A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology Specifications

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Citation: Thomas R. Gruber. (1993) A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology Specifications. In KSL-92-71, June,1993.

Publication techreport ( Edit )
type Technical Report
bibtype techreport
Bibtex basics
author Thomas R. Gruber
title A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology Specifications
number KSL-92-71
institution Knowledge Systems, AI Laboratory
year 1993
month June
Bibtex more
publisher Academic Press
Access Paper
abstract To support the sharing and reuse of formally represented knowledge among AI systems, it is useful to define the common vocabulary in which shared knowledge is represented. A specification of a representational vocabulary for a shared domain of discourse -- definitions of classes, relations, functions, and other objects -- is called an ontology. This paper describes a mechanism for defining ontologies that are portable over representation systems. Definitions written in a standard format for predicate calculus are translated by a system called Ontolingua into specialized representations, including frame-based systems as well as relational languages. This allows researchers to share and reuse ontologies, while retaining the computational benefits of specialized implementations. We discuss how the translation approach to portability addresses several technical problems. One problem is how to accommodate the stylistic and organizational differences among representations while preserving declarative content. Another is how to translate from a very expressive language into restricted languages, remaining system-independent while preserving the computational efficiency of implemented systems. We describe how these problems are addressed by basing Ontolingua itself on an ontology of domain-independent, representational idioms.

KSL Technical Report ID: KSL-92-71
Facts about A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology SpecificationsRDF feed
Abstract To support the sharing and reuse of formal … To support the sharing and reuse of formally represented knowledge among AI systems, it is useful to define the common vocabulary in which shared knowledge is represented. A specification of a representational vocabulary for a shared domain of discourse -- definitions of classes, relations, functions, and other objects -- is called an ontology. This paper describes a mechanism for defining ontologies that are portable over representation systems. Definitions written in a standard format for predicate calculus are translated by a system called Ontolingua into specialized representations, including frame-based systems as well as relational languages. This allows researchers to share and reuse ontologies, while retaining the computational benefits of specialized implementations. We discuss how the translation approach to portability addresses several technical problems. One problem is how to accommodate the stylistic and organizational differences among representations while preserving declarative content. Another is how to translate from a very expressive language into restricted languages, remaining system-independent while preserving the computational efficiency of implemented systems. We describe how these problems are addressed by basing Ontolingua itself on an ontology of domain-independent, representational idioms. main-independent, representational idioms.
Author Thomas R. Gruber  +
Bibtype techreport  +
Has author Thomas R. Gruber  +
Has identifier KSL-92-71  +
Has publishing details June,1993  +
Has title A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology Specifications  +
Has where published KSL-92-71  +
Has year 1993  +
Institution Knowledge Systems, AI Laboratory  +
Ksl tr id KSL-92-71  +
Month June  +
Number KSL-92-71  +
Process note YES  +
Publisher Academic Press  +
Title A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology Specifications  +
Year 1993  +
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