[topicmapmail] Inference rules

[Lars Marius Garshol]

* Stefan Henke
|
| I have a very basic question about topic maps. Which role do
| inference rules play in the world of topic maps? 

I think the full understanding of the role of inference rules with
respect to topic maps is still being worked out. We know inference
rules are very useful for certain kinds of tasks, but how best to
manage and use them together with topic maps is still an area being
researched.

| I think in the field of ontologies, they play a quite important
| role. 

Agreed, and in my opinion they will do the same with topic maps.

| In the last time, I had a look at the tolog query language. It
| allows to define inference rules which are used for the query. But
| the rules are not getting part of the topic map itself. So, they are
| not used in other queries. 

Actually, the last sentence is not true. With tolog 1.0 you can store
your inference rules in module files and import them into any query
that uses the rules. I've built commercial applications this way, and
been very pleased with the results.

| Are there any plans to build in some concepts for inference rules in
| topic maps?

At present it seems like support for inference rules will go into TMQL
(at least), but probably also TMCL (somehow). For more information on
the future of TMQL, see

  <URL: http://www.jtc1sc34.org/repository/0502.pdf >

We're still working out more basic parts of TMCL, so how this will fit
into TMCL is not clear yet, but there seems to be a rough consensus
that probably it should fit in somewhere.

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