ONTODL+: an ontology description language and its compiler

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia InformáticaOntologies are very powerful tools when it comes to handling knowledge. They offer a good solution to exchange, store, search and infer large volumes of information. Throughout the years various solutions for knowledge-based systems use ontologies at their core. OntoDL has been developed as a Domain Specific Language using ANTLR4, to allow for the specification of ontologies. This language has already been used by experts of various fields has a way to use computer-based solutions to solve their problems. In this thesis, included on the second year of the Master degree in Informatics Engineering, OntoDL+ was created as an expansion of the original OntoDL. Both the language and its compiler have been improved. The language was extended to improve usability and productivity for its users, while ensuring an easy to learn and understand language. The compiler was expanded to translate the language specifications to a vaster array of languages, increasing the potential uses of the DSL with the features provided by the languages. The compiler and some examples of the DSL can be downloaded at the website https: //epl.di.uminho.pt/∼gepl/GEPL DS/OntoDL/ created for the application and presented in the final chapters of the thesis.As ontologias são formalismos muito poderosos no que toca a manipulação de conhecimento. Estas oferecem uma boa solução para trocar, armazenar, procurar e inferir grandes volumes de informação. Ao longo dos anos, várias soluções para sistemas baseados em conhecimento usaram ontologias como uma parte central do sistema. A OntoDL é uma Linguagem de Domínio Específico que foi desenvolvida através do uso de ANTLR4, para permitir a especificação de ontologias. Esta linguagem foi já utilizada por especialistas de diversas áreas como forma de utilizar soluções informáticas para resolver os seus problemas. Nesta tese, incluída no segundo ano do Mestrado em Engenharia Informática, OntoDL+ foi criado como uma expansão tanto à linguagem e como ao seu compilador. A linguagem foi extendida para melhorar a usabilidade e produtividade dos seus utilizadores, mantendo se fácil de aprender e perceber. O compilador foi expandido para ser capaz de traduzir as especificações de OntoDL+ para um leque de linguagens mais vasto, aumentando os potenciais usos da DSL através das funcionalidades providenciadas pelas linguagens alvo. O compilador e alguns exemplos da DSL podem ser acedidos no sítio https://epl.di. uminho.pt/∼gepl/GEPL DS/OntoDL/ criado para a aplicação e mostrado nos capítulos finais da tese

Composite ontology change operators and their customizable evolution strategies

Change operators are the building blocks of ontology evolution. Elementary, composite and complex change operators have been suggested. While lower-level change operators are useful in terms of finegranular representation of ontology changes, representing the intent of change requires higher-level change operators. Here, we focus on higherlevel composite change operators to perform an aggregated task. We introduce composite-level evolution strategies. The central role of the evolution strategies is to preserve the intent of the composite change with respect to the user’s requirements and to reduce the change operational cost. Composite-level evolution strategies assist in avoiding the illegal changes or presence of illegal axioms that may generate inconsistencies during application of a composite change. We discuss few composite changes along with the defined evolution strategies as an example that allow users to control and customize the ontology evolution process

Forecasting the Spreading of Technologies in Research Communities

Technologies such as algorithms, applications and formats are an important part of the knowledge produced and reused in the research process. Typically, a technology is expected to originate in the context of a research area and then spread and contribute to several other fields. For example, Semantic Web technologies have been successfully adopted by a variety of fields, e.g., Information Retrieval, Human Computer Interaction, Biology, and many others. Unfortunately, the spreading of technologies across research areas may be a slow and inefficient process, since it is easy for researchers to be unaware of potentially relevant solutions produced by other research communities. In this paper, we hypothesise that it is possible to learn typical technology propagation patterns from historical data and to exploit this knowledge i) to anticipate where a technology may be adopted next and ii) to alert relevant stakeholders about emerging and relevant technologies in other fields. To do so, we propose the Technology-Topic Framework, a novel approach which uses a semantically enhanced technology-topic model to forecast the propagation of technologies to research areas. A formal evaluation of the approach on a set of technologies in the Semantic Web and Artificial Intelligence areas has produced excellent results, confirming the validity of our solution

