Open Ontology Repository – a step closer to Semantic web?
by
Charlie Bess
In April, the National Institute of Standards and Technology was one of the sponsors of an Ontology Summit.
The theme was "Towards an Open Ontology Repository".
They've created a Wiki for the Summit as well as a summary of what took place. This is of interest because developing an Open Ontology Repository (OOR) is key to semantic technologies.
"The purpose of an Open Ontology Repository is to provide an architecture and an infrastructure that supports a) the creation, sharing, searching, and management of ontologies, and b) linkage to database and XML Schema structured data and documents. Complementary goals include fostering the ontology community, the identification and promotion of best practices, and the provision of services relevant to ontologies and instance stores."
If tools can be created to index and reference information using a standard OOR, it will reduce ambiguity in the use of information. This will allow information to be located, searched, categorized, and exchanged with a more accurate understanding of its context and meaning, moving us closer to a semantic web and reasoning systems.
