Co-ordination of Semantic Definitions
The UDEF can be used to co-ordinate semantic definition
work by teams working independently. However, the current
scope of the UDEF trees is quite small, so the trees will need
to be extended as the teams work. Discussion therefore
quickly turned to the process for extending the UDEF.
Substantial progress was made on this key topic for the UDEF.
A process for extending the UDEF was developed in draft form
during the meeting.
Architecture
The UDEF Global Registry will be the primary means
by which the UDEF definitions and associated mappings are
made available to users and applications.
Defining its architecture and planning its implementation
are primary concerns of the Forum.
The latest draft of the UDEF Registry Architecture document
was reviewed and updated.
An open source registry implementation has been
developed by the US National Cancer Institute.
The possibility of using this implementation for the UDEF
Global Registry was discussed, and plans were made to
evaluate it.
It was agreed to determine the best way of publishing
the UDEF definitions as part of the Semantic Web, as a
supplement to the Global Registry.
UDEF Internationalization
The UDEF was initially defined in English, but it should
be usable within all natural and cultural environments,
without dependence on the English version.
Arnold Van Overeem led an Internationalization
Workshop that investigated how this objective can be
realized. There are considerable difficulties.
The workshop achieved a better and more pragmatic
understanding of the requirements, and discussed a
possible solution mechanism, but further discussion
will be needed before the solution can be agreed.
Use of the UDEF in European Projects
While the disaster response pilot provides
a good illustration of the value of the UDEF,
a more extensive pilot project is needed to validate the concept.
A European Union project might provide such a pilot,
while also giving scope for investigating internationalization
issues.
A particular eGovernment project was identified.
This has just started and would be a good application
of the UDEF, while the UDEF could make an important
contribution to its success.
The draft definition of the process
for extending the UDEF will be developed further
through review and comment within the UDEF
Forum.
The US National Cancer Institute registry implementation
will be evaluated as a possible basis for the UDEF
Global Registry.
The best form for publication of the UDEF definitions on
the Semantic Web will be investigated.
The principles for internationalization of the
UDEF will be developed further.
Connection will be established with the European Union
IST-FP6 SemanticGov project with a view to making
the UDEF a part of the project implementation.
