Meta Content Framework
Encyclopedia
Meta Content Framework was a specification of a format for structuring metadata
about web sites and other data
. MCF was developed by Ramanathan V. Guha
at Apple Computer
between 1995 and 1997. When the research project was discontinued, Guha left Apple for Netscape, where he adapted MCF to use XML
and created the first version of the Resource Description Framework
(RDF).
One application utilizing MCF was HotSauce
, also developed by Guha while at Apple. It generated a 3D
visualization
of a web site's table of contents, based on MCF descriptions.
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
about web sites and other data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
. MCF was developed by Ramanathan V. Guha
Ramanathan V. Guha
Ramanathan V. Guha is an Indian computer scientist. He graduated with B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology Madras, MS from University of California Berkeley and...
at Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
between 1995 and 1997. When the research project was discontinued, Guha left Apple for Netscape, where he adapted MCF to use XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
and created the first version of the Resource Description Framework
Resource Description Framework
The Resource Description Framework is a family of World Wide Web Consortium specifications originally designed as a metadata data model...
(RDF).
One application utilizing MCF was HotSauce
HotSauce
HotSauce was experimental software developed by Apple Computer as a sample application of its Meta Content Framework. HotSauce generated a 3D visualization of the contents of an MCF file, for example a website sitemap...
, also developed by Guha while at Apple. It generated a 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
visualization
Visualization (graphic)
Visualization is any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message. Visualization through visual imagery has been an effective way to communicate both abstract and concrete ideas since the dawn of man...
of a web site's table of contents, based on MCF descriptions.
External links
- MCF Tutorial (using XML syntax)
- Innovators of the Net: R.V. Guha and RDF — Interview by Marc AndreessenMarc AndreessenMarc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, investor, software engineer, and multi-millionaire best known as co-author of Mosaic, the first widely-used web browser, and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation. He founded and later sold the software company Opsware to Hewlett-Packard...
with Guha, touching on MCF - Guha MCF site
- The metacontent concept
- RediscoveredMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...