Ontology-based generation and integration of information sources in development platforms

• US 8,768,923 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2008
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Drumm, Christian, Lemcke, Jens, Oberle, Daniel, Subramanian, Ganapathy, Dornal, Vivek Krishnamurthy
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US12/181,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20100031240A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,163 Days
• Field of Search: 717/743, 717/143, 707/736, 707/791, 707/749, 707/758
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

Methods and systems to generate derivative information sources, from original information sources, use an ontology that provides a logic-based representation formalism of each of a number of original information sources, the original information sources having heterogeneous representation formalisms. The original information sources are transformed to the ontology. A number of derivative information sources, corresponding to the original information sources, may be automatically generated from the ontology.

Claims

1. A method to generate a plurality of derivative information sources for a software development platform, the method comprising:

defining an ontology to provide a logic-based representation formalism of each of a plurality of original information sources, the plurality of original information sources having heterogeneous representation formalisms;

transforming, using a processor of a machine, the plurality of original information sources to the ontology by integrating information of each original information source of the plurality of original information sources into the ontology; and

automatically generating the plurality of derivative information sources from the ontology including automatically generating a derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources in response to a request to generate the derivative information source and outputting the plurality of derivative information sources in respective formats, the plurality of derivative information sources corresponding to and being derivatives of the plurality of original information sources.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming includes automatically transforming a first original information source of the plurality of original information sources.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transforming of the first original information source to the ontology comprises using an ontology adapter to extract first original information from the first original information source and to integrate the first original information as a first derivative information into the ontology.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the transforming of the first original information source comprises using a parser to extract the first original information as structural information only from the first original information source, and to provide the structural information to the ontology adapter.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming of a first original information source of the plurality of original information sources comprises using an interface module to provide a programmatic interface to an ontology adapter, the programmatic interface enabling the ontology adapter to programmatically extract first original information from the first original information source.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming includes manually transforming a second information source of the plurality of original information sources.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the manual transformation of the second original information source comprises representing natural language statements by logical formulae.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic generating includes generating a first derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources on demand responsive to a request received from a component of the software development platform.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic generating includes automatically generating, using a first type of a first generator dedicated to a first type of derivative information source, the first type of derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of derivative information sources comprises a plurality of types of information sources, and the generating of the plurality of derivative information sources is performed by a plurality of generators, each of the plurality of generators being dedicated to a respective type of information source.

11. The method of claim 1, including using a description logic reasoner to perform a consistency check with respect to the ontology.

12. The method of claim 1, including receiving a query against the ontology, and using a logic reasoner to process the query against the ontology.

13. A system to generate a plurality of derivative information sources for a software development platform, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

an ontology adapter in communication with the one or more processors, the ontology adapter to adapt a plurality of original information sources to an ontology through integration of information of each original information source of the plurality of original information sources into the ontology, the ontology to provide a logic-based representation formalism of each of the plurality of original information sources, and the plurality of original information sources having diverse representation formalisms; and

a plurality of generators in communication with the one or more processors, the plurality of generators to automatically generate the plurality of derivative information sources from the ontology including to automatically generate a derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources in response to a request to generate the derivative information source and output the plurality of derivative information sources in respective formats, the plurality of derivative information sources corresponding to and being derivatives of the plurality of original information sources.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the ontology adapter is to extract first original information from a first original information source from the plurality of original information sources and to integrate first original information as first derivative information into the ontology.

15. The system of claim 14, including a parser to extract the first original information as structural information only from the first original information source, and to provide the structural information to the ontology adapter.

16. The system of claim 14, including an interface module to provide a programmatic interface to the ontology adapter, the programmatic interface enabling the ontology adapter to programmatically extract the first original information from the first original information source.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of generators are automatically to generate the plurality of derivative information sources on demand responsive to requests received from components of the software development platform.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of generators include:

a first generator dedicated to a first type of derivative information source, and automatically to generate the first type of derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources; and

a second generator dedicated to a second type of derivative information source, and automatically to generate the second type of derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of derivative information sources comprises a plurality of types of information sources, and wherein each of the plurality of generators is dedicated to a respective type of information source.

20. The system of claim 13, including a description logic reasoner to perform a consistency check with respect to the ontology.

21. The system of claim 13, including a logic reasoner to process a query against the ontology.

22. A non-transitory, tangible machine-readable medium embodying instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method to generate a plurality of derivative information sources for a software development platform, the method comprising:

defining an ontology to provide a logic-based representation formalism of each of a plurality of original information sources, the plurality of original information sources having heterogeneous representation formalisms;

transforming the plurality of original information sources to the ontology by integrating information of each original information source of the plurality of original information sources into the ontology; and

automatically generating the plurality of derivative information sources from the ontology including automatically generating a derivative information source of the plurality of derivative information sources in response to a request to generate the derivative information source and outputting the plurality of derivative information sources in respective formats, the plurality of derivative information sources corresponding to and being derivatives of the plurality of original information sources.

23. A system to generate a plurality of derivative information sources for a software development platform, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

first means, in communication with the one or more processors, for adapting a plurality of original information sources to an ontology through integration of information of each original information source of the plurality of original information sources into the ontology, the ontology to provide a logic-based representation formalism of each of the plurality of original information sources, and the plurality of original information sources having diverse representation formalisms; and

second means, in communication with the one or more processors, for automatically generating the plurality of derivative information sources from the ontology including automatically generating a derivative information source of the plurality of the plurality of derivative information sources in response to a request to generate the derivative information source and outputting the plurality of derivative information sources in respective formats, the plurality of derivative information sources corresponding to and being derivatives of the plurality of original information sources.