The Semantic Application Design Language (SADL) combines advances in standardized declarative modeling languages based on formal logic with advances in domain-speci¯c language (DSL) development environments to create a controlled-English language that translates directly into the Web Ontology Language (OWL), the SPARQL graph query language, and a compatible if/then rule language. Models in the SADL language can be authored, tested, and maintained in an Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE). This environment o®ers semantic highlighting, statement completion, expression templates, hyperlinking of concepts to their de¯nition, model validation, automatic error correction, and other advanced authoring features to enhance the ease and productivity of the modeling environment. In addition, the SADL language o®ers the ability to build in validation tests and test suites that can be used for regression testing. Through common Eclipse functionality, the models can be easily placed under source code control, versioned, and managed throughout the life of the model. Di®erences between versions can be compared side-by-side. Finally, the SADL-IDE o®ers an explanation capability that is useful in understanding what was inferred by the reasoner/rule engine and why those conclusions were reached. Perhaps more importantly, explanation is available of why an expected inference failed to occur. The objective of the language and the IDE is to enable domain experts to play a more active and productive role in capturing their knowledge and making it available as computable artifacts useful for automation where appropriate and for decision support systems in applications that bene¯t from a collaborative human-computer approach. SADL is built entirely on open source code and most of SADL is itself released to open source. This paper explores the concepts behind the language and provides details and examples of the authoring and model lifecycle support facilities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.