Configuration knowledge representations for Semantic Web applications

Abstract

Today's economy exhibits a growing trend toward highly specialized solution providers cooperatively offering configurable products and services to their customers. This paradigm shift requires the extension of current standalone configuration technology with capabilities of knowledge sharing and distributed problem solving. In this context a standardized configuration knowledge representation language with formal semantics is needed in order to support knowledge interchange between different configuration environments. Languages such as Ontology Inference Layer OIL! and DARPA Agent Markup Language~DAMLϩOIL! are based on such formal semantics~description logic! and are very popular for knowledge representation in the Semantic Web. In this paper we analyze the applicability of those languages with respect to configuration knowledge representation and discuss additional demands on expressivity. For joint configuration problem solving it is necessary to agree on a common problem definition. Therefore, we give a description logic based definition of a configuration problem and show its equivalence with existing consistency-based definitions, thus joining the two major streams in knowledge-based configuration~description logics and predicate logic0constraint based configuration!.

Combining Configuration and Query Rewriting for Web Service Composition

“…Some attempts to formalize configuration have been proposed in several works (see, e.g., [5,8,10,16,17]). Configuration consists in finding sets of concrete objects that satisfy the properties of a given model.…”

Standardized Configuration Knowledge Representations as Technological Foundation for Mass Customization

“…The CIF (Constraint Interchange Format) [58] is an approach with the goal to provide constraint languages for the Semantic Web. [17] point out that Semantic Web representation languages are suitable for configuration knowledge representation, however, an additional language is needed supporting an intuitive formulation of constraints on product structures, particularly the definition of aggregation functions and complex structural properties is not supported by stateof-the-art Semantic Web knowledge representation languages [17]. W.r.t.…”

“…In this context, the application of industrial standard representations can ease knowledge base development and maintenance processes since those representations are known by technical experts and in many cases also known by domain experts without a technical background. In this context, a major requirement for the applicability of standard representations is a graphical modeling environment which makes those representations accessible to domain experts as well [17].…”

Research Issues in Knowledge-Based Configuration

“…These languages support the design of ontologies on the formal basis of description logics. Felfernig et al (2003) point out that Semantic Web representation languages are suitable for configuration knowledge representation. However an additional language is needed supporting an intuitive formulation of constraints on product structures, especially the definition of aggregation functions and complex structural properties is not supported by state-of-the-art Semantic Web knowledge representation languages.…”

“…However an additional language is needed supporting an intuitive formulation of constraints on product structures, especially the definition of aggregation functions and complex structural properties is not supported by state-of-the-art Semantic Web knowledge representation languages. With respect to ongoing efforts to extend DAML+OIL or its successor OWL , the work of Felfernig et al (2003) contributes a set of criteria which must be fulfilled in order to apply those languages for full-fledged configuration knowledge representation.…”