Ontologies and Information Systems: A Literature Survey
Abstract
An ontology captures in a computer-processable language the important concepts in a particular domain and the relationships between these concepts. Ontologies are becoming increasingly pervasive in various fields of computer and information science. They are indispensable components of many complex information systems, especially systems in which communication among heterogeneous components is critical. I use the following definition of ontology, which captures the essence of the most widely adopted definitions in the field: an ontology is a specific, formal representation of a shared conceptualisation of a domain. The IO Branch of DSTO's C3ID Division is interested in the possibility of using one or more ontologies to describe computer networks and support automated reasoning about their properties (particularly security properties). This report provides a basic overview of research and development related to ontologies and their use in information systems. The primary goal of the report is to help readers to discover topics of interest and to conduct further investigation of the literature. To this end, besides information about ontologies in general, the report also includes some specific comments about the use of ontologies to model and reason about computer networks and their security.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA546186
Entities
People
- Van Nguyen
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group