Frequently Asked Questions

How do I interpret the direction of relations when documenting an ontology?

If the relation has a mandatory direction given by its stereotype and the related classes, this direction should be used. In case the direction is still unclear (e.g., no mandatory direction, custom or missing stereotype), the model but be interpreted and a direction must be chosen. Relation's labels and reading directions can be highly informative in this case.

Remember, however, to keep the original's reading direction of the relations at all times, as the reading direction and the relation's are not necessarily the same.

How do I interpret the ontological natures of non-sortals classes (i.e., «category», «phaseMixin», «roleMixin»,«historicalRoleMixin», and «mixin») when documenting an ontology?

How do I document stereotypes that are not part of the current OntoUML profile?

Some stereotypes have been spelled in different ways throughout different publications, specially for concepts that were yet being developed. For consistency, document every stereotype like the

Original Stereotype	Translation into Current Profile
«powertype»	«type»
«highordertype»	«type»
«hou»	«type»
«universal»	«type»

How should I layout diagram?

Keep the diagrams as similar to the original ones as possible. The way that people build diagram also carries a lot of information that can be processed as well. Also, avoid applying automatic layouts as much as possible.