[SWD] Announcement re: Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) Specification

Hi all,

I'm delighted to announce that the Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) 
[1] is now a Final Adopted Standard of the Object Management Group 
(OMG). The ODM was originally envisioned to support interoperability 
between RDF/OWL and UML.  That vision was expanded over time to support 
interoperability between a number of ontology languages (RDF, OWL, CL, 
and Topic Maps) and OMG modeling standards (the Meta Object Facility 
(MOF [2]) & the Unified Modeling Language (UML [3]). 

To that end, the standard includes MOF metamodels representing the 
abstract syntax of RDF, OWL, Common Logic (CL), and Topic Maps, as well 
as UML profiles for RDF, OWL, and Topic Maps.  The MOF metamodels 
support interoperability not only with UML, but with other modeling 
paradigms that can be transformed to MOF (e.g., ER models, BPMN, models, 
and so forth).  The profiles enable people familiar with UML to use UML 
tools for RDF vocabulary and OWL ontology development.

The ODM was developed through a collaborative process with assistance 
from OMG metamodel experts and Semantic Web language authors.  At this 
point in the OMG process, although the document has passed a number of 
internal OMG 'gates', it is now publicly available for comment and 
broader use.  The finalization process provides roughly a year for 
implementers to exercise the specification and provide feedback to the 
finalization task force (FTF) as a basis for refinement.  We welcome any 
feedback that people in this working group have the time and interest to 
provide.

Thanks to all who assisted in the specification development, including a 
number of members of the Semantic Web Best Practices and Deployment 
Working Group.

Best Regards,

Elisa


[1] Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM) Final Adopted Specification 
http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?ptc/2006-10-11
[2] http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/formal/MOF_Core.htm
[3] http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/formal/uml.htm

Received on Thursday, 2 November 2006 00:13:13 UTC