Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understan... more Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understand modeling. Usually software engineers often think of a specific kind of models-UML models, but there are many open questions such as: Should we assume that the code we write is a model or not; What are models and metamodels, and why do we need them; What does it mean to transform a model into a programming language. Unlike current research efforts that answer to those questions in rather partial ways, we define a formal ...
Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understan... more Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understand modeling. Usually software engineers often think of a specific kind of models-UML models, but there are many open questions such as: Should we assume that the code we write is a model or not; What are models and metamodels, and why do we need them; What does it mean to transform a model into a programming language. Unlike current research efforts that answer to those questions in rather partial ways, we define a formal ...
The idea of ontologies emerged in applied artificial intelligence some time ago as a means for sh... more The idea of ontologies emerged in applied artificial intelligence some time ago as a means for sharing knowledge [Gruber, 1993]. Following the development of ontologies and related Web technologies (eg, HTML and XML), Tim Berners-Lee, Jim Hendler, and Ora Lassila envisioned the next generation of the Web, called the Semantic Web [Berners-Lee et al., 2001]. Being based on ontologies, the Semantic Web has the potential for semantically richer representations of things (eg, Web pages, applications, and persons) and their ...
This paper presents automatic generation of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) from an UML model. Th... more This paper presents automatic generation of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) from an UML model. The solution is based on an MDA-defined architecture for ontology development and the Ontology UML Profile (OUP). A conversion, that we present here, transforms an ontology from its OUP definition (i.e. XML Metadata Interchange -XMI) into OWL description. Accordingly, we illustrate how an OUP-developed ontology can be shared with ontological engineering tools (i.e. Protégé).
International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer, 2007
This paper presents an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT)-based approach for au... more This paper presents an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT)-based approach for automatic generation of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) from a UML model. Similar solutions that treat this problem are mostly partial since they do not use full metamodeling potentials. Although they emphasize the notion of the use UML for ontology development and propose necessary transformations into Semantic Web languages (e.g., RDF Schema, DAML, DAML+OIL), their UML models must be further refined using ontology-specialized tool. None of these approaches enables instance modeling and generation of OWL ontologies. In our efforts to make ontological and software engineering techniques closer, we have firstly defined ontology metamodeling architecture using Model Driven Architecture (MDA) concepts. This architecture consists of the Ontology Definition Metamodel defined using Meta Object Facility (MOF) and based on the OWL, as well as the related Ontology UML Profile (OUP). A transformation, that we present here, extends this metamodeling architecture and transforms an ontology from its OUP definition (i.e., XML Metadata Interchange – XMI) into the OWL description. Accordingly, we illustrate how an OUP-developed ontology can be shared with ontological engineering tools (i.e., Protégé).
Abstract. Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies b... more Abstract. Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being developed in parallel, but by different communities. They have common points and issues and can be brought closer together. Many authors have so far stressed this problem and have proposed several solutions. The result of these efforts is the recent OMG's initiative for defining an ontology development platform. However, the problem of transformation between an ontology and MDA-based languages has been solved using ...
Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven A... more Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standards in ontological engineering. Other similar metamodels are based on ontology representation languages, such as RDF (S), DAML+ OIL, etc. However, none of these other solutions uses the recent W3C effort–The Web Ontology Language (OWL). In our approach, we firstly define the ODM place in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and identify the main OWL concepts. Then, we define ...
Abstract This work presents an extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT)-based approac... more Abstract This work presents an extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT)-based approach for automatic generation of the Web ontology language (OWL) from an UML model. Similar solutions that treat this problem are mostly partial because do not use full metamodel potentials. They only show UML usability for ontology development, its transformations into semantic Web languages (eg RDF Schema, DAML, DAML+ OIL), but its models must be further refined using ontology-specialized tool. None of these approaches ...
In this paper we start from the conjecture that a convenient organization of various technical sp... more In this paper we start from the conjecture that a convenient organization of various technical spaces in three "metamodeling" layers offers a convenient working environment. The main message of this work is that it is possible to consider software engineering and ontology engineering as two similarly organized areas, based on different metametamodels (M3-level). Consequently, building bridges between these spaces at the M3-level seems to offer some significant advantages that will be discussed in the paper. The initial results presented in this paper may also apply to other technical space as well.
Defining a formal domain ontology is generally considered a useful, not to say necessary step in ... more 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 covering the subject of MDA application ...
Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven A... more Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standards in ontological engineering. Other similar metamodels are based on ontology representation languages, such as RDF (S), DAML+ OIL, etc. However, none of these other solutions uses the recent W3C effort–The Web Ontology Language (OWL). In our approach, we firstly define the ODM place in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and identify the main OWL concepts. Then, we define ...
