Easy Topic Maps: What Are Topic Maps?

*They are the most powerful metadata format we have; *XTM is an XML based language for topic maps; *TopicMaps contain things like Topics, Associations and Occurrences. Mmmmm… but what ARE they? A topic map consists of a bunch of topics, and is often written in XTM. Or it can be kept in a database. Or written on paper. Or carved in stone, you get the idea. Apart from topics (like: ‘the play Hamlet’), it also contains associations (like: ‘the play Hamlet was written by the author Shakespeare.’) And a topic map also contains occurrences. (Like: ‘At this URL: http://hamlet.com/ you can find a description of the play hamlet.’) It takes some time to get your head around…