ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 19763-3
Second edition
2010-08-15


Information technology — Metamodel
framework for interoperability (MFI) —
Part 3:
Metamodel for ontology registration
Technologies de l'information — Cadre du métamodèle pour
l'interopérabilité (MFI) —
Partie 3: Métamodèle pour l'enregistrement de l'ontologie




Reference number
ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2010

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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction.vi
1 Scope.1
2 Normative references.2
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms.2
3.1 Terms and definitions .2
3.1.1 Terms on ontology .2
3.1.2 Other terms .3
3.2 Abbreviated terms .3
4 Conformance .4
4.1 General .4
4.2 Levels of conformance .4
4.2.1 General .4
4.2.2 Conformance level 1 .4
4.2.3 Conformance level 2 .4
4.3 Degree of conformance .4
4.3.1 General .4
4.3.2 Strictly conforming implementation.4
4.3.3 Conforming implementation.4
4.4 Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS).5
5 Structure of MFI Ontology registration .5
5.1 Overview of MFI Ontology registration .5
5.2 Overview of Basic_Model package.5
5.3 Overview of Evolution_Model package.7
5.4 Basic_Model package .8
5.4.1 Authoritative_Extent .8
5.4.2 Local_Item.8
5.4.3 Ontology_Language.9
5.4.4 Ontology_Whole .9
5.4.5 Registered_Ontology_Whole .9
5.4.6 Unregistered_Ontology_Whole.10
5.4.7 Reference_Registered_Ontology_Whole.10
5.4.8 Local_Registered_Ontology_Whole.10
5.4.9 Ontology_Component.11
5.4.10 Registered_Ontology_Component .11
5.4.11 Reference_Registered_Ontology_Component.12
5.4.12 Local_Registered_Ontology_Component.12
5.4.13 Ontology_Atomic_Construct.13
5.4.14 Registered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct.13
5.4.15 Unregistered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct .14
5.4.16 Reference_Registered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct .14
5.4.17 Local_Registered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct .14
5.5 Evolution_Model package .15
5.5.1 Item_Evolution.15
5.5.2 Registered_Ontology_Whole_Evolution.15
5.5.3 Registered_Ontology_Component_Evolution.15
5.5.4 Registered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct_Evolution .16
Annex A (informative) List of Ontology_Languages .17
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
Annex B (informative) Example of Basic_Model.18
Annex C (informative) Example of Evolution_Model.26
Annex D (informative) Mapping from ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007 to ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010 .29
Bibliography .34

Figures
Figure 1 — Scope of MFI Ontology registration .1
Figure 2 — Package structure of MFI Ontology registration .5
Figure 3 — Metamodel in Basic_Model package.6
Figure 4 — Metamodel in Evolution_Model package.8
Figure B.1 — Three examples of the sentences in RO1 .18
Figure B.2 — Registration of RO1.19
Figure B.3 — Two examples of the sentences in RO2.20
Figure B.4 — Registration of RO2.21
Figure B.5 — Three examples of the sentences in LO1.22
Figure B.6 — Registration of LO1 .23
Figure B.7 — An example of the sentences in LO2.24
Figure B.8 — Registration of LO2 .24
Figure C.1 — Three examples of the sentences in LO3.26
Figure C.2 — Registration of LO3 .27
Figure C.3 — Registration of items evolution from LO1 to LO3 .28

Tables
Table A.1 — List of Ontology_Languages.17
Table D.1 — Mapping the metaclasses.29
Table D.2 — Mapping Ontology_Whole in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007.31
Table D.3 — Mapping Reference_Ontology_Whole in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007 .31
Table D.4 — Mapping Local_Ontology_Whole in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007 .31
Table D.5 — Mapping Ontology_Language in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007 .31
Table D.6 — Mapping Ontology_Component in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007 .32
Table D.7 — Mapping Reference_Ontology_Component in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007.32
Table D.8 — Mapping Local_Ontology_Component in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007.32
Table D.9 — Mapping Ontology_Atomic_Construct in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007 .33
Table D.10 — Mapping Reference_Ontology_Atomic_Construct in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007.33
Table D.11 — Mapping Local_Ontology_Atomic_Construct in ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007.33

