Ontology Examples

This section provides complete, real-world ontology examples that demonstrate different features and patterns. Each example includes entities, relationships, quality rules, and explanations of design decisions.

Financial Reporting Ontology

A comprehensive ontology for SEC Form 10-K financial documents with quality validation:

version: 1

qualityConfig:
  overallScoreThreshold: 80
  maxViolationsPerEntity: 5
  confidenceThreshold: 0.7
  distributionRules:
    maxDuplicateRatio: 0.3
    minUniqueRatio: 0.1

entities:
  Metadata:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Document identifier (e.g., Form13_2023)"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^Form[0-9]+_[0-9]{4}$"
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      type:
        type: string
        description: "Document type classification"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["financial_report", "annual_report", "quarterly_report"]
      filingDate:
        type: string
        description: "Filing date in YYYY-MM-DD format"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}$"
      context:
        type: string
        description: "High-level document summary"
        index: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 10
            maxLength: 500
    relationships:
      ABOUT_COMPANY:
        target: Company
        cardinality: manyToOne
        description: "Document subject company"

  Company:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Official company legal name"
        required: true
        unique: true
        index: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9\\s&.,-]+$"
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 100
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
          business:
            forbiddenValues: ["Unknown Company", "N/A", "TBD", ""]
      cik:
        type: string
        description: "SEC Central Index Key (10-digit identifier)"
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[0-9]{10}$"
      ticker:
        type: string
        description: "Stock exchange ticker symbol"
        unique: true
        index: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[A-Z]{1,5}$"
            caseFormat: "upperCase"
      industry:
        type: string
        description: "Primary industry classification"
        required: true
        index: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues:
              - "Technology"
              - "Healthcare"
              - "Financial Services"
              - "Manufacturing"
              - "Retail"
              - "Energy"
              - "Real Estate"
              - "Utilities"
              - "Telecommunications"
    relationships:
      HAS_BUSINESS:
        target: Business
        cardinality: oneToMany
      HAS_RISK_FACTOR:
        target: RiskFactor
        cardinality: oneToMany
      HAS_LEGAL_PROCEEDING:
        target: LegalProceeding
        cardinality: oneToMany

  Business:
    properties:
      description:
        type: string
        description: "General business description"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 20
            maxLength: 1000
      employees:
        type: integer
        description: "Total number of employees"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 1
            maxValue: 1000000
      revenue:
        type: float
        description: "Annual revenue in millions USD"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 0.0
            maxValue: 1000000.0
      seasonality:
        type: string
        description: "Business seasonality patterns"
        quality:
          format:
            maxLength: 200
          business:
            forbiddenValues: ["None", "N/A", "Unknown"]
    relationships:
      HAS_SEGMENT:
        target: BusinessSegment
        cardinality: oneToMany
      HAS_PRODUCT:
        target: Product
        cardinality: oneToMany
      COMPETES_WITH:
        target: Company
        cardinality: manyToMany
        properties:
          market_overlap:
            type: string
            description: "Description of competitive overlap"

  RiskFactor:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Risk factor identifier"
        required: true
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 5
            maxLength: 100
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
          business:
            forbiddenValues: ["Unknown Risk", "General Risk", "Other"]
      description:
        type: string
        description: "Detailed risk description"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 50
            maxLength: 2000
      potentialImpact:
        type: string
        description: "Potential business impact"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Low", "Medium", "High", "Critical"]
      mitigationStrategy:
        type: string
        description: "Risk mitigation approach"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 10
            maxLength: 500

  BusinessSegment:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Business segment name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 50
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      revenuePercentage:
        type: float
        description: "Percentage of total company revenue"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 0.0
            maxValue: 100.0
            inclusiveMin: true
            inclusiveMax: true
      description:
        type: string
        description: "Segment business description"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 20
            maxLength: 500

  Product:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Product or service name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 100
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      category:
        type: string
        description: "Product category"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Software", "Hardware", "Service", "Platform", "Solution"]
      description:
        type: string
        description: "Product description"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 10
            maxLength: 300

  LegalProceeding:
    properties:
      caseName:
        type: string
        description: "Legal case identifier"
        required: true
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 5
            maxLength: 200
      status:
        type: string
        description: "Current case status"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Active", "Settled", "Dismissed", "Pending"]
      description:
        type: string
        description: "Case description and potential impact"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 20
            maxLength: 1000
      potentialLiability:
        type: float
        description: "Estimated liability in millions USD"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 0.0
            maxValue: 10000.0

Key Features of This Ontology

Document Structure

Metadata entity captures document-level information
Filing date validation ensures proper date format
Document type constraints limit to valid financial document types

