Are DeprecatedClasses invisible to DIG Reasoners?

Hi All,

This is a naive question from someone who's never - in the context of  
implementing a DIG Reasoner - had to interpret either the OWL Direct  
Model-Theoretic Semantics:
	http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-owl-semantics-20040210/ 
direct.html#owl_DeprecatedClass_semantics
or the OWL Abstract Syntax:
	http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-owl-semantics-20040210/ 
syntax.html#owl_DeprecatedClass_syntax_lite
for owl:DeprecatedClass.

I've read the W3C OWL docs - I've searched this lists archive - I've  
read the SWOOP paper that talks a bit about versioning - and I've  
Googled about, but nowhere can I find a simple answer to the question:

	Are DeprecatedClasses invisible to DIG Reasoners?

The following sentence in the OWL Language Reference implies they  
might be:

	"(DeprecatedClass) has no meaning in the model theoretic semantics  
other than that given by the RDF(S) model theory."
	http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-owl-ref-20040210/#Deprecation

I could write a simple OWL file with logical entailments from which a  
reasoner can identify inferred sets, then go in and declare some of  
the Classes as DeprecatedClasses to see how this effects the reasoner  
output, but I thought I'd simply come to the source and ask the  
experts.  Something tells me from the variety of scenarios a reasoner  
might have to confront when parsing a complex OWL file with specific  
Classes and/or Properties defined as deprecated that the answer may  
not be straight-forward.

Having said this, given in OWL DL, owl:Class is a direct subclass of  
rdfs:Class (as opposed to being equivalent to rdfs:Class) and  
owl:DeprecatedClass is also a direct subclass of rdfs:Class, it seems  
reasonable to assume DeprecatedClasses definitions have not logical  
entailments.

What would it mean, then, for a Class definition to contain the  
following type specification:
<rdf:type rdf:resource="http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#DeprecatedClass"/>
I've noticed when I specify an owl:Class as "Deprecated" in Protege- 
OWL (<= v3.3beta), this element is added to the otherwise unchanged  
class specification.

Many thanks for any info or citations you can provide on this issue.

Cheers
Bill Bug


Bill Bug
Senior Research Analyst/Ontological Engineer

Laboratory for Bioimaging  & Anatomical Informatics
www.neuroterrain.org
Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy
Drexel University College of Medicine
2900 Queen Lane
Philadelphia, PA    19129
215 991 8430 (ph)
610 457 0443 (mobile)
215 843 9367 (fax)


Please Note: I now have a new email - William.Bug@DrexelMed.edu