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Modeling Language: OntoUML

The AlpineBits® Ontology is designed using the OntoUML, an ontologically well-founded extension of the UML Class Diagram that can be used to represent a domain of interest from a computationally independent perspective.

OntoUML consists of a set of stereotypes applicable to classes, associations, and attributes, with precisely defined formal semantics derived from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_ontology#UFO_(Unified_Foundational_Ontology)Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO), an axiomatic formal theory based on theories from analytic metaphysics, philosophical logic, cognitive psychology, and linguistics.

An important meta-property of an OntoUML class stereotype is dubbed rigidity.

  • A rigid class statically classifies its instances, i.e., an instance of a rigid class must instantiate it throughout its whole existence. Examples include Person, Animal, Organization, Contract, and Marriage.

  • An anti-rigid class dynamically classifies its instances, i.e., an instance of an anti-rigid class at a given point in time may cease to be so later on. Examples include Teenager, Adult, Student, and Spouse.

Another fundamental meta-property for classes is sortality.

  • a sortal class is one whose instances share a common identity principle, where the sortal class must either provide this principle or inherit it from a superclass. Examples of classes that provide identity principles include Person, House, and Car, and those that inherit such principles include Student, Man, Adult, Town House, and Sports Car.

  • a non-sortal class is one whose set of instances includes entities complying with different identity principles. Examples include Agent, which classifies instances of sortal classes Person and Organization, and Physical Object, which classifies instances of sortal classes Car and House (among others).

The OntoUML class stereotypes used in the AlpineBits® Ontology are:

  • «kind»: a rigid sortal (identity provider) class that classifies object-like entities. Examples of typical kinds include Person, Organization, Car, and House.

  • «relator»: a rigid sortal (identity provider) class that classifies relational entities, also known as relationships. Examples include Marriage, which relates two instances of Spouse; Contract, which relates instances of Party in the context of formal agreements; and Enrollment, which relates an instance of Student to an instance of Educational Institution.

  • «quality»: a rigid sortal (identity provider) class that classifies entities that represent aspects of other entities and are measurable in some value space (i.e., conceptual space). A quality may be used to compare individuals, on the basis of the value it takes in a certain quality space (for example, a mass in the kilogram scale, or a position within the RGB spectrum). Examples include Weight (as in the weight of a person), Name (as in the name of an organization), Color (as in the color of a car), and Duration (as in the duration of a concert).

  • «subkind»: a rigid sortal class that inherits its identity from another sortal. Examples of subkinds include For-Profit Organization, Fiat 500, and Civil Marriage.

  • «role»: an anti-rigid sortal class whose instantiation depends on a relational condition. Examples include Student, Artist, and Legally Recognized Marriage.

  • «phase»: an anti-rigid sortal class whose instantiation depends on a change in an intrinsic property. For example, Child may be a subclass of Person whose instances are people up to 12 years old.

  • «category»: a rigid non-sortal class that classifies entities of different sorts. Examples include Agent, which classifies instances of both Person and Organization; and Animal, which classifies instances of different species of animals, including Felis Catus (domestic cat), Canis Lupus Familiaris (dog), and Panthera Leo (lion).

  • «roleMixin»: an anti-rigid non-sortal class that classifies roles playable by individuals of different sorts. Examples include Organizer, as the agent that organizes some event, and Author, as the agent that holds the right to some intellectual property.

  • «type»: a rigid class that classifies entities that have instances themselves (i.e., other classes). Examples include Car Model, whose instances may include Fiat 500 and Tesla Model S; and Event Type, whose instances may include Musical Event and Sports Event.

  • «datatype»: a class that classifies values contained in a well-defined conceptual space, e.g., integer and real numbers (in their respective sets), Mass in Kilograms, and RGB Color.

  • «enumeration»: a class that classifies values within a discrete finite conceptual space. Examples include Day of Week, whose possible instances are the 7 days of the week; and Driver License Category, whose possible instances are A, B, C, D, and E.

The OntoUML association stereotypes used in the AlpineBits® Ontology are:

  • «mediation»: an existential dependence relation that connects relators to the entities they bind. For example, instances of the relator Marriage mediate instances of the class Spouse; instances of the relator Contract mediate instances of the class Contract Party.

  • «characterization»: an existential dependence relation that connects an aspect (e.g., a quality) to the entity it characterizes. For example, instances of the class Color characterize instances of the class Physical Object.

  • «material»: a relation that connects entities based on something dependent on these entities. For example, instances of the association "married with" connect instances of the class Spouse that have a marriage relationship dependent on them.

  • «componentOf»: a part-whole relation that connects objects with their functional components. Examples include the composition relation between an instance of Car and the instance of Engine installed in it; the relation between an instance of Human Body and an instance of Heart.

  • «historicalDependence» a relation that binds entities because of an event that happened in the past. For example, an instance of Place may be related through a historical dependence to an instance of Image Object that is a representation of that place at a point in time.

  • «instantiation»: a relation between two classes representing that instances of one may be classified by instances of the other. For example, the relation between Car and Car Model, which represents that every car is an instance of a car model.