Web-Based Standards and Ontologies

The use of languages for ontology is beginning to appear, built on reasoning techniques that provide for the development of special-purpose reasoning services. In fact, the W3C is creating a Web standard for ontology language as part of its effort to define semantic standards for the Web. The Semantic Web is the abstract representation of data on the World Wide Web, based on the Resource Description Framework standards (see the "RDF and Ontologies" tidbit) and other standards still to be defined. It is being developed by the W3C, in collaboration with a large number of researchers and industrial partners.

In order for the Semantic Web to function, computers must have access to structured collections of information and sets of inference rules that they can use to conduct automated reasoning. This notion is known as knowledge representation. To this end, and in the domain of the World Wide Web, computers will find the meaning of semantic data by following hyperlinks to definitions of key terms and rules for logically reasoning about data. The resulting infrastructure will spur the development of automated Web services such as highly functional agents.[7] What's important here is that the work now being driven by the W3C as a way to manage semantics on the Web is applicable, at least at the component level, to the world of application integration, much like XML and Web services.

[7] Berners-Lee, Tim, James Hendler, and Ora Lassila. May 2001. "The Semantic Web," Scientific American.

An example of the W3C contribution to the use of ontologies is the Web Ontology Language. OWL is a semantic markup language for publishing and sharing ontologies on the World Wide Web. OWL is derived from the DAML+OIL Web Ontology Language and builds upon the RDF. OWL assigns a specific meaning to certain RDF triples. The future Formal Specification, now in development at the W3C, specifies exactly which triples are assigned a specific meaning and offers a definition of the meaning. OWL only provides a semantic interpretation for those parts of an RDF graph that instantiate the schema. Any additional RDF statements resulting in additional RDF triples are allowed, but OWL is silent on the semantic consequences of such additional triples. An OWL ontology is made up of several components, some of which are optional, and some of which may be repeated.[8]

[8] Web Ontology Language (OWL) Guide Version 1.0, www.w3c.org.

Using these Web-based standards as the jumping-off point for ontology and application integration, it's possible to define and automate the use of ontologies in both intra- and intercompany application integration domains domains made up of thousands of systems, all with their own semantic meanings, bound together in a common ontology that makes short work of application integration and defines a common semantic meaning of data. This, indeed, is the goal.

Extending from the languages, we have several libraries available for a variety of vertical domains, including financial services and e-Business. We also have many knowledge editors that now exist to support the creation of ontologies, as well as the use of natural-language processing methodologies. We have seen these in commercially available knowledge mapping and visualization tools using standard notations such as UML.



Next Generation Application Integration(c) From Simple Information to Web Services
Next Generation Application Integration: From Simple Information to Web Services
ISBN: 0201844567
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 220

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