This paper presents AIR - a platform for building intelligent systems. Current IS platforms eithe... more This paper presents AIR - a platform for building intelligent systems. Current IS platforms either are narrowly specialized (ontologies, expert system shells, etc.) or have complex extension mechanisms (i.e. do not use benefits of Model Driven Development). Based on OMG’sModel Driven Architecture and its standards, AIR core consists of various MOF-based metamodels. Presented metamodels are mainly intended, but not limited, to support emerging standards related to the Semantic Web. Basing its architecture on MDA, AIR can support metamodels of almost any domain, including non-AI related. AIR also includes an integrated development environment for building such systems, which is based on Eclipse. Presented platform is intended to be an integration point of various intelligent systems and mainstream software technologies.
The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP) that is based on OWL and a metamodel – Ontology Def... more The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP) that is based on OWL and a metamodel – Ontology Definition Metamodel. OUP is defined in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and current the OMG’s effort for ontology development. The proposed UML profile enables usage of the well-known UML notation in ontology development more extensively.
The paper considers the semiotics levels of representation, or levels of meaning of notions on th... more The paper considers the semiotics levels of representation, or levels of meaning of notions on the Web, as well as the semiotics contributions on the Web through the use of the semantic Web technologies. The idea of the future Web implies comprehensive and simultaneous use of main semiotics postulates such as syntactic, semantics, and pragmatics. The semiotics techniques such as connotation and denotation of signs are explained in the context of meaning creation, as well as the use of the de dicto/de re attitudes in the context of logic understanding and meaning creation on the Web. Acquirement of this level of Web intelligence is explained through the use of the ontology process enclave.
Designing and developing reliable, robust, well-architected, and easy-to-extend software applicat... more Designing and developing reliable, robust, well-architected, and easy-to-extend software applications or tools in any field requires conformance to sound principles and rules of software engineering. Intelligent systems, especially AI development tools, are no exception. Although AI has always been a wellspring of ideas that software engineering has later adopted, most of its gems remain buried in laboratories, available only to a few AI practitioners. This paper believes that AI tools should be integrated with mainstream SE tools and thus become more widely known and used. To that end, this paper presents the development of Air, an integrated AI development environment based on model-driven-architecture concepts. Using the philosophy of MDA in Air, familiar and mainstream software technologies are used and expanded with new functionalities
The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP); which, together with Ontology Definition Metamodel... more The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP); which, together with Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM), enables the usage of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standards in ontological engineering. Other similar metamodels and UML profiles are based on ontology representation languages, such as RDF(S), DAML+OIL, etc. However, none of these other solutions uses the recent W3C effort – The Web Ontology Language (OWL). In our approach, we firstly define the place of ODM and OUP in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and identify the main OWL concepts. Then, to support ODM, we define OUP and describe its details. The proposed UML profile enables usage of the well-known UML notation in ontological engineering more extensively. We implemented an XSLT that transforms OUP ontologies into OWL in order to provide a suitable tool support.
Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being devel... more Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being developed in parallel, but by different communities. They have common points and issues and can be brought closer together. Many authors have so far stressed this problem and have proposed several solutions. The result of these efforts is the recent OMG's initiative for defining an ontology development platform. However, the problem of transformation between ontology and MDA-based languages has been solved using rather partial and ad hoc solutions, most often by XSLT. In this paper we analyze OWL and MDA-compliant languages as separate technological spaces. In order to achieve a synergy between these technological spaces we define ontology languages in terms of MDA standards, recognize relations between OWL and MDA-based ontology languages, and propose mapping techniques. In order to illustrate the approach, we use an MDA-defined ontology architecture that includes ontology metamodel and ontology UML Profile. Based on this approach, we have implemented a transformation of the ontology UML Profile into OWL representation.
Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being devel... more Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being developed in parallel, but by different communities. They have common points and issues and can be brought closer together. Many authors have so far stressed this problem and have proposed several solutions. The result of these efforts is the recent OMG's initiative for defining an ontology development platform. However, the problem of transformation between ontology and MDA-based languages has been solved using rather partial and ad hoc solutions, most often by XSLT. In this paper we analyze OWL and MDA-compliant languages as separate technological spaces. In order to achieve a synergy between these technological spaces we define ontology languages in terms of MDA standards, recognize relations between OWL and MDA-based ontology languages, and propose mapping techniques. In order to illustrate the approach, we use an MDA-defined ontology architecture that includes ontology metamodel and ontology UML Profile. Based on this approach, we have implemented a transformation of the ontology UML Profile into OWL representation.
Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understan... more Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understand modeling. Usually software engineers often think of a specific kind of models-UML models, but there are many open questions such as: Should we assume that the code we write is a model or not; What are models and metamodels, and why do we need them; What does it mean to transform a model into a programming language. Unlike current research efforts that answer to those questions in rather partial ways, we define a formal ...
Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understan... more Abstract The paper introduces modeling spaces in order to help software practitioner to understand modeling. Usually software engineers often think of a specific kind of models-UML models, but there are many open questions such as: Should we assume that the code we write is a model or not; What are models and metamodels, and why do we need them; What does it mean to transform a model into a programming language. Unlike current research efforts that answer to those questions in rather partial ways, we define a formal ...
The idea of ontologies emerged in applied artificial intelligence some time ago as a means for sh... more The idea of ontologies emerged in applied artificial intelligence some time ago as a means for sharing knowledge [Gruber, 1993]. Following the development of ontologies and related Web technologies (eg, HTML and XML), Tim Berners-Lee, Jim Hendler, and Ora Lassila envisioned the next generation of the Web, called the Semantic Web [Berners-Lee et al., 2001]. Being based on ontologies, the Semantic Web has the potential for semantically richer representations of things (eg, Web pages, applications, and persons) and their ...
This paper presents automatic generation of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) from an UML model. Th... more This paper presents automatic generation of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) from an UML model. The solution is based on an MDA-defined architecture for ontology development and the Ontology UML Profile (OUP). A conversion, that we present here, transforms an ontology from its OUP definition (i.e. XML Metadata Interchange -XMI) into OWL description. Accordingly, we illustrate how an OUP-developed ontology can be shared with ontological engineering tools (i.e. Protégé).
International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer, 2007
This paper presents an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT)-based approach for au... more This paper presents an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT)-based approach for automatic generation of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) from a UML model. Similar solutions that treat this problem are mostly partial since they do not use full metamodeling potentials. Although they emphasize the notion of the use UML for ontology development and propose necessary transformations into Semantic Web languages (e.g., RDF Schema, DAML, DAML+OIL), their UML models must be further refined using ontology-specialized tool. None of these approaches enables instance modeling and generation of OWL ontologies. In our efforts to make ontological and software engineering techniques closer, we have firstly defined ontology metamodeling architecture using Model Driven Architecture (MDA) concepts. This architecture consists of the Ontology Definition Metamodel defined using Meta Object Facility (MOF) and based on the OWL, as well as the related Ontology UML Profile (OUP). A transformation, that we present here, extends this metamodeling architecture and transforms an ontology from its OUP definition (i.e., XML Metadata Interchange – XMI) into the OWL description. Accordingly, we illustrate how an OUP-developed ontology can be shared with ontological engineering tools (i.e., Protégé).
Abstract. Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies b... more Abstract. Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being developed in parallel, but by different communities. They have common points and issues and can be brought closer together. Many authors have so far stressed this problem and have proposed several solutions. The result of these efforts is the recent OMG's initiative for defining an ontology development platform. However, the problem of transformation between an ontology and MDA-based languages has been solved using ...
Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven A... more Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standards in ontological engineering. Other similar metamodels are based on ontology representation languages, such as RDF (S), DAML+ OIL, etc. However, none of these other solutions uses the recent W3C effort–The Web Ontology Language (OWL). In our approach, we firstly define the ODM place in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and identify the main OWL concepts. Then, we define ...
Abstract This work presents an extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT)-based approac... more Abstract This work presents an extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT)-based approach for automatic generation of the Web ontology language (OWL) from an UML model. Similar solutions that treat this problem are mostly partial because do not use full metamodel potentials. They only show UML usability for ontology development, its transformations into semantic Web languages (eg RDF Schema, DAML, DAML+ OIL), but its models must be further refined using ontology-specialized tool. None of these approaches ...
In this paper we start from the conjecture that a convenient organization of various technical sp... more In this paper we start from the conjecture that a convenient organization of various technical spaces in three "metamodeling" layers offers a convenient working environment. The main message of this work is that it is possible to consider software engineering and ontology engineering as two similarly organized areas, based on different metametamodels (M3-level). Consequently, building bridges between these spaces at the M3-level seems to offer some significant advantages that will be discussed in the paper. The initial results presented in this paper may also apply to other technical space as well.
Defining a formal domain ontology is generally considered a useful, not to say necessary step in ... more 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 covering the subject of MDA application ...
Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven A... more Abstract The paper presents Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) that enables using Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standards in ontological engineering. Other similar metamodels are based on ontology representation languages, such as RDF (S), DAML+ OIL, etc. However, none of these other solutions uses the recent W3C effort–The Web Ontology Language (OWL). In our approach, we firstly define the ODM place in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and identify the main OWL concepts. Then, we define ...
