FAQ
This document contains the most frequently asked question about DOSE. Please see the contact links to send suggestions or comments about this FAQ.
Table of content
General questions about DOSE
What does DOSE stand for?
The Distributed Open Semantic Elaboration platform:
- distributed:
- it can exploit the computing power of a computer network;
- open:
- freely available (open source);
- semantic:
- it is based on concepts for indexing and searching of web pages;
- elaboration:
- elaborates the web pages to update the underlying database for semantic search;
- platform:
- an etherogeneous set of programs handles database, web pages, user interface.
For further details see the documentation section.
What is the difference between DOSE and H-DOSE?
The H-DOSE (Holistic-DOSE, pron. "High-DOSE") platform is the most recent version of DOSE. This new name "emphasizes the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts".
What can I use DOSE for?
The DOSE platform can be used as a search engine for web resources. It uses ad-hoc strategies for adding new pages into its database. Then one can search the indexed pages for a concept by indicating words semantically related to such concept. The most relevant pages (or fragments) are displayed.
Why is it free?
This project has been developed as university research program. Currently, the platform is mature enough - i.e. stable and functional - for being shared with the web community. We think both web users and programmers may be interested in ether using the DOSE platform or improving it, providing the necessary feedback.
Technical questions
What do I need to install DOSE?
You can download DOSE from the download page. However, you also need to install some other program before you can run DOSE. DOSE has been almost entirely written in Java, so you will need a Java Run-time Environment. All the indexing stuff will be stored and retrieved through a database, an SQL server is necessary, too. Plus, a number of web services have been written, so you will also need a web server. Free implementations of such programs are available on the web. You should look in the download section for further details.
How do I install DOSE?
At now, the procedure is not as easy as we wish. However, a detailed explanation is available in the how-to section.