Importing Use Case

Note: In progress

In this section we will provide example of ontology import use case for a particular, small and widely reusable ontological component - a content pattern (CP). This is based on the paper [7] where you can find more conceptual details.

This scenario underlies an assumption that it is a common situation that the authors of the ontology are either unaware of the existence of CPs at all or too novice to choose the right one. The CPs then only enter the design process at a later phase, when at least a prototype of the ontology already exists, and their adoption has the nature of ontology reengineering.

In scenario of importing a CP into a prototype ontology the import precedes the transformation. In the first step, the CP is included in the ontology as a separate structure, merely subordinated to owl:Thing. Then the transformation takes place; however, only TPs specifically tailored to the given CP are considered. As a result of transformation the CP is already integrated into the ontology, as part of its root structure.