Defining a formal domain ontology is generally considered a useful, not to say necessary step in almost every software project. This is because software deals with ideas rather than with self-evident physical artefacts. However, this development step is hardly ever done, as ontologies rely on well-defined and semantically powerful AI concepts such as description logics or rule-based systems, and most software engineers are largely unfamiliar with these. Gaševic and his co-authors try to fill this gap by detailing how to use model-driven engineering for ontology development on the Semantic Web. Part I of their book describes existing technologies, tools, and standards like XML, RDF, OWL, MDA, and UML. Part II presents the first detailed description of OMG's new ODM (Ontology Definition Metamodel) initiative, a specification which is expected to be in the form of an OMG language like UML. Finally, Part III is dedicated to applications and practical aspects of developing ontologies using MDA-based languages. For this second edition, the descriptions of the related standards (like MOF, ODM, OCL, and OWL) have been revised and updated; new chapters introducing the basic principles of model-driven engineering, recent research results on metamodeling Semantic Web rule languages, an introduction to the Atlas Transformation Language (ATL) and its tool support, and, last but not least, many new examples have been added. Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Knowledge Representation....Pages 3-43 Ontologies....Pages 45-80 The Semantic Web....Pages 81-124 Model Driven Engineering....Pages 125-155 Modeling Spaces....Pages 157-173 Front Matter....Pages 175-175 Software Engineering Approaches to Ontology Development....Pages 177-205 The MDA-Based Ontology Infrastructure....Pages 207-214 The Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM)....Pages 215-233 The Ontology UML Profile....Pages 235-243 Mappings of MDA-Based Languages and Ontologies....Pages 245-261 Front Matter....Pages 263-263 Modeling Tools and Ontology Development....Pages 265-297 An MDA Based Ontology Platform: AIR....Pages 299-309 Examples of Ontology....Pages 311-334 Beyond the Ontology Definition Metamodel: Applications....Pages 335-350 Back Matter....Pages 351-378 Defining a formal domain ontology is considered a useful, not to say necessary step in almost every software project. This is because software deals with ideas rather than with self-evident physical artefacts. However, this development step is hardly ever done, as ontologies rely on well-defined and semantically powerful AI concepts such as description logics or rule-based systems, and most software engineers are unfamiliar with these. This book fills this gap by covering the subject of MDA application for ontology development on the Semantic Web. The writing is technical yet clear, and is illustrated with examples. The book is supported by a website.
