Vision

The vision of metadata and meaning management is to enable complete access to all relevant information about all data concurrently with access to the data itself.  Complete information about what the data means, how it is represented, and how it may be used would be available for machine to machine access as well as human access.


The Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is not a separate Web but an extension of the current World Wide Web in which information is given well defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation. For the Semantic Web to function, computers must have access to structured collections of information and sets of inference rules that they can use to conduct automated reasoning.

Just as current search engines can now search across the documents on the web and find words that have been specified as the search criteria, Semantic Web search engines will be able to find information in databases as well as documents based on specified meanings and not just search terms. In order for this to occur, data must be associated with its meaning in such a way that automated tools and machines can process it without direct human intervention.


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Concept Management

A key functionality of the Registry is the ability to register, map and manage concepts used in Agency and partner systems. These concepts represent various objects and characteristics that are used within the Agency and its partnering community. Through the associations of like concepts, searching and understanding of items within the Registry will be enhanced. Since many concepts are represented by multiple terms, it is necessary to document the meaning of each concept and to associate all data items related to the same concept.


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Meaning Management

Terms and concepts are described by definitions. We use all three of these (terms, concepts and definitions) to assist us in managing meanings. Ultimately, we want any data objects with the same specific meaning to be associated with each other and with that meaning. By managing terms and concepts we are able to ensure that items with the same meaning, regardless of how they are represented, will be equated and items that are not the same will not be confused with each other.


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