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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 19763-3 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 32, Data management and interchange.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 19763-3:2007), which has been technically
revised.
ISO/IEC 19763 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Metamodel
framework for interoperability (MFI):
⎯ Part 1: Reference model
⎯ Part 2: Core model
⎯ Part 3: Metamodel for ontology registration
⎯ Part 4: Metamodel for model mapping
The following part is under preparation:
⎯ Part 5: Metamodel for process model registration
Registration procedure, metamodel for service registration, metamodel for role and goal registration, and on
demand model selection will form the subjects of future parts.
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
Introduction
Interoperation among autonomous applications, such as Web services, is becoming important. To promote
interoperation among application systems, unambiguous and formal specifications of the systems, especially
of their inputs and outputs, are indispensable. Ontologies have a key role for that.
Several efforts to establish standards associated with ontologies have been made. But, most of them specify
languages or are based on some particular language. To promote ontology-based interoperation, in addition
to them, a generic framework for registering administrative and evolution information related to ontologies,
independent of languages, is necessary.
This part of ISO/IEC 19763 intends to provide a generic framework for registering administrative and evolution
information related to ontologies.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)

Information technology — Metamodel framework for
interoperability (MFI) —
Part 3:
Metamodel for ontology registration
1 Scope
ISO/IEC 19763 specifies a metamodel framework for interoperability. This part of ISO/IEC 19763 specifies the
metamodel that provides a facility to register administrative and evolution information related to ontologies.
The metamodel specified in this part of ISO/IEC 19763 is intended to promote interoperation among
application systems, by providing administrative and evolution information related to ontologies, accompanied
with standardized ontology repositories that register ontologies themselves in specific languages.
This part of ISO/IEC 19763 does not specify the metamodels of ontologies expressed in specific languages
and the mappings among them. They are specified in other specifications such as the Ontology Definition
Metamodel from the Object Management Group (see bibliography item [1]).
Figure 1 shows the scope of this part of ISO/IEC 19763.
SSccooppee of of MMFFII OOnntotollooggyy r reeggiissttratirationon
MMFFI OI Onntoltolooggyy r reegigissttrraattiionon
...
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ininffoorrmmaattioionn o off oonnttoollooggyy AA
...
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OOOnnntttooolllooogggyyy B B B  for for for
rererepppooosssiiitttooorrryyy
apapapplplpliiicccatatatiiiooonnn s s syyyssstttememem  AAA rererepppooosssiiitttooorrryyy
apapapplplpliiicccatiatiatiooonnn s s syyyssstttememem B B B
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ssttaannddaardrdiizzeded o onnttoollooggyy reporepossiittoorriieses
...
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AApplppliicatcatiioo InInteropteropeeratiratioonn
AAApppppplllicaicaicatttioioionnn
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SySysstteemm A A
sysysystststeeemmm B B B
syssystteemm A A : s: s: spppecececiiifffiiieeesss
: i: innfoforrmmaattiioonn f fllooww

