Issue: Add hasValue to OWL Lite

There have been requests to add hasValue to OWL Lite.  This is a
proposal to include hasValue in OWL Lite.

The arguments for adding hasValue include:

a – It is required for conceptual modeling of common use cases:
This position is supported by comments sent to public-WebONT-comments
along with requests in telecoms and face to face meetings.  For example,
David Jones from Boeing in [1] states that the current OWL Lite support
their current usage with the primary exception of hasValue.  He states
that it is required for, among other things, their applications that
integrate heterogeneous databases.  Others have expressed needs for this
expressive feature to support other use case scenarios such as
configuration, b2b commerce, etc.  Claims include that these
applications can not be modeled without this expressive construct.
Arguably, it is the most heavily used of the OWL constructs that is not
in OWL Lite, thus one argument states that if we add anything else to
OWL Lite, it should be this feature.

b.  hasValue has been included in some previous description logic-based
systems and its heavy usage can be seen in applications of those
systems.  For example, one could look at CLASSIC and Loom applications
for past evidence of usage.

c.  It has been proposed by Volz  in [2] that hasValue can be
implemented on top of standard SQL:99-compatible commercial databases,
thereby making inclusion in the language less problematic

The arguments against adding hasValue include:

d.  OWL Lite is getting somewhat expressive, and there has been
resistance to adding more features

e. There has not been a proof of point c above; only some support for
the position that hasValue does not cause problems for
implementattions.  There are people who believe that hasValue will cause
additional complexity for implementers of OWL Lite-compliant systems if
it is added.




[1]
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webont-comments/2002Aug/0014.html

[2] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-webont-wg/2002Oct/0033.html


--
 Deborah L. McGuinness
 Knowledge Systems Laboratory
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 email: dlm@ksl.stanford.edu
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Received on Saturday, 26 October 2002 13:38:11 UTC