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Objects & Taxonomy June 22, 2009

Posted by afoote in : Information Systems, Knowledge Management , trackback

In the IS department at Stevenson University we have been teaching and using object oriented programming and technologies for the past 20 years. We have been discussing how to write programs based upon classes that encapsulate both methods and attributes. Once the objects and classes are specified we have taught how to write programs and develop computer systems using them. But the question that is left unanswered is where the classes and objects come from. How does an organization determine what are the classes that are needed? The traditional answer to this question is frameworks, design patterns, best practices and lessons learned. These tools and techniques are used to organize the software. Another source for determining classes and objects are taxonomies. By building a taxonomy of the application processing, a structure appears. From this structure, attributes and methods can be determined. With attributes and methods, classes can be created. When hierarchical relationships are discovered, inheritance can be used in the creation of the classes. With multiple taxonomies being used in an organization computer system, an ontology can be created showing the relationships between the taxonomies.

 

By having a clear understanding of the taxonomy in the organization’s computer application, this helps the organization exchange data and applications with other organizations. This exchange of data is essential for e-commerce, communication with suppliers and exchanging financial information with banks and the government.  As the internet grows and more data is exchanged, the internet will be seen as a large data repository. Users will be able to use data as is needed.   This is the idea behind the semantic web. When the organization starts from a taxonomy for their own procedure processing to create computer application, the organization is beginning the process to become part of the semantic web.

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