, ranging from
[solitary trees](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/1654)
over [burial mounds](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/170)
to [airfields](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/476)
to [airfields](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/476)
and [swimming pools](https://id.erfgoed.net/thesauri/erfgoedtypes/949). Concepts
and collections can be labelled with preferred labels and alternative labels,
more elaborately described with definitions and notes, and provided with references
Expand All @@ -78,23 +78,23 @@ to concepts in other vocabularies such as the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AA

Atramhasis was written to be a user-friendly open source SKOS editor. First and
foremost, we wanted a system that adheres to the SKOS standard, yet is useable
for users without knowledge of SKOS or RDF. For a typical user, it had to feel
as if they were consulting a normal website, as opposed to a RDF vocabulary
for users without prior knowledge of SKOS or RDF. For a typical user, it had to feel
as if they were consulting a normal website, as opposed to a RDF vocabulary,
since the latter can feel rather daunting to non-technical users. This not only
applies to users consulting the thesauri, but also to those editing them. Our
thesaurus editors are not IT- or linked data specialists, but domain experts,
researchers and other specialists in the field of cultural heritage. While a
general understanding of thesauri is within their grasp, the technicalities of
RDF are not. Thus, editors in Atramhasis do not write RDF statements, but edit
data in a normal web admin interface, as seen in \autoref{fig:editingairfields}.
All mapping to RDF and SKOS is done behind the scene, invisible to the editors.
All mapping to RDF and SKOS is done behind the scenes, invisible to the editors.

![Editing the concept of airfields is simple and straightforward.\label{fig:editingairfields}](atramhasis_screen_edit_airfields.png)

The system was conceived as Flanders Heritage's
[central platform](https://thesaurus.onroerenderfgoed.be) for publication of
internal and regional vocabularies dealing with cultural heritage [@Mortier:2017].
The publication website allows humans to browse, search and consult the vocabularies
The publication website allows humans to browse, search, and consult the vocabularies
online in a user-friendly way. Search results can be downloaded in CSV format
for further processing. Internal and external systems use the webservices provided
by Atramhasis to consult or download vocabularies. Concept URIs are used in
Expand All @@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ indexing data in systems such as the
[@VanDaele:2015; @deHaan:2021; @Hooft:2021] or the
[Flanders Heritage Image Database](https://beeldbank.onroerenderfgoed.be).
This allows users to search those systems using the provided thesauri (\autoref{fig:searchingairfields}).
For a typical end-user the thesauri are presented as dropdown lists or
For a typical end-user, the thesauri are presented as dropdown lists or
[specialised widgets](https://github.com/OnroerendErfgoed/thesaurus-widget) that
allow navigating the thesaurus from the top concepts along branches to the leafs.
For most transactions between internal Flanders Heritage systems and the
Expand All @@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ comfortable and productive.
While interactions with internal system are done through plain JSON REST
services, publishing of linked data for external consumption is also supported.
Individual concepts and collections can be downloaded as RDF data in Turtle,
RDF/XML and JSON-LD format [@jsonld:2020]. Entire conceptschemes can be downloaded
RDF/XML, and JSON-LD format [@jsonld:2020]. Entire conceptschemes can be downloaded
in Turtle or RDF/XML format. Finally, an
[integrated Linked Data Fragments (LDF) server](https://atramhasis.readthedocs.io/en/latest/development.html#running-a-linked-data-fragments-server)
is available, serving the thesauri through the
Expand All @@ -130,18 +130,18 @@ SPARQL interface to the Atramhasis thesauri (\autoref{fig:comunica}) through
an LDF client such as [Comunica](https://comunica.dev/) [@Taelman:2018].
This makes all the versatility of SPARQL queries available without having to
setup a triplestore, thus keeping the required technology stack small. Implementors
who do need or want a full triplestore, could easily add one and use the
who do need or want a full triplestore could easily add one and use the
export capabilities provided by Atramhasis to populate the triplestore.

