Method for ongoing ontology checking using external knowledge sources
Continuous Ontology Assurance through External Resources -- An Ontology Engineering Method with a Case Study in Software Language Engineering
Artificial Intelligence
Summary
Ontologies are structured ways to represent knowledge, but they need to stay current with changing information elsewhere. The authors present COATER, a method that continually checks parts of an ontology against outside resources, spotting where it agrees or conflicts. When problems appear, COATER can suggest fixes or flag tasks for humans or helpers to review. They tested this on a software language engineering ontology, improving how well it links to Wikipedia and organizes software concepts.
What this means in practice
- •For ontology developers: Maintain and improve domain ontologies by automatically comparing them to relevant external data sources and identifying areas needing update or correction.
- •For software language engineers: Enhance software engineering ontologies by systematically verifying language coverage and conceptual accuracy against curated resources.
Authors
Ralf Lämmel
Abstract
Domain ontologies require review against knowledge recorded in evolving external resources. We propose COATER, a method that manages executable review components called arrows. Each arrow compares a scoped part of an ontology with a relevant resource and reports support or challenges to its axioms. Challenges may prompt proposals for completion, correction, or restructuring and become tasks for human or agent-assisted triage. Per-axiom coverage summarizes the assessments. We illustrate COATER with the FSL ontology in software language engineering (SLE): arrows review language coverage, language conceptualization, and software-engineering activities. An LLM-assisted linkage exercise increases compliance with a defined Wikipedia-linkage policy from 405 to 600 of 600 entities. A structured catalogue of SLE resources organizes review opportunities.