rage on!

Some IT Terms Really Are Greek
Metadata. The Greek (and Latin) root meta has many meanings, but in academic discussions, the primary use is to indicate a “more comprehensive, transcending” version of a subject. For example, metaphysics and metamathematics are disciplines designed “to deal critically with the original one.” Within the IT industry, metadata is basically data about data, a related but slightly altered form of usage. Standard intra- and intercompany metadata has clearly become an increasingly important IT industry concern.

Semantic. “Of or pertaining to meaning, [especially] in language,” from semainein, which is “to signify or mean.” During the past few years, there has been much talk about the emergence of a “semantic Web,” a concept championed by none other than Tim Berners-Lee. Semantic Web applications are intelligent systems where computers can effectively understand the meaning of the information transmitted, unlike HTML-based systems that are mostly concerned with how information is displayed. Semantic understanding will often be required if Web services are to reach their full potential.

Taxonomy. Derived from taxis, meaning “arrangement or order,” taxonomies are classification systems. Historically, the term has mostly been used in the life sciences to describe the rigorous classification of species. As with metadata, today’s IT usage is slightly different. Whereas each biological species has a unique classification, information taxonomies are often used to organize documents, many of which need to be accessible via multiple paths. Taxonomy software is becoming an increasingly important aspect of enterprise content management, with Applied Semantics, Semio, Autonomy and Verity among the key vendors.

Ontology. This comes from ont-, the present participle of einai, “to be - more as is.” To philosophers, ontology is a rarefied “branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.” The term was co-opted by the artificial intelligence community to encompass the systems of knowledge and rules needed for specific AI applications. On the Web, the term applies to the many ongoing efforts to develop topic-specific sets of XML-friendly language, rules and definitions. Essentially, IT ontologies are logical supersets that combine metadata, taxonomies and semantics into formal systems that can be encoded in software, enabling diverse Web applications to truly understand one another.

While all of this might sound like much ado about semantics to many readers, there’s an important pattern at work. In the past, IT industry standardization has focused on hardware, software and communications technologies. But now, the standards frontier is shifting to the information itself. This task will require the systematic management of business terms and their usage, employing the sort of logic the ancient philosophers set in motion some 2,500 years ago.