An ontology provides semantic content to an attribute, allowing parties to agree on the meaning of the value associated with that attribute. There are many ways to represent ontologies. Examples include hierarchical taxonomies and vocabulary expressed as name-value pairs. We feel that the latter best meets the needs of e-businesses. Business interactions on the web use ontologies in a way that differs from many common uses, leading to a set of requirements on the infrastructure.
Adaptability is key.
However the ontologies are defined, it must be possible to describe new kinds of things without undue delay. Waiting for the next version of a standard ontology constitutes undue delay. Ontologies must be widely available. It doesn t do a business any good to describe itself in an ontology unknown to its potential customers. Translation from one ontology to another related ontology is critical.