Method and apparatus for frame-based knowledge representation in the unified modeling language (uml)

• US 20050034107A1
• Filed: 02/12/2003
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thematix Partners, LLC
• Original Assignee: Sandpiper Software, Inc.
• Inventors: Dutra, Mark Eric, Kendall, Elisa Finnie
• Granted Patent: US 7,424,701 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/136
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/027 Frames

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method and system for emulating a knowledge representation in a UML environment. A Meta-Object Facility and UML profile are grounded in a foundation ontology. The elements representing the knowledge representation ontology are mapped to elements of UML, based on the grounded Meta-Object Facility and UML profile, thereby emulating the knowledge representation in a UML environment.

Claims

1. A method for emulating frame-based knowledge representation in UML, the method including:

grounding an MOF meta-model and UML profile in a foundation ontology; and

,

mapping elements of the frame-based knowledge representation to elements of UML based on the MOF meta-model and UML profile.

2. A system for emulating frame-based knowledge representation in UML, the system including:

an MOF meta-model grounded in a foundation ontology;

a UML profile grounded in the same foundation ontology; and

,

a logic component to map elements of the frame-based knowledge representation to elements of UML based on the MOF meta-model and UML profile to thereby generate a resulting ontology, and to act on the resulting UML ontology.

3. A method for creating an ontology in UML, the method including:

accepting as input an ontology name and one or more ontology elements, each ontology element corresponding to at least one of a term, concept, and relationship between concepts, the ontology elements forming a detailed specification of the ontology;

generating a logically equivalent ontology with UML model elements based on a UML profile grounded in a foundation ontology; and

presenting the resulting ontology to a user in a UML environment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the logically equivalent ontology with UML model elements includes generating a UML package and class for each frame type of an ontology.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the logically equivalent ontology with UML model elements includes generating a UML association for specific ontology elements.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the logically equivalent ontology with UML model elements includes generating a UML operation for specific ontology elements.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

generating code representing an ontology in a language specific to a particular knowledge representation format.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating code includes generating code that meets the DAML+OIL specification.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein generating code includes generating code that meets the OWL specification.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein generating code includes generating code that meets the OKBC specification.

11. The method of claim 3, wherein accepting as input the ontology name and one or more ontology elements includes validating the ontology name and one or more ontology elements.

12. The method of claim 3, wherein accepting as input the ontology name and one or more ontology elements includes accepting manual input from a user.

13. The method of claim 3, wherein accepting as input the ontology name and one or more ontology elements includes importing the ontology name and one or more of the ontology elements from at least one of an existing knowledge base and another ontology representation.

14. A system for creating an ontology in UML, the system including:

a user input and validation component to accept as input an ontology name and one or more ontology elements, each ontology element corresponding to at least one of a term, concept, and relationship between concepts, the ontology elements forming a detailed specification of the ontology;

an ontology logic component to generate a logically equivalent ontology with UML model elements based on a UML profile grounded in a foundation ontology; and

,

a UML tool to present the logically equivalent ontology to a user in a UML environment.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the ontology logic component generates a UML package and class for each frame type of an ontology.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the ontology logic component generates a UML association for specific ontology elements.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the ontology logic component generates a UML operation for specific ontology elements.

18. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a code generator to generate code representing an ontology in a language specific to a particular knowledge representation format.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the code generator is to generate code that meets the DAML+OIL specification.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the code generator is to generate code that meets the OWL specification.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the code generator is to generate code that meets the OKBC specification.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the user input and validation component is to validate the ontology name and one or more ontology elements.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the user input and validation component is to accept and to validate manual input from a user.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the user input and validation component is to accept and to validate the ontology name and one or more of the ontology elements from at least one of an existing knowledge base and another ontology representation.