In
metadata
Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including:
* Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
, a synonym ring or synset, is a group of
data element
In metadata, the term data element is an atomic unit of data that has precise meaning or precise semantics. A data element has:
# An identification such as a data element name
# A clear data element definition
# One or more representation terms
# ...
s that are considered
semantically
Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...
equivalent for the purposes of information retrieval. These data elements are frequently found in different
metadata registries. Although a group of terms can be considered equivalent,
metadata
Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including:
* Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
registries store the synonyms at a central location called the preferred data element.
According to
WordNet
WordNet is a lexical database of semantic relations between words in more than 200 languages. WordNet links words into semantic relations including synonyms, hyponyms, and meronyms. The synonyms are grouped into '' synsets'' with short definition ...
, a ''synset'' or synonym set is defined as a set of one or more
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
that are interchangeable in some context without changing the
truth value
In logic and mathematics, a truth value, sometimes called a logical value, is a value indicating the relation of a proposition to truth, which in classical logic has only two possible values (''true'' or '' false'').
Computing
In some progr ...
of the proposition in which they are embedded.
Example
The following are considered semantically equivalent and form a synonym ring:
foaf
FOAF (an acronym of friend of a friend) is a machine-readable ontology describing persons, their activities and their relations to other people and objects. Anyone can use FOAF to describe themselves. FOAF allows groups of people to describe soc ...
:person
gjxdm
The Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM or Global JXDM) is a data reference model for the exchange of information within the justice and public safety communities. The Global JXDM is a product of the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative' ...
:Person
niem
NIEM ( ) originated as an XML-based information exchange framework from the United States. NIEM also supports NIEM JSON exchanges. NIEM is currently developinthe NIEM Metamodel and Common Model Formatwhich can be expressed in any data serializati ...
:Person
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
:Human
cyc
Cyc (pronounced ) is a long-term artificial intelligence project that aims to assemble a comprehensive ontology and knowledge base that spans the basic concepts and rules about how the world works. Hoping to capture common sense knowledge, Cyc fo ...
:Person
umbel
In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...
:Person
Note that each data element has two components:
# Namespace prefix, which is a shorthand for the name of the metadata registry
# Data element name, which is the name of the object in each of the distinct metadata registry
Expressing a synonym ring
A synonym ring can be expressed by a series of statements in the
Web Ontology Language
The Web Ontology Language (OWL) is a family of knowledge representation languages for authoring ontologies. Ontologies are a formal way to describe taxonomies and classification networks, essentially defining the structure of knowledge for variou ...
(OWL) using the
classEquivalence
or the
propertyEquivalence
or instance equivalence statement – the
sameAs
In data science, sameAs or exactMatch is a method of indicating that the subject of, or entity represented by, two resources is considered to be one and the same thing. It is a key part of the Semantic Web.
Uses
The concept of sameAs exists in ...
property.
See also
*
Data Reference Model
*
Metadata
Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including:
* Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
*
Vocabulary-based transformation
In metadata, a vocabulary-based transformation (VBT) is a transformation aided by the use of a semantic equivalence statements within a controlled vocabulary.
Many organizations today require communication between two or more computers. Although ...
*
WordNet
WordNet is a lexical database of semantic relations between words in more than 200 languages. WordNet links words into semantic relations including synonyms, hyponyms, and meronyms. The synonyms are grouped into '' synsets'' with short definition ...
External links
WordNetat
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
Metadata
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