Reuse in semantic applications

Abstract

Applications using semantic technology are not fundamentally different from other software products. As standard applications, they need a well-defined development process, an appropriate modelling technology, and, to decrease construction cost, a good reuse technology for models and components. This paper shows that employing ontologies can help to enlarge the reuse factor. Ontologies improve the refinement process in object-oriented software development, simplify design of product lines, improve interoperability in component-based systems, and help in service-based applications, such as web services. Hence, ontologies will play an important role in the future engineering of software products. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.