[Sigia-l] Question about the use of the term 'ontology'

[Lars Marius Garshol]

* Alexander Johannesen
| 
| A Topic Map can be used to describe any taxonomy, ontology,
| classification system, thesaurii, a graph, a map, strict or flexible
| trees, or pretty much any other type of structure. It is a data
| model that can define pretty much any structure you throw at
| it.

This is true.

| It's just a data model and a great tool and I find it a bit
| misleading to say that they fit into an ontology category. It is
| more the other way around.

Mmmmm, I don't quite agree with that. "Ontology" is quite a broad
term, and it encompasses a large set of diverse things, so I think
saying (as my taxonomy did) that topic maps are a kind of ontology,
and that ontologies are one structure that can be used for subject-
based classification is entirely fair.

-- 
Lars Marius Garshol, Ontopian         <URL: http://www.ontopia.net >
GSM: +47 98 21 55 50                  <URL: http://www.garshol.priv.no >