Ontology layer - goals and status

Goals:

• More powerful schemas (ontologies) allow inference and consistency checking
• Decidable consistency
• Equivalence links allow evolution of standards
• Conversion and cross-reference between vocabularies
• "Web of meaning"

Status:

• DAML (US) and OIL (EU) developments harmonized
• Standards process well underway (OWL a W3C WD - 2003/1)