Object-oriented and ontology-alignment patterns-based expressive Mediation Bridge Ontology (MBO)

Abstract

The Semantic Web is dependent on extensive knowledge management by interlinking resources on the web using matching techniques. This role is played by the progressing domain of ontology matching, by introducing ontology-matching tools. The focus of these matching tools is limited to matching techniques and automation, rather than expressive formal representation of alignments. We propose Mediation Bridge Ontology (MBO), an expressive alignment representation ontology used to store correspondences between matching ontologies matched by our ontology-matching tool, System for Parallel Heterogeneity Resolution (SPHeRe). The MBO utilizes object-oriented design patterns and the proposed ontology-alignment design patterns to provide extendibility and reusability factors to SPHeRe system. We compared our proposed system with existing systems using Coupling Factor, Number of Polymorphic methods and Rate of Change metrics to support extendibility and reusability. These factors contribute to the overall objective of interoperability for knowledge management in the Semantic Web.