Technology Company Ontology

Simplified ontology focused on technology companies and their products:

version: 1

qualityConfig:
  overallScoreThreshold: 75
  confidenceThreshold: 0.65

entities:
  Company:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Company name"
        required: true
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 80
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
          business:
            forbiddenValues: ["Unknown", "TBD", "N/A"]
      website:
        type: string
        description: "Company website URL"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^https?://[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}.*$"
      foundedYear:
        type: integer
        description: "Year company was founded"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 1950
            maxValue: 2024
      employeeCount:
        type: integer
        description: "Number of employees"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 1
            maxValue: 500000
      headquarters:
        type: string
        description: "Company headquarters location"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 5
            maxLength: 100
    relationships:
      DEVELOPS:
        target: Product
        cardinality: oneToMany
      ACQUIRED:
        target: Company
        cardinality: oneToMany
        properties:
          acquisitionDate:
            type: string
            description: "Date of acquisition (YYYY-MM-DD)"
            quality:
              format:
                pattern: "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}$"
          acquisitionPrice:
            type: float
            description: "Acquisition price in millions USD"

  Product:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Product name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 60
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      category:
        type: string
        description: "Product category"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues:
              - "Mobile App"
              - "Web Application"
              - "Software Platform"
              - "API Service"
              - "Hardware Device"
              - "Cloud Service"
              - "Development Tool"
      launchDate:
        type: string
        description: "Product launch date"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}$"
      description:
        type: string
        description: "Product description"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 10
            maxLength: 300
      pricingModel:
        type: string
        description: "How the product is priced"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues:
              - "Free"
              - "Freemium"
              - "Subscription"
              - "One-time Purchase"
              - "Usage-based"
              - "Enterprise License"
    relationships:
      INTEGRATES_WITH:
        target: Product
        cardinality: manyToMany
        description: "Product integration relationships"
      TARGETS:
        target: Market
        cardinality: manyToMany

  Market:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Market segment name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 3
            maxLength: 50
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      size:
        type: string
        description: "Market size description"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Small", "Medium", "Large", "Enterprise"]
      region:
        type: string
        description: "Geographic region"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues:
              - "North America"
              - "Europe"
              - "Asia Pacific"
              - "Latin America"
              - "Middle East"
              - "Africa"
              - "Global"

  Person:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Person's full name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 60
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      role:
        type: string
        description: "Role or title"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues:
              - "CEO"
              - "CTO"
              - "CFO"
              - "VP Engineering"
              - "VP Product"
              - "VP Marketing"
              - "Director"
              - "Senior Manager"
              - "Manager"
              - "Engineer"
              - "Designer"
              - "Founder"
      linkedin:
        type: string
        description: "LinkedIn profile URL"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^https://www\\.linkedin\\.com/in/[a-zA-Z0-9-]+/?$"
    relationships:
      WORKS_FOR:
        target: Company
        cardinality: manyToOne
        properties:
          startDate:
            type: string
            description: "Employment start date"
          isCurrent:
            type: boolean
            description: "Whether currently employed"
            required: true

Technology Ontology Highlights

Web-focused validation: Website and LinkedIn URL patterns
Product categorization: Technology-specific product types
Pricing models: Common SaaS and technology pricing approaches
Market segmentation: Geographic and size-based market classification
Person-company relationships: Employment tracking with temporal data

Healthcare Research Ontology

Ontology designed for medical research documents and clinical data:

version: 1

qualityConfig:
  overallScoreThreshold: 85  # Higher threshold for medical data
  confidenceThreshold: 0.8     # Higher confidence required

entities:
  Study:
    properties:
      title:
        type: string
        description: "Research study title"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 10
            maxLength: 200
      studyId:
        type: string
        description: "Unique study identifier"
        unique: true
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[A-Z]{2,4}-[0-9]{4,6}$"
      phase:
        type: string
        description: "Clinical trial phase"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Preclinical", "Phase I", "Phase II", "Phase III", "Phase IV"]
      status:
        type: string
        description: "Current study status"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Planning", "Active", "Completed", "Terminated", "Suspended"]
      startDate:
        type: string
        description: "Study start date"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}$"
      participantCount:
        type: integer
        description: "Number of study participants"
        quality:
          business:
            minValue: 1
            maxValue: 100000
    relationships:
      INVESTIGATES:
        target: Condition
        cardinality: manyToMany
      TESTS:
        target: Treatment
        cardinality: manyToMany
      CONDUCTED_BY:
        target: Institution
        cardinality: manyToOne

  Condition:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Medical condition name"
        required: true
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 3
            maxLength: 100
            caseFormat: "title_case"
      icdCode:
        type: string
        description: "ICD-10 diagnostic code"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[A-Z][0-9]{2}(\\.[0-9]{1,2})?$"
      severity:
        type: string
        description: "Condition severity level"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Mild", "Moderate", "Severe", "Critical"]
      prevalence:
        type: string
        description: "Condition prevalence"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Rare", "Uncommon", "Common", "Very Common"]