This paper presents AIR - a platform for building intelligent systems. Current IS platforms eithe... more This paper presents AIR - a platform for building intelligent systems. Current IS platforms either are narrowly specialized (ontologies, expert system shells, etc.) or have complex extension mechanisms (i.e. do not use benefits of Model Driven Development). Based on OMG’sModel Driven Architecture and its standards, AIR core consists of various MOF-based metamodels. Presented metamodels are mainly intended, but not limited, to support emerging standards related to the Semantic Web. Basing its architecture on MDA, AIR can support metamodels of almost any domain, including non-AI related. AIR also includes an integrated development environment for building such systems, which is based on Eclipse. Presented platform is intended to be an integration point of various intelligent systems and mainstream software technologies.
The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP) that is based on OWL and a metamodel – Ontology Def... more The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP) that is based on OWL and a metamodel – Ontology Definition Metamodel. OUP is defined in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and current the OMG’s effort for ontology development. The proposed UML profile enables usage of the well-known UML notation in ontology development more extensively.
The paper considers the semiotics levels of representation, or levels of meaning of notions on th... more The paper considers the semiotics levels of representation, or levels of meaning of notions on the Web, as well as the semiotics contributions on the Web through the use of the semantic Web technologies. The idea of the future Web implies comprehensive and simultaneous use of main semiotics postulates such as syntactic, semantics, and pragmatics. The semiotics techniques such as connotation and denotation of signs are explained in the context of meaning creation, as well as the use of the de dicto/de re attitudes in the context of logic understanding and meaning creation on the Web. Acquirement of this level of Web intelligence is explained through the use of the ontology process enclave.
Designing and developing reliable, robust, well-architected, and easy-to-extend software applicat... more Designing and developing reliable, robust, well-architected, and easy-to-extend software applications or tools in any field requires conformance to sound principles and rules of software engineering. Intelligent systems, especially AI development tools, are no exception. Although AI has always been a wellspring of ideas that software engineering has later adopted, most of its gems remain buried in laboratories, available only to a few AI practitioners. This paper believes that AI tools should be integrated with mainstream SE tools and thus become more widely known and used. To that end, this paper presents the development of Air, an integrated AI development environment based on model-driven-architecture concepts. Using the philosophy of MDA in Air, familiar and mainstream software technologies are used and expanded with new functionalities
The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP); which, together with Ontology Definition Metamodel... more The paper presents Ontology UML Profile (OUP); which, together with Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM), enables the usage of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) standards in ontological engineering. Other similar metamodels and UML profiles are based on ontology representation languages, such as RDF(S), DAML+OIL, etc. However, none of these other solutions uses the recent W3C effort – The Web Ontology Language (OWL). In our approach, we firstly define the place of ODM and OUP in the context of the MDA four-layer architecture and identify the main OWL concepts. Then, to support ODM, we define OUP and describe its details. The proposed UML profile enables usage of the well-known UML notation in ontological engineering more extensively. We implemented an XSLT that transforms OUP ontologies into OWL in order to provide a suitable tool support.
Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being devel... more Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being developed in parallel, but by different communities. They have common points and issues and can be brought closer together. Many authors have so far stressed this problem and have proposed several solutions. The result of these efforts is the recent OMG's initiative for defining an ontology development platform. However, the problem of transformation between ontology and MDA-based languages has been solved using rather partial and ad hoc solutions, most often by XSLT. In this paper we analyze OWL and MDA-compliant languages as separate technological spaces. In order to achieve a synergy between these technological spaces we define ontology languages in terms of MDA standards, recognize relations between OWL and MDA-based ontology languages, and propose mapping techniques. In order to illustrate the approach, we use an MDA-defined ontology architecture that includes ontology metamodel and ontology UML Profile. Based on this approach, we have implemented a transformation of the ontology UML Profile into OWL representation.
Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being devel... more Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Model-Driven Architectures (MDA) are two technologies being developed in parallel, but by different communities. They have common points and issues and can be brought closer together. Many authors have so far stressed this problem and have proposed several solutions. The result of these efforts is the recent OMG's initiative for defining an ontology development platform. However, the problem of transformation between ontology and MDA-based languages has been solved using rather partial and ad hoc solutions, most often by XSLT. In this paper we analyze OWL and MDA-compliant languages as separate technological spaces. In order to achieve a synergy between these technological spaces we define ontology languages in terms of MDA standards, recognize relations between OWL and MDA-based ontology languages, and propose mapping techniques. In order to illustrate the approach, we use an MDA-defined ontology architecture that includes ontology metamodel and ontology UML Profile. Based on this approach, we have implemented a transformation of the ontology UML Profile into OWL representation.
Uploads
Papers by Dragan Djuric