Organization and management of large categorical systems

Abstract

This chapter surveys approaches to handling categorical systems of extensive size, spanning from semi-formal systems in terminology and classification sciences to formal logical approaches. In particular, we briefly review the transition from terminologies to ontologies that are formalized in logics, exemplified in the medical domain. The main part presents the state of the art of the modularization of logical theories with an ontology-related background. Since the field is still very young and active, an evaluation of these approaches results in a heterogeneous landscape of proposals and leaves perspectives for future research. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.