Patent ID: 8782597

Claim:
An ontology updating apparatus, comprising: a memory device storing instructions; and a processor that executes the instructions and is configured to: generate, if a first class belonging to a first package relates to one or more second classes belonging to one or more second packages, an updating reference relationship indicating that the second packages are associated with the first package, the first package and the second packages each indicating a collection in which classes including the first class and the one or more second classes, attributes describing details of the classes, and data types are associated; update, if the first class is to be updated, the first class and the first package; detect, using the updating reference relationship, whether or not at least one of target packages are comprised in the second packages, the target packages each indicating a package to be updated and each including at least one of the one or more second classes associated with the updated first class; and generate, if the at least one of target packages are comprised in the second packages, an update notice that the at least one of target packages needs to be updated.