Semantics-Enabled Service Discovery Framework in the SIMDAT Pharma Grid

We present the design and implementation of a semantics-enabled service discovery framework in the data grids for process and product development using numerical simulation and knowledge discovery (SIMDAT) pharma grid, an industry-oriented grid environment for integrