Research Background

taxonomy is a particular classification, arranged in a hierarchical structure or classification schema. Typically this is organized by supertype-subtype relationships, also called generalization-specialization relationships, or less formally, parent-child relationships, typically indicated by the phrase 'is a kind of' or 'is a subtype of'. For example: car is a kind of vehicle, so any car is also a vehicle, but not every vehicle is a car. Therefore a subtype needs to satisfy more constraints that its supertype. Thus to be a car is more constraint than to be a vehicle. If also other kinds of relationships between concepts are included a taxonomy is extended into an ontology.