🌐 Universal Ontology Definition

An Open, Standardized Four-Layer Enterprise Ontology Framework

Anti-entropy by design — structured, governed, and built to scale.

中文 | English

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📖 What is Universal Ontology Definition?

Universal Ontology Definition (UOD) is an open, standardized four-layer enterprise ontology framework designed to provide a unified conceptual modeling foundation for enterprise knowledge graphs, semantic layers, master data management, and AI Agent knowledge bases.

🔴 The Problem

Enterprise digitalization commonly faces:

• Inconsistent concept definitions — Different teams use different terms for the same objects, making cross-system reuse difficult.
• Industry knowledge silos — Industry-specific knowledge is scattered with no standardized extension mechanism.
• Customization vs. standardization conflicts — Enterprise-specific needs continuously erode the underlying structure.
• Platform lock-in — Ontology definitions tied to a single serialization format, limiting interoperability.

🟢 The Solution: Four-Layer Architecture

flowchart TD
    classDef layer3 fill:#f8f9fa,stroke:#dee2e6,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5,color:#495057
    classDef layer2 fill:#e9ecef,stroke:#ced4da,stroke-width:2px,color:#495057
    classDef layer1 fill:#e0f3ff,stroke:#0d6efd,stroke-width:2px,color:#0a58ca,font-weight:bold
    classDef layer0 fill:#f8f9fa,stroke:#dee2e6,stroke-width:2px,color:#6c757d
    classDef label fill:none,stroke:none,color:#6c757d,font-size:12px
    
    L3["<b>L3: Enterprise Customization Layer</b><br/><span style='font-size:13px'>Company A | Company B | Company C</span>"]:::layer3
    L2["<b>L2: Industry & Domain Extensions</b><br/><span style='font-size:13px'>Common | Consulting | Luxury | Finance | Manufacturing</span>"]:::layer2
    L1["<b>L1: Universal Enterprise Ontology Core (v2.0)</b><br/>Entity 🔸 Governance 🔸 Operational 🔸 Measurement"]:::layer1
    L0["<b>L0: Platform & Syntax Bindings</b><br/><span style='font-size:13px'>OWL/RDF | JSON-LD | GraphQL | SQL DDL</span>"]:::layer0

    L3 -. "Private extensions (Optional)" .-> L2
    L3 -. "Mandatory inheritance" .-> L1
    L2 -- "Pluggable domain models" --> L1
    L1 == "Binds to" ==> L0

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✨ Key Features

• 🏗️ Four-Layer Separation — Stable semantic core, pluggable Industry and Domain Extension, free enterprise customization, and multi-platform bindings.
• 🛡️ Anti-Entropy by Design — 4 abstract domain roots, hard class caps, governance rules, and CI validation prevent ontology sprawl.
• 📐 Standardized Definition Format — Unified JSON Schema with lifecycle management (status, since, deprecated_since).
• 🔗 Inheritance & Extension — L2 extends L1, L3 extends L1+L2, with generalized domain/range relations.
• ⚙️ Platform Bindings — L0 provides ready-to-use OWL/RDF, JSON-LD, GraphQL, and SQL mappings.
• 🌍 Bilingual Support — All concepts include Chinese and English labels and definitions.
• 🤝 Community-Driven — Anyone can contribute Industry and Domain Extensions, platform bindings, or improve core definitions.
• 🖥️ Ontology Studio — Production-ready visual web workspace for browsing and managing all ontology layers.

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🖥️ Ontology Studio

A production-ready Next.js web application for visually browsing, searching, and managing the ontology across all four layers.

• Multi-Layer Visual Editors — Interactive node graphs for L0 (Platform), L1 (Core), L2 (Extensions), and L3 (Enterprise) layers.
• Live GitHub Sync — Reads ontology data directly from the repository via GitHub API in real time.
• Role-Based Access Control — GitHub OAuth with three roles (Admin / Editor / Viewer) backed by Netlify Blobs.
• Public Read-Only Access — Anonymous users can browse the full ontology; only the admin panel requires login.

Live Demo: ontologystudio.netlify.app | Source code in studio/.

