EXPLORING ONTOLOGIES

Abstract

Ontologies are studied by many scholars with diverse backgrounds and are applied in a variety of contexts and application areas. Despite the numerous reviews published there are many issues which still remain unclear with respect to their cost-effective deployment, identification of tradeoffs, maintenance strategies and ways of integration. Furthermore, there is no report which refers to all those issues along with the basic information in order to be used as a road-map. This survey article aims to provide such information in a manner which will help the interested software practitioner to comprehend the basic principles in ontology design, understand their strengths and weaknesses, be aware of a variety of areas where ontologies have been successfully applied, and identify tradeoffs and potential solutions.