A Proposal for a Description Logic Interface
Sean Bechhofer, Ian Horrocks, Peter F. Patel‐Schneider, Sergio Tessaris · 1999
Introduction Most description logic (DL) systems present the application programmer with a functional interface, often de- ned using a Lisp-like syntax. Such interfaces may be more or less complex, depending on the sophistication of the implemented system, and may be more or less compliant with the KRSS description logic specication [8]. The Lisp style of the KRSS syntax reects the fact that Lisp is still the most common implementation language for DLs. This can create considerable barriers to the use of DL systems by application developers, who often prefer other languages (in particular the currently ubiquitous Java), and who are becoming more accustomed to component based software development environments. In such an environment, a DL might naturally be viewed as a self contained component, the details of whose implementation, and even the precise location in which its code is being executed, is hidden from the application [2]. This approach has several advantages: the