Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ontological Approaches For Semantic Interoperability, Michael A. Zang, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This paper provides a basic description of the concept of an ontology. It then describes how ontologies are structured and employed in the context of interfaces between software based information systems. This usage is discussed in the context of three successive levels of semantic interoperability between two example systems. The paper goes on to suggest that the interfaces between information systems should perhaps be viewed and implemented as systems themselves. The paper concludes by providing a brief summary of what was discussed.