  Treatment:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Treatment name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 80
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      type:
        type: string
        description: "Treatment type"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Drug", "Device", "Procedure", "Therapy", "Surgery"]
      approvalStatus:
        type: string
        description: "Regulatory approval status"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Investigational", "FDA Approved", "EMA Approved", "Withdrawn"]
      mechanism:
        type: string
        description: "Treatment mechanism of action"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 10
            maxLength: 300

  Institution:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Institution name"
        required: true
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 5
            maxLength: 100
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      type:
        type: string
        description: "Institution type"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Hospital", "University", "Research Center", "Pharmaceutical Company"]
      country:
        type: string
        description: "Institution country"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 50
      city:
        type: string
        description: "Institution city"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 50

  Researcher:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Researcher full name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 5
            maxLength: 60
            caseFormat: "titleCase"
      degree:
        type: string
        description: "Highest degree"
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["MD", "PhD", "MD PhD", "MS", "MA", "BS", "Other"]
      specialization:
        type: string
        description: "Medical specialization"
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 3
            maxLength: 50
      email:
        type: string
        description: "Email address"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$"
            caseFormat: "lowerCase"
    relationships:
      AFFILIATED_WITH:
        target: Institution
        cardinality: manyToMany
        properties:
          role:
            type: string
            description: "Role at institution"
          startDate:
            type: string
            description: "Affiliation start date"
      LEADS:
        target: Study
        cardinality: oneToMany

Healthcare Ontology Features

Medical coding: ICD-10 code validation for conditions
Regulatory compliance: FDA/EMA approval status tracking
Clinical phases: Standard clinical trial phase terminology
Institutional relationships: Complex affiliations between researchers and institutions
Higher quality thresholds: Stricter validation for medical data accuracy

Simple Blog Content Ontology

A minimal ontology for blog content management:

version: 1

entities:
  Post:
    properties:
      title:
        type: string
        description: "Blog post title"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 5
            maxLength: 100
      slug:
        type: string
        description: "URL slug"
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[a-z0-9-]+$"
      content:
        type: string
        description: "Post content"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 100
      publishedDate:
        type: string
        description: "Publication date"
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}$"
      status:
        type: string
        description: "Post status"
        required: true
        quality:
          business:
            allowedValues: ["Draft", "Published", "Archived"]
    relationships:
      WRITTEN_BY:
        target: Author
        cardinality: manyToOne
      HAS_TAG:
        target: Tag
        cardinality: manyToMany

  Author:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Author name"
        required: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 50
      email:
        type: string
        description: "Author email"
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            pattern: "^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$"
      bio:
        type: string
        description: "Author biography"
        quality:
          format:
            maxLength: 300

  Tag:
    properties:
      name:
        type: string
        description: "Tag name"
        required: true
        unique: true
        quality:
          format:
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 30
            caseFormat: "lowerCase"
      description:
        type: string
        description: "Tag description"
        quality:
          format:
            maxLength: 150

This simple ontology demonstrates:

Content management basics with posts, authors, and tags
URL slug validation for SEO-friendly URLs
Status workflow for content publishing
Many-to-many tagging system

Best Practices Demonstrated

Across these examples, notice these patterns:

Naming Conventions

Entities: PascalCase (Company, BusinessSegment)
Properties: camelCase (employeeCount, filingDate)
Relationships: UPPER_CASE (WORKS_FOR, HAS_SUBSIDIARY)

Quality Rules

Required fields for critical data
Pattern validation for structured data (emails, dates, codes)
Business rules to prevent common data quality issues

Relationship Design

Clear cardinality specifications
Meaningful relationship names that read naturally
Relationship properties for temporal and contextual data

Domain-Specific Rules

Higher thresholds for sensitive domains (healthcare: 85%)
Industry-specific patterns (CIK codes, ICD codes, ticker symbols)
Controlled vocabularies for categorical data

Next Steps

Test Your Ontology

Learn how to validate and test your ontology with real data

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Ontology Editor

API Reference

Examples

Ontology Examples

Ontology Examples

Financial Reporting Ontology

Key Features of This Ontology

Technology Company Ontology

Technology Ontology Highlights

Healthcare Research Ontology

Healthcare Ontology Features

Simple Blog Content Ontology

Best Practices Demonstrated

Naming Conventions

Quality Rules

Relationship Design

Domain-Specific Rules

Next Steps

Test Your Ontology

​Ontology Examples

​Financial Reporting Ontology

​Key Features of This Ontology

​Technology Company Ontology

​Technology Ontology Highlights

​Healthcare Research Ontology

​Healthcare Ontology Features

​Simple Blog Content Ontology

​Best Practices Demonstrated

Naming Conventions

Quality Rules

Relationship Design

Domain-Specific Rules

​Next Steps

Test Your Ontology

Ontology Examples

Financial Reporting Ontology

Key Features of This Ontology

Technology Company Ontology

Technology Ontology Highlights

Healthcare Research Ontology

Healthcare Ontology Features

Simple Blog Content Ontology

Best Practices Demonstrated

Next Steps