Must I use ontologies for Semantic Web Applications?
It depends on the application. The answer on the role of ontologies and/or rules includes a very simple ontology example. Some applications may decide not to use even such small ontologies, and rely on the logic of the application program. Some application may choose to use very simple ontologies like the one described, and let a general Semantic Web environment use that extra information to make the identification of the terms. Some applications need an agreement on common terminologies, without any rigor imposed by a logic system. Finally, some applications may need more complex ontologies with complex reasoning procedures. It all depends on the requirements and the goals of the applications. The current Semantic Web technologies offer a large palette of languages to describe simple or complex terminologies: RDF Schemas, SKOS, or various dialects of OWL (OWL Lite, OWL DL, OWL Full). These technologies differ in expressiveness but also in complexity. Applications have a choice along a
It depends on the application. The answer on the role of ontologies and/or rules includes a very simple ontology example. Some applications may decide not to use even such small ontologies, and rely on the logic of the application program. Some application may choose to use very simple ontologies like the one described, and let a general Semantic Web environment use that extra information to make the identification of the terms. Some applications need an agreement on common terminologies, without any rigor imposed by a logic system. Finally, some applications may need more complex ontologies with complex reasoning procedures. It all depends on the requirements and the goals of the applications. The current Semantic Web technologies offer a large palette of languages to describe simple or complex terminologies: RDF Schemas, SKOS, RIF or various dialects/profiles of OWL (OWL DL, OWL 2 QL, OWL 2 EL, OWL 2 RL, OWL Full). These technologies differ in expressiveness but also in complexity. A
