Common Core Ontologies
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Using the ontologies

Practical guidance for reading the repository and building on the suite: the anatomy of a term page, how to record measurements, and how to extend CCO without forking it.

How to read a term page

Each page in the repository has the same shape. The heading is the term identifier. Below it sits the full identifier you cite. The main column carries the elucidation and examples, and the sidebar shows where the term sits and what it connects to.

  • Subclass of walks you up toward BFO
  • Has subtypes walks you down to specialisations
  • Domain and range describe how a relation is used

Working with the suite

Model with the relations

Use object properties such as has agent, has input and has output to connect your instances into a graph the suite can reason over.

Record measurements properly

Represent a value as a Measurement Information Content Entity, attach the number with has decimal value and the unit with uses measurement unit.

Reason with BFO

Load a BFO-aware reasoner to check consistency.

Extend, do not fork

Add your domain terms as subclasses of CCO classes rather than redefining them, so upgrades to the suite flow through cleanly.