Local Development

cd studio
npm install

Create studio/.env.local with the following variables:

GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_personal_access_token
GITHUB_REPO_OWNER=your-github-username
GITHUB_REPO_NAME=universal-ontology-definition
GITHUB_ID=your_oauth_app_client_id
GITHUB_SECRET=your_oauth_app_client_secret
NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=any-random-secret-string
SUPER_ADMIN=your-github-username

Then start the dev server:

npm run dev

GITHUB_ID and GITHUB_SECRET come from a GitHub OAuth App. Set the callback URL to http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/github.

Deploy to Netlify

1. Create a new site on Netlify linked to your GitHub repo.
2. Build settings (auto-detected from netlify.toml):
   • Base directory: studio
   • Build command: npm run build
   • Publish directory: studio/.next
3. Environment variables — add the same variables as above in Netlify's site settings (Settings > Environment variables), but set NEXTAUTH_URL to your deployed URL (e.g. https://your-site.netlify.app).
4. Deploy. The @netlify/plugin-nextjs plugin handles SSR and serverless functions automatically.

Permission data (user roles) is stored in Netlify Blobs — no external database required.

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📁 Repository Structure

.
├── l1-core/                    # L1 Universal Enterprise Ontology Core
│   └── universal_ontology_v1.json
├── l2-extensions/              # L2 Industry & Domain Extensions
│   ├── consulting/             #   └── Consulting Industry
│   ├── financial-services/     #   └── Financial Services (Banking, Insurance, Asset Mgmt)
│   ├── fnb/                    #   └── Food & Beverage
│   ├── healthcare/             #   └── Healthcare (Clinical, Pharma, Medical Devices)
│   ├── luxury-goods/           #   └── Luxury Goods
│   ├── manufacturing/          #   └── Manufacturing (Factory Ops, MES, Quality)
│   ├── technology/             #   └── Technology (SaaS, DevOps, AI/ML)
│   └── _template/              #   └── Extension Contribution Template
├── l3-enterprise/              # L3 Enterprise Examples
│   ├── acme-tech-solutions/    #   └── Sample Virtual Enterprise
│   └── _template/              #   └── Enterprise Layer Template
├── l0-platform/                # L0 Platform & Syntax Bindings
│   ├── owl-rdf/                #   └── OWL 2 / RDF Turtle
│   ├── json-ld/                #   └── JSON-LD Context
│   ├── graphql/                #   └── GraphQL Schema
│   ├── sql/                    #   └── PostgreSQL DDL
│   └── _template/              #   └── Platform Binding Template
├── scripts/                    # Tooling & Automation
│   ├── validate_governance.py  #   └── L1 Governance Validator
│   ├── validate_l3.py          #   └── L2/L3 Referential Integrity Validator
│   ├── merge_layers.py         #   └── Multi-Layer Merger (L1+L2+L3 → 5 formats)
│   ├── visualize_ontology.py   #   └── Interactive HTML Visualization Generator
│   ├── diff_ontology.py        #   └── Structural Diff Between Versions
│   ├── export_for_llm.py       #   └── LLM Export (System Prompt, Tools, RAG Chunks)
│   ├── export_neo4j.py         #   └── Neo4j Cypher Import Generator
│   └── json_to_owl.py          #   └── JSON → OWL/RDF Turtle Converter
├── studio/                     # Ontology Studio (Next.js Web App)
│   ├── app/                    #   └── Pages, layouts, API routes
│   ├── components/             #   └── React components (editors, flow graphs)
│   └── lib/                    #   └── Auth, permissions, GitHub integration
├── docs-site/                  # MkDocs Documentation Site Source
└── schema/                     # JSON Schema Validation
    ├── core_schema.json
    └── extension_schema.json

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🚀 Quick Start

1️⃣ Understanding Core Ontology

L1 v2.0 defines 24 classes and 13 generalized relations, organized into 4 abstract semantic domains. Within Entity, Party and Resource act as intermediate abstractions used as relation signatures (e.g. owns: Party → Resource). In total: 6 abstract classes (4 domain roots + Party + Resource) and 18 concrete leaf classes.

