[ontology-summit] [ReusableContent] Reuse of Linked Data vis-a-vis Reuse

[Andrea Westerinen <arwesterinen@xxxxxxxxx>]

One of the questions proposed in Track A (Common, Reusable Semantic Content) asks whether the reuse problems (and perhaps their solutions) are different in the Linked Data and ontology spaces.  

Certainly, the uses of the two technologies are different ... as Linked Data is about the "links" and supplying relatively simple semantic annotations and new links ... but ontologies come down to T-boxes (more formal class, relationship and/or axiomatic definitions) and A-boxes (instance definitions).  It is much easier to reuse small, targeted schemas that define Linked Data and various annotations (such as schema.org) than it is to reuse (typically much larger) foundational or domain-specific ontologies.  

In terms of time spent "getting up to speed", small, targeted definitions always win.  However, it is also much more likely to be able to do reasoning over (and more complex analysis of) ontologies and A-boxes.  And, one can more easily combine multiple ontologies (for example, with constructs such as OWL's sameAs, differentFrom, disjointWith, ...) than to combine (or reuse) multiple Linked Data schemas. In my experience, I have seen developers typically pick one schema and just stick with that.

Taking a lesson from the Linked Data world, I would posit that the characteristics that make Linked Data schemas more friendly and reusable could be applied to ontologies.  That would argue for:

 * Smaller, more modular, targeted ontology fragments

 * Separation of semantic (class and relationship) definitions from the axioms that prescribe them 

 * (Perhaps) Definition of a context in which the axioms apply (and the assumption that there may be more than 1 context and therefore more than one set of axioms)

Another lesson that the ontology world must learn is that the fragments must be vetted, have real uses and sponsors, and not devolve to multitudes of overlapping and (sometimes) contradictory proposals.  (I think that the biomed BioPortal community has done a good job with this.)

What do you think?

Andrea Westerinen

T: 425.891.8407

arwesterinen@xxxxxxxxx or andreaw@xxxxxxxxxxx

http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AndreaWesterinen

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