Exploiting semantic web technologies to model web form interactions

Form mapping is the key problem that needs to be solved in order to get access to the hidden web. Currently available solutions for fully automatic mapping are not ready for commercial meta-search engines, which still have to rely on hand crafted code and are hard to maintain. We believe that a thorough formal description of the problem with semantic web technologies provides a promising perspective to develop a new class of vertical search engines that is more robust and easier to maintain than existing solutions. In this paper, instead of trying to tackle the mapping problem, we model the interaction necessary to fill out a web form. First, during a user-assisted phase, the connection from the visible elements on the form to the domain concepts is established. Then, with help from background knowledge about the possible interaction steps, a plan for filling out the form is derived. Categories and Subject Descriptors: H.3.4 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Systems and Software Ge...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: WWW
• Authors: Bernhard Krüpl, Robert Baumgartner, Wolfgang Holzinger
• Keywords: Commercial Meta-search Engines, Form Mapping, Internet Technology, Mapping Problem, WWW 2008