A Panorama of the Semantic EAI Initiatives and the Adoption of Ontologies by these Initiatives

Abstract

Abstract. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) plays an important role by linking heterogeneous applications in order to support business processes within and across organizations. In this context, semantic conflicts often arise and have to be dealt with to ensure successful interoperation. In recent years, many EAI initiatives have aimed at addressing semantic interoperability challenges by employing ontologies in various ways. This paper aims to reveal, through a systematic review method, some aspects associated with semantic EAI initiatives and the adoption of ontologies by them, namely: (i) the business application domains in which these initiatives have been conducted; (ii) the focus of the initiatives regarding integration layers (data, message/service, and process); (iii) the adoption of ontologies by EAI research along the years; and (iv) the characteristics of these ontologies. We provide a panorama of these aspects and identify gaps and trends that may guide further research.

Tools Integration for Supporting Software Measurement: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Neglecting semantics during an integration initiative is a serious issue, since many semantic problems can occur, such as the ones called "false agreement", which are described in [Pokraev 2009] and include: the use of equivalent terms with different meaning; the use of equivalent terms with partially equivalent meaning; the use of different terms with equivalent meaning; and the use of different terms with a certain degree of equivalence. Ontologies can be used for addressing these problems, since they have been acknowledged as an important means for achieving semantic integration by providing formal specifications of shared conceptualizations [Nardi, Falbo and Almeida 2013]. Last, integration layer classification is diverse.…”

“…Interoperability provides two or more business entities (from the same organization or different organizations and irrespective of their location) with the ability of exchanging or sharing information (wherever it is and at any time) and of using functionality of one another in a distributed and heterogeneous environment. It preserves component systems as they are [Vernadat 2007]. Due to the interrelation between the terms integration and interoperability, they are often used in an indistinct way [Nardi, Falbo and Almeida 2013]. In this paper, the term integration is adopted in a broader sense, covering both integration and interoperability meaning.…”

“…Challenges in application integration arise, among others, from the fact that heterogeneous applications employ different data and behavioral models, leading to semantic conflicts. These conflicts occur whenever applications are built with different conceptualizations, which can impact the integration of data, services and processes [Nardi, Falbo and Almeida 2013].…”

Integration of Software Measurement Supporting Tools: A Mapping Study

“…These conflicts occur whenever applications are built with different conceptualizations, which can impact the integration of data, services, and processes [8].…”

Integration of Software Measurement Supporting Tools: A Mapping Study

“…Interoperability, in turn, can be understood as the ability of applications or application components to exchange data and services [7]. Due to their interrelation, these terms are often used in an indistinct way [8]. In this paper, the term integration is adopted with a wider sense, covering both integration and interoperability meaning.…”