![Querying the Flanders Heritage thesaurus of styles and cultures served by an Atramhasis server with a SPARQL query from a comunica client\label{fig:comunica}](comunica_query.png)

An Atramhasis instance can be connected to external vocabularies and thesauri through
an interface called a Skosprovider [@skosprovider:2022]. Any thesaurus providing one can
an interface called a Skosprovider [@skosprovider:2022], and any thesaurus providing one can
be used for linking external concepts. Out of the box skosproviders are available for Getty
vocabularies such as the AAT [@aat] or other Atramhasis instances, but any thesaurus adhering
vocabularies such as the AAT [@aat] and other Atramhasis instances, but any thesaurus adhering
to the SKOS standard can be added with a little development work. Connecting an external
thesaurus opens up the possibility of interlinking internal and external thesauri, importing
concepts from such a thesaurus and turning your vocabularies into true linked data.
concepts from such a thesaurus, and turning your vocabularies into true linked data.

## Technical requirements

Expand All @@ -162,18 +162,18 @@ configured according to a user's own corporate security needs.
Atramhasis uses [SQLAlchemy](https://sqlalchemy.org), a database abstraction
layer, so it can be run with different relational databases. We recommend
[PostgreSQL](https://postgresql.org) for an enterprise multi-user production
environment such as the Flanders Heritage thesaurus. It has been serving
environment such as the Flanders Heritage thesaurus, which has been serving
25.000 visitors annually. [SQLite](https://sqlite.org) is very well suited
for a single-user environment and rapid prototyping. By using this very
simple file-based backend and not configuring any authentication Atramhasis
has been used a quick SKOS editor by people not wanting to write SKOS by hand.
simple file-based backend and not configuring any authentication, Atramhasis
has been used as a quick SKOS editor by people not wanting to write SKOS by hand.

Since we already had multiple thesauri, a single instance of Atramhasis can host
multiple conceptschemes (\autoref{fig:conceptschemes}). Creating a conceptscheme requires
somewhat more work than creating a concept or collection. Generally it is
best left to system admins and IT-experts who can also setup a URI generation scheme
best left to system admins and IT experts who can also set up a URI generation scheme
and [handler](https://https://github.com/OnroerendErfgoed/urihandler), decide on
some special configuration settings and know how the conceptscheme will be used in other
some special configuration settings, and know how the conceptscheme will be used in other
applications.

![All conceptschemes in a single Atramhasis instance\label{fig:conceptschemes}](atramhasis_conceptschemes.png)
Expand All @@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ far and the software itself has no hardcoded limit. However, we do feel Atramhas
is not ideal for hosting very large thesauri such as the AAT [@aat]. Often such a
thesaurus defines custom properties or has smaller subgroups to keep the thesarus
navigable. At Flanders Heritage we have avoided creating heterogenous conceptschemes,
opting for conceptschemes with a tight focus. Eg. the Flanders Heritage thesaurus
opting for conceptschemes with a tight focus. For example, the Flanders Heritage thesaurus
has different conceptschemes that each map to an AAT subgroup called a Facet
(Styles and Periods, Activities, Materials, Objects). While the end result is very
similar, Atramhasis does not currently support something like the facets the
Expand All @@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ conceptscheme. So far, this has not proved to be an issue.
# State of the field

Having decided on our functional and technical requirements, we surveyed vocabulary
software available at the time (2014). Knowing we need to integrate existing
software available at the time (2014). Knowing we needed to integrate existing
software in our normal technical environment, requiring a great degree of flexibility
and customisation, we focussed our search on open source software.

Expand All @@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ but was difficult to evaluate properly since most of the documenation and code
was in Spanish. Both TemaTres and [OpenSkos](https://openskos.org) are written
in PHP. OpenSkos was also lacking good documentation so it was unclear how easy
it would be to customise and adapt the software. [iQvoc](https://iqvoc.net)
had exactly the kind of end-user experience we were looking for. iQvoc runs on
had exactly the kind of end-user experience we were looking for, but it runs on
the idea that every conceptscheme requires a new instance of the application,
which would have required a lot of work whenever a new scheme was needed. None
of the available solutions had a ready-made integration with a single sign-on
Expand All @@ -228,9 +228,9 @@ use cases in a sustainable way. So far this has proven to be the right decision.

# Acknowledgements

As with any long lived project, Atramhasis has benefitted from the input of
As with any long-lived project, Atramhasis has benefitted from the input of
several colleagues and software developers over the years. While it's impossible
to thank them all, we do want to thank Bart Saelen, Tinne Cahy and
to thank them all, we do want to thank Bart Saelen, Tinne Cahy, and
Cedrik Vanderhaegen for much of the original development. A full list of people
who contributed over the years can be found on GitHub. Leen Meganck and
Sophie Mortier were responsible for building most of the vocabularies that led to
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