Figure 1 — Scope of MFI Ontology registration
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 11179-3:2003, Information technology — Metadata registries (MDR) — Part 3: Registry metamodel
and basic attributes
ISO/IEC 11179-3:2003/Cor.1:2004, Information technology — Metadata registries (MDR) — Part 3: Registry
metamodel and basic attributes — Technical Corrigendum 1
ISO/IEC 19501:2005, Information technology — Open Distributed Processing — Unified Modeling Language
(UML) Version 1.4.2
ISO/IEC 19502:2005, Information technology — Meta Object Facility (MOF)
ISO/IEC 19763-1:2007, Information technology — Metamodel framework for interoperability (MFI) — Part 1:
Reference model
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 11179-3:2003,
ISO/IEC 11179-3:2003/Cor.1:2004, ISO/IEC 19501:2005, ISO/IEC 19502:2005, ISO/IEC 19763-1:2007 and
the following apply.
3.1.1 Terms on ontology
3.1.1.1
ontology
specification of concrete or abstract things, and the relationships among them, in a prescribed domain of
knowledge
NOTE The specification should be computer processable.
3.1.1.2
registered ontology
ontology that is registered in a registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration
3.1.1.3
unregistered ontology
ontology that is not registered in a registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration
3.1.1.4
reference registered ontology
registered ontology that is usable and sharable by a community of interest
3.1.1.5
local registered ontology
registered ontology that is specialized for defined applications
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
3.1.2 Other terms
3.1.2.1
sentence
statement that has a truth value
3.1.2.2
symbol
most primitive lexical construct that is a part of a sentence
3.1.2.3
logical symbol
symbol whose meaning is defined by its language
EXAMPLE In KIF, “not” and “or” are logical symbols.
3.1.2.4
non-logical symbol
symbol that is not a logical symbol
3.1.2.5
authoritative extent
extent that indicates authoritativeness
NOTE 1 An authoritative extent is used to determine whether a thing may use another thing. A thing may use another
thing if and only if the authoritative extent of the former is less than or equal to the authoritative extent of the
latter because the usage of the latter by the former does not affect the authoritative extent of the former since
the authoritative level of the latter is greater than or equal to the one of the former.
EXAMPLE A product with some authoritative extent can only use as its component a part with an authoritative extent
which is greater than or equal to the one of it, to keep its authoritative extent.
NOTE 2 In this part of ISO/IEC 19763, an authoritative extent is used to determine whether a Local_Item can consist of
or use another Local_Item. See 5.4.2 Local_Item.
3.2 Abbreviated terms
IRI
Internationalized Resource Identifier (see bibliography item [2])
KIF
Knowledge Interchange Format (see bibliography item [3])
MDR
Metadata Registry
[ISO/IEC 11179-3:2003, 3.4.5]
MFI
Metamodel framework for interoperability
[ISO/IEC 19763-1:2007, 4.2]
MFI Ontology registration
ISO/IEC 19763-3, Information technology — Metamodel framework for interoperability (MFI) — Part 3:
Metamodel for ontology registration
ODM
Ontology Definition Metamodel (see bibliography item [1])
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
OWL
Web Ontology Language (see bibliography item [4])
UML
Unified Modeling Language (see ISO/IEC 19501:2005)
4 Conformance
4.1 General
An implementation claiming conformance to this part of ISO/IEC 19763 shall support one or both of the
metamodels specified in this part of ISO/IEC 19763 and may or shall not support any extensions, depending
on which level of conformance and which degree of conformance it claims.
4.2 Levels of conformance
4.2.1 General
An implementation may conform to either of the two levels of conformance to this part of ISO/IEC 19763,
depending on what packages it supports.
4.2.2 Conformance level 1
The metamodel specified in 5.4 Basic_Model package is supported.
4.2.3 Conformance level 2
The metamodels specified in 5.4 Basic_Model package and 5.5 Evolution_Model package are supported.
4.3 Degree of conformance
4.3.1 General
In each conformance level, the distinction between “strictly conforming” and “conforming” implementations is
necessary to address the simultaneous needs for interoperability and extensions. This part of ISO/IEC 19763
describes specifications that promote interoperability. Extensions are motivated by needs of users, vendors,
institutions, and industries, but are not specified by this part of ISO/IEC 19763.
A strictly conforming implementation may be limited in usefulness but is maximally interoperable with respect
to this part of ISO/IEC 19763. A conforming implementation may be more useful, but may be less
interoperable with respect to this part of ISO/IEC 19763.
4.3.2 Strictly conforming implementation
A strictly conforming implementation for some conformance level:
a) shall support the metamodels required in the conformance level;
b) shall not support any extensions to the metamodels required in the conformance level.
