Taxonomy v ontology
A taxonomy is a system for classifying entities within a domain into a hierarchical structure. For example, a folder system for files on a computer. Whilst there might be more than one way of classifying the folders (for example, by date or by type), taxonomies do not consider the relationships between those classifications.
An ontology defines a set of concepts that represent a domain, describing the interrelationships between entities in more than one dimension.
Smart Building Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work, published by the RIBA in 2024, states: ‘An Ontology is a way to describe things and the relationship between things. Ontology, in layman’s terms, is the classification of entities by defining a set of concepts through which they can be classified and showing the relationships between them. Similarly, within smart buildings ontologies are used to link data, connect entities, and understand their relationships. (Haystack, Brick Schema, Digital Building Ontology, RealEstateCore etc.) An example – whilst penguins and song birds are very different, they can both be identified as bird relatives by their wings, beak and feathers.’
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