The Description Logic Handbook: Theory, Implementation and Applications

Franz Baader, Diego Calvanese, Deborah McGuinness, Daniele Nardi, Peter Patel-Schneider (editors)0521781760, 9780521781763

Description logics are embodied in several knowledge-based systems and are used to develop various real-life applications. The Description Logic Handbook provides a thorough account of the subject, covering all aspects of research in this field, namely: theory, implementation, and applications. Its appeal will be broad, ranging from more theoretically oriented readers, to those with more practically oriented interests who need a sound and modern understanding of knowledge representation systems based on description logics. As well as general revision throughout the book, this new edition presents a new chapter on ontology languages for the semantic web, an area of great importance for the future development of the web. In sum, the book will serve as a unique resource for the subject, and can also be used for self-study or as a reference for knowledge representation and artificial intelligence courses.

This book is written, chapter by chapter, by many of the most important researchers in this field. Since it is an advanced text, the content is a bit uneven and varied in writing style. It is essentially a compendium of review articles by experienced researches covering the various facets of the DL community. The choppy design is a small tradeoff for being able to get some very up-to-date information on Description Logics.