4.3.3 Conforming implementation
A conforming implementation:
a) shall support the metamodels required in the conformance level;
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
b) may support extensions to the metamodels required in the conformance level, and the extensions shall
be consistent with the metamodels required in the conformance level.
4.4 Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS)
An implementation claiming conformance to this part of ISO/IEC 19763 shall include an Implementation
Conformance Statement stating:
a) which conformance level it claims(4.2);
b) whether it is a strictly conforming implementation or a conforming implementation (4.3);
c) what extensions are supported if it is a conforming implementation.
5 Structure of MFI Ontology registration
5.1 Overview of MFI Ontology registration
MFI Ontology registration consists of two packages: Basic_Model package and Evolution_Model package.
Figure 2 shows the package structure of MFI Ontology registration.
Basic_Model package is used to register administrative information related to ontologies, independently of
the languages that are used to express them. The basic idea is that almost any ontology consists of several
sentences and that each sentence uses several non-logical symbols. The metaclasses in Basic_Model
package include Ontology_Whole, Ontology_Component and Ontology_Atomic_Construct, which have
administrative information of ontologies, sentences and non-logical symbols respectively. Since an ontology
evolves, Basic_Model package can register as many versions of an ontology as necessary. But, in
Basic_Model package, each version of an ontology is treated as a different ontology.
Evolution_Model package is used to register information on how an ontology evolves from one version to
another. Evolution_Model package basically consists of three metaclasses, Registered_Ontology_Whole_
Evolution, Registered_Ontology_Component_Evolution and Registered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct_
Evolution, which have evolution information on Registered_Ontology_Whole, Registered_Ontology_
Component and Registered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct respectively.
Figure 2 — Package structure of MFI Ontology registration
5.2 Overview of Basic_Model package
Figure 3 shows the metamodel in Basic_Model package.
Ontology_Whole is an abstract metaclass that represents an ontology and contains the associated
administrative information. Ontology_Language is used as the reference "modelType" of Ontology_Whole
to indicate a language that is used to express an ontology that is represented by Ontology_Whole.
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ISO/IEC 19763-3:2010(E)
Ontology_Component is an abstract metaclass that represents a sentence contained in ontologies and
contains the associated administrative information. The granularity of a sentence is not specified but is a
user’s choice. Ontology_Atomic_Construct is an abstract metaclass that represents a non-logical symbol
that is used in sentences and contains the associated administrative information.
Ontology_Whole has two direct subclasses, Registered_Ontology_Whole and Unregistered_Ontology_
Whole. Registered_Ontology_Whole is an abstract metaclass that represents an ontology that is registered
in a registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration and is therefore also a subclass of Administered Item
of MDR. Unregistered_Ontology_Whole is a metaclass that represents an ontology that is not registered but
imported by an ontology that is registered in a registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration.
Ontology_Component has only one direct subclass Registered_Ontology_Component. Registered_
Ontology_Component is an abstract metaclass that represents an ontology that is registered in a registry
that conforms to MFI Ontology registration and is therefore also a subclass of Administered Item of MDR.
Any instance of Ontology_Component is a Registered_Ontology_Component since a sentence that is not
registered in a registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration is out of scope.
Similar to Ontology_Whole, Ontology_Atomic_Construct has two direct subclasses, Registered_
Ontology_Atomic_Construct and Unregistered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct. Registered_Ontology_
Atomic_Construct is an abstract metaclass that represents a non-logical symbol that is registered in a
registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration. Unregistered_Ontology_Atomic_Construct is a
metaclass that represents a non-logical symbol that is not registered but used by a sentence that is registered
in a registry that conforms to MFI Ontology registration.
Registered_Ontology_Whole has two direct subclasses, Reference_Registered_Ontology_Whole and
Local_Registered_Ontology_Whole. Reference_Registered_Ontology_Whole represents a reference
registered ontology and Local_Registered_Ontology_Whole represents a local registered ontology.

NOTE Metaclasses whose names are italicized are abstract metaclasses.
Figure 3 — Metamodel in Basic_Model
...