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Article
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Ontology (information technology)
Article By:
Prieto-Díaz, Rubén Department of Computer Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Last reviewed:2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB062010
From an information technology perspective, ontologies are hierarchical structuring of knowledge about things by subcategorizing them according to their essential or relevant qualities. An ontology can be considered a conceptualization of a domain or subject area typically captured in an abstract model of how people think about things in the domain. Humans have produced ontologies for millennia, from Plato's philosophical framework to modern-day classification systems, for understanding and explaining their rationale and environment.
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