Domain	Semantic Focus	Classes
🟦 Entity	Physical & logical entities	Party (abstract), Person, Organization, OrgUnit, Resource (abstract), ProductService, Asset, DataObject, Document, SystemApplication
🟨 Governance	Control & compliance	Policy, Rule, Control, Risk
🟩 Operational	Execution & capabilities	Role, Capability, Process, Event
🟪 Measurement	Outcomes & metrics	Goal, KPI

2️⃣ Using Platform Bindings (L0)

Choose the binding that matches your technology stack:

Platform	Use Case	Directory
OWL/RDF	Knowledge graphs, SPARQL queries	platform/owl-rdf/
JSON-LD	REST APIs, Linked Data	platform/json-ld/
GraphQL	Modern API layers, Frontend	platform/graphql/
SQL DDL	Relational DBs, Data warehouses	platform/sql/

3️⃣ Using Industry & Domain Extensions

Browse the l2-extensions/ directory and select the appropriate industry package. Each extension declares its parent through the extends field:

{
  "layer": "L2_consulting_industry_extension",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "extends": "L1_universal_organization_ontology",
  "classes": [
    {
      "id": "ConsultingFirm",
      "label_zh": "咨询公司",
      "parent": "Organization",
      "definition": "An enterprise entity providing professional consulting services"
    }
  ]
}

4️⃣ Contributing a New Extension

1. Copy l2-extensions/_template/ as your starting point.
2. Follow the Extension Development Guide.
3. Validate against schema/extension_schema.json.
4. Submit a Pull Request! (See CONTRIBUTING.md)

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📚 Full Ontology Creation & Update Guide

For the full step-by-step walkthrough with detailed examples in Chinese, see README_CN.md — Ontology 创建与更新完整指南.

End-to-End Workflow

1. Identify parent dependencies (L1 core, L2 extensions)
2. Copy template → l2-extensions/_template/ or l3-enterprise/_template/
3. Inherit parent classes via the "parent" field
4. Define domain-specific classes (PascalCase IDs, bilingual labels)
5. Define relations with "specializes" inheritance chain (snake_case IDs)
6. Add sample instances (type must reference a concrete, non-abstract class)
7. Validate: JSON Schema → Governance rules → Referential integrity
8. Generate derived formats (OWL/RDF, Neo4j, LLM exports)
9. Version management & release

Validation & Export Commands

# L1 governance rules (class caps, naming, relation density, etc.)
python scripts/validate_governance.py

# L2/L3 referential integrity (9 rules: parent refs, domain/range, aliases, cycles)
python scripts/validate_l3.py --all

# Generate all derived formats
python scripts/json_to_owl.py                                          # OWL/RDF Turtle
python scripts/export_neo4j.py l1-core/universal_ontology_v1.json      # Neo4j Cypher
python scripts/export_for_llm.py l1-core/universal_ontology_v1.json    # LLM (prompt, tools, RAG)
python scripts/visualize_ontology.py                                   # Interactive HTML

Pro Tip: A working L3 sample is available at l3-enterprise/acme-tech-solutions/ — a fictional technology consulting company demonstrating the full workflow.

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🗂️ Available Industry & Domain Extensions

Industry	Directory	Classes	Relations	Status
Consulting	l2-extensions/consulting/	54	45
Financial Services	l2-extensions/financial-services/	30	12
Food & Beverage	l2-extensions/fnb/	19	7
Healthcare	l2-extensions/healthcare/	28	10
Luxury Goods	l2-extensions/luxury-goods/	39	14
Manufacturing	l2-extensions/manufacturing/	27	11
Technology	l2-extensions/technology/	29	12

🌟 We're looking for community contributions! Retail, Education, Real Estate, Logistics, Energy, and more.

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⚙️ Available Platform Bindings

Platform	Directory	Format	Status
OWL/RDF	platform/owl-rdf/	Turtle (.ttl)
JSON-LD	platform/json-ld/	Context (.jsonld)
GraphQL	platform/graphql/	Schema (.graphql)
SQL DDL	platform/sql/	PG DDL (.sql)

🌟 Want more? Protobuf, Avro, Neo4j Cypher, and more are welcome contributions!

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome all contributions! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md to learn about:

• Proposing changes to the Core Ontology
• Submitting new Industry & Domain Extensions
• Contributing new Platform Bindings
• Coding standards and PR workflow

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📄 License & Acknowledgments

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. You are free to:

• ✅ Use commercially
• ✅ Modify and distribute
• ✅ Build private L3 enterprise layers on top

Acknowledgments

The ontology design draws inspiration from:

• OWL 2 Web Ontology Language
• RDF 1.1 Concepts and Abstract Syntax
• Schema.org
• ArchiMate

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If this project helps you, please give it a ⭐ Star!