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🌍 Knowledge Graph Vol. 5: Integrating the CAVOC Ontology into Neo4j
Introduction: From a mere recording system to an "intelligent system"
In the farm activity recording system I am building with Neo4j, I have finally completed the import of the farm work ontology "CAVOC", which was the biggest hurdle in its development.
Overcoming many challenges, such as plugin installation errors and Cypher query syntax errors, the moment CAVOC was visualized as a graph was truly special. This experience made me painfully aware of my shallow understanding of knowledge graphs and ontologies, prompting me to re-read "Knowledge Graph Construction Guide".
In this article, I will connect theory with practice to explain why introducing a standard ontology like CAVOC transforms a simple property graph into a true knowledge graph where "humans and software can perform sophisticated tasks."
1. Ontologies make knowledge "actionable"
Even if one understands the concept of a knowledge graph, many may feel vague about "what concrete value an ontology holds." The book contained a sentence that clearly illustrates the role of an ontology:
"An ontology changes knowledge into an actionable state so that humans and software can perform sophisticated tasks."
This means that by providing semantic constraints and a classification system to data, you are giving the data itself the ability to reason.
Concrete example: The sophisticated task of proposing alternative products
As an easy-to-understand example of this power, a case of an e-commerce operator was introduced:
"For example, suppose an e-commerce operator links product hierarchical relationships to inventory management through a layer with an ontology. In this case, if a product goes out of stock, if the ontology is structured, you can propose appropriate alternative products to the user."
With a simple relational DB, to propose an alternative for an "out-of-stock product A," you need to use program logic to find "a product B in the same category as product A."
However, if the knowledge that "product A belongs to the same class (category) as product B" is embedded in the graph structure itself through an ontology, the system can automatically reason according to the inventory status and suggest appropriate alternatives.
2. Adopting a standard ontology is "reusing knowledge"
In the process of struggling to import CAVOC, the question "Should I build a unique ontology from scratch?" crossed my mind. However, the following description in the book strongly affirmed my choice to adopt an existing standard model:
"If you are performing tasks in a domain that uses a standard ontology, it is a good idea to adopt an existing model rather than writing your own ontology. If you adopt an existing ontology, users of the knowledge graph can also conform to the standards of the existing model, making it easier to ensure interoperability."
Interoperability and the efforts of predecessors
Especially when standard vocabulary (CAVOC) exists, as in the domain of farm work, creating a unique model makes future data integration and coordination with other systems (interoperability) difficult.
Introducing CAVOC is nothing less than receiving the following benefits:
"The specifications of a standard ontology can be said to be the reuse of knowledge. You follow the path that other people have walked in the past and benefit from the efforts of your predecessors."
3. Next steps: Mastering the CAVOC structure with Cypher
With the nodes of CAVOC deployed on Neo4j, my farm activity recording system is now capable of more than just recording "when, who, and what was done." It can now perform reasoning and insights based on domain knowledge, such as "Rice harvesting is a type of harvesting work" and "Fertilization influences soil improvement."
Moving forward, I will focus on developing Cypher queries to execute more sophisticated tasks by leveraging the knowledge hierarchy (taxonomy) built by this CAVOC. I am excited about the potential of a system born from this "reuse of knowledge"!
References
Knowledge Graph Construction Guide (Author: Jesús Barrasa, Jim Webber)
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