Validation and Evaluation

In this technical report, we present prototypical implementations of innovative tools and methods for personalized and contextualized (multimedia) search, collaborative ontology evolution, ontology evaluation and cost models, and dynamic access and trends in distributed (semantic) knowledge, developed according to the working plan outlined in Technical Report TR-B-12-04. The prototypes complete the next milestone on the path to an integral Corporate Semantic Web architecture based on the three pillars Corporate Ontology Engineering, Corporate Semantic Collaboration, and Corporate Semantic Search, as envisioned in TR-B-08-09

25 Desafíos de la Modelación de Procesos Semánticos

Process modeling has become an essential part of many organizations for documenting, analyzing and redesigning their business operations and to support them with suitable information systems. In order to serve this purpose, it is important for process models to be well grounded in for- mal and precise semantics. While behavioural semantics of process models are well understood, there is a considerable gap of research into the semantic aspects of their text labels and natural lan- guage descriptions. The aim of this paper is to make this research gap more transparent. To this end, we clarify the role of textual content in process models and the challenges that are associated with the interpretation, analysis, and improvement of their natural language parts. More specifically, we discuss particular use cases of semantic process modeling to identify 25 challenges. For each cha- llenge, we identify prior research and discuss directions for addressing themEl modelado de procesos se ha convertido en una parte esencial de muchas organizaciones para documentar, analizar, y rediseñar sus operaciones de negocios y apoyarlos con información apropiada. Para cumplir este fin, es importante para estos que estén completos dentro de una semántica formal y precisa. Mientras la semántica del comportamiento del modelado de procesos se entiende bien, hay una considerable laguna en la investigación entre los aspectos semánticos de sus rótulos textuales, y las descripciones en lenguaje natural. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer esta laguna en la investigación más transparente. Con este fin, clarificamos el papel del contenido textual en los modelos de proceso, y los retos relacionados con la interpretación, el análisis, y desarrollo de sus partes en lenguaje natural. De forma más específica, debatimos los casos particulares del uso del modelado de procesos semánticos para identificar 25 retos. Para cada reto, identificamos antes de la investigación y debatimos las direcciones para dirigirnos a ellos

Deployment and Operation of Complex Software in Heterogeneous Execution Environments

This open access book provides an overview of the work developed within the SODALITE project, which aims at facilitating the deployment and operation of distributed software on top of heterogeneous infrastructures, including cloud, HPC and edge resources. The experts participating in the project describe how SODALITE works and how it can be exploited by end users. While multiple languages and tools are available in the literature to support DevOps teams in the automation of deployment and operation steps, still these activities require specific know-how and skills that cannot be found in average teams. The SODALITE framework tackles this problem by offering modelling and smart editing features to allow those we call Application Ops Experts to work without knowing low level details about the adopted, potentially heterogeneous, infrastructures. The framework offers also mechanisms to verify the quality of the defined models, generate the corresponding executable infrastructural code, automatically wrap application components within proper execution containers, orchestrate all activities concerned with deployment and operation of all system components, and support on-the-fly self-adaptation and refactoring

Survey-based naming conventions for use in OBO Foundry ontology development

A wide variety of ontologies relevant to the biological and medical domains are available through the OBO Foundry portal, and their number is growing rapidly. Integration of these ontologies, while requiring considerable effort, is extremely desirable. However, heterogeneities in format and style pose serious obstacles to such integration. In particular, inconsistencies in naming conventions can impair the readability and navigability of ontology class hierarchies, and hinder their alignment and integration. While other sources of diversity are tremendously complex and challenging, agreeing a set of common naming conventions is an achievable goal, particularly if those conventions are based on lessons drawn from pooled practical experience and surveys of community opinion. We summarize a review of existing naming conventions and highlight certain disadvantages with respect to general applicability in the biological domain. We also present the results of a survey carried out to establish which naming conventions are currently employed by OBO Foundry ontologies and to determine what their special requirements regarding the naming of entities might be. Lastly, we propose an initial set of typographic, syntactic and semantic conventions for labelling classes in OBO Foundry ontologies. Adherence to common naming conventions is more than just a matter of aesthetics. Such conventions provide guidance to ontology creators, help developers avoid flaws and inaccuracies when editing, and especially when interlinking, ontologies. Common naming conventions will also assist consumers of ontologies to more readily understand what meanings were intended by the authors of ontologies used in annotating bodies of data