OntologyContrib

The basics of the extension and miscellaneous information. You can find information about rest handlers and macros at OntologyPlugin. Information about the included skin are supplied under OntologySkin.

Usage

This extension can be used to build and maintain ontologies. This enables you to build different kinds of structures between your Foswiki topics. You can use it to classify or tag topics, to define sets of topics, to build parent-child relationships and many other structures. It is extensible.

Installation

Install and enable the OntologyPlugin via /bin/configure. Manual installation should be possible too. The Extension OntologyPlugin contains the macro and rest handlers, the skins and the additional topics. So at the moment there are three topics which describe the macros and rest handlers (OntologyPlugin), the skin (OntologySkin) and the additional topics (OntologyContrib) BUT they are installed as ONE extension (OntologyPlugin). Still thinking about separating them...

Define preferences

To be able to use the OntologyPlugin you have to set some preferences in SitePreferences, in the topic WebPreferences or in a topic; e.g. (remove the #):

• Define the web which contains the Ontologies:
  • #Set ONTOLOGIESWEB = Ontologies [TODO]
• Define the web which contains the basic topics needed to use the OntologyPlugin
  • #Set OPPSWEB = OntologyApp
• Define the names of the formfields which contain title and description of elements. You can e.g. use different form field names for those in individual webs, e.g. "!TopicTitle", "!TopicDescirption" or something like "Titel" and "Beschreibung" (? not really tested). You have
  • #Set OTITLE = Title
  • #Set ODESCRIPTION = Description
• Define the names of the formfields which contains subject and object of relations (? untested)
  • #Set OSUBJECT = Subject
  • #Set OOBJECT = Object

Set up some basic groups

Create some groups in WikiGroups:

• OntologyGroup: Members can view the default ontologies.
• OntologyEditorGroup: Members can edit the default ontologies.
• OntologyAdminGroup: Members can set preferences (and access rights) in default ontologies and remove entities.

TODO: More details needed!

Assign some member to the groups.

Structure of Ontologies

The basic entities of ontologies created with this extension are elements, relations, sets, relationsets and the ontologies themselves. All entities build on the existing foswiki entities topics and webs. Each ontology can be viewed as a kind of separate semantic store. You could call it a brain

For example there could be following structure:

• Web "Ontologies"
  • Web "EN"
    • Web "ElementOf"
      • Web "Tasks"
        • Topic "FirstTask1234567890"
        • Topic "SecondTask2345678901"
        • ...
      • Web "Events"
        • ...
        • ...
      • Web ...
    • Web "RelatedTo"
      • Web "Main.WikiGuest"
        • Topic "AnEvent3456789012"
        • ...
      • Web ...
    • Web ...
  • Web "OtherOntology" ...

Ontologies

An ontology consists of two parts:

• an ontology element
• an ontology web

Relationsets

A relationset is a set of relations. It is defined by creating a relation ElementOf to an element "Relationsets". For each relationset there will be additionally created web in an ontology web with the name of the relationset. Relationsets must be contained in an specific ontology web. A relationset is defined within an ontology and consists of two parts:

• a relationset element
• a relationset web

Sets

An elements is defined as a set by creating a relation ElementOf to an element "Sets". Sets can be contained in any web. A set is defined within an ontology by two things:

• a set element
• a defined relation (usually ElementOf) to the element Sets

Relations

Individual relations are stored within the relationset web in an ontology. A relation is (at least) a triple consisting of a subject, an object and the relation itself. To make each relation unique the time of its creation is added as epoch to its name. Relations must be stored within its relationset web (see below). A relation is defined by a defined topic within the relationset of an ontology

Elements

An element is a topics with an attached DataForm which at least has the formfields "Title" and "Description". The name of the DataForm and its additional fields don't matter. Elements can be contained in any web.

Topic templates, data forms and tempate webs

Topic Templates & Forms

• ElementTemplate (DataForm): Generic template for elements
• RelationTemplate (RelationDataForm): Generic templete for relations
• RelationsetTemplate (RelationsetDataForm): Generic template for relationset elements
• OntologyTemplate (OntologyDataForm): Generic template for the ontology elements.

Template Webs

• _empty: only contains WebPreferences
• _default (standard): contains the usual Web*-Topics
• _standardontology: contains WebPreferences & some kind of standardset of relations like ElementOf, IsA, RelatedTo, HasTag, ...
• _standardrelationset: ?

Multiple Ontologies or Ontology Mapping

You can create and use one or multiple ontologies. There is a mechanism to provide a mapping between the different semantics of the different ontologies:

• The Meta-Ontology (Ontologies.Meta.Meta): This ontology stores the definition of other ontologies and enables a mapping to other ontologies.
• The OntologyDataForm: In this data form there a defined four properties of an ontology:
  • SameAs_Analogue: Defines the relationset in the ontology which is analogue to the relationset Ontologies.Meta.SameAs
  • ElementOf_Analogue: Defines the relationset in the ontology which is analogue to the relationset Ontologies.Meta.ElementOf
  • Sets_Analogue: Defines the element which is analogue to the element Ontologies.Meta.Sets
  • Relationsets_Analogue: Defines the element which is analogue to the element Ontologies.Meta.Relationsets

Known issues & TODOs

There are a lot of known and unknown bugs in this monstrous extension. Bug reports on http://foswiki.org/Tasks/WebHome are very welcome! Also, feel free to give feedback and to improve and enhance this extension!

Status: Testing

This extension is still in Proof of Concept or alpha phase. It is available here to enable feedback, testing and further development. There are a lot of smaller and bigger SMELLs and TODOs in the perl, TML and javascript code! It's unfinished, not optimized, most probably contains some unsecure code and is NOT production ready! Nevertheless I use it in my personal private wiki and it helps me sorting my harddrive brain .

The OntologyPlugin does not use any real database or some fancy semantic-rdf-trupel-object-database-thing as a store. It just uses (plain file) topics and webs! While this simplicity has some advantages, it for sure also has some disadvantages. There are faster semantic web or ontology solutions and a lot of them might scale much better. If you or the users can't stand waiting at least one or two seconds for each page to be returned, or if you prefer a tested and approved extension for your Foswiki you should consider using some other solution: ClassificationPlugin, TagMePlugin, TagsPlugin or TopicClassificationAddOn are some well written, well tested and well tried solutions! Some fitting non-Foswiki solutions for collaborative ontology development within wikis might be OntoWiki or Semantic Media Wiki (+). You can find an overview over available tools at http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Tools.

StrikeOne problems

The Perl code to handle StrikeOne is commented out, because it doesn't work.

Rest handlers lacking error feedback

The code to return proper errors when calling the rest handlers is unfinished and therefor not working.

Translations

Some parts of the contents and wiki applications are translated. Some not. And I'm sure there are a lot of contents which need some review by someone capable of writing proper english .

Missing features in RELATIONSETS and ONTOLOGIES macros

At the moment the ontology mapping has to be done via nesting of the macros. Would be nice to support it directly via the RELATIONSETS and ONTOLOGIES macros. Something like a includesames="on" parameter.

Lazy Loading of JS in TABs and SubTABs

When selecting CreateTabRelationTab in ActionMenu: some JS doesn't get loaded which leads to some functionality missing: List for selected elements

• would be nice: http://foswiki.org/Development/LazyLoadJsAndCssForSpeed
• perhaps using http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.getScript/ in combination with the _afterload_-handler of the TAB macro

Weiteres Testen:

• http://192.168.1.123/wiki/bin/view/System/JQueryCodingStandards
• Beispiel aus dem jQueryAjaxHelper (UserSelector) in einen Tab kopieren (CreateTabTestTab) und testen (DONE: Funktioniert auch nicht; auch nicht als INCLUDE)
• die anderen Javascript-Elemente in ADDTOZONEs einpacken (und dazu leicht anpassen: alle self-Aufrufe bzgl. form)
• evtl. minimieren des CreateTabRelationTab auf das Minimum und sehen, ob js dann geladen wird
• testen, ob das pure js (objectselector ohne form oder anderes) per ADDTOZONE von einem Sub-Tab aus geladen

Limiting of the autocomplete search in CreateTabRelationTab

Make usage of autocomplete faster and less resource intensiv.

• select-auswahl (webs) wie beim absenden eines Forms per URL übergeben?

• ja zwei sections von ctrt_subjectselector und von ctrt_objectselector machen (bzgl. ?section=ctrtelement):
  • eine für thewebs=all
  • eine für thewebs=Opps
• bei Auswahl einer der beiden Varianten muss dann jeweils die andere Variante per JS ausgeblendet werden

• optionally reduce search to the actual web
• optionally create two separate tabs: Relations (intra-web) and Relations (all)

Lazy Loading of contents of the SideBar

• e.g. with help of http://foswiki.org/System/JQueryLoader

Visualisierung der Relationen

ViewTabVisualisationTab erstellen zur Darstellung aller Relationen und der darüber verbundenen Elemente:

• Strukturierung nach Art der Relation z.B.:
  • evtl. Alle Elemente, die über eine Relation Element_Von verbunden sind in einem Zweig zu entsprechendem "Kasten" zeigen; analog mit den anderen
  • oder: Obermengen oberhalb, Unterelemente unterhalb, ansonsten: eingehende Relationen links, ausgehende Relationen rechts, letztere jeweils in eigenem "Kasten" mit Relationsbezeichnung
• evtl. den Visualisierungs-Tab als Hautdarstellung wählen und den Topic-Text als "Anmerkungen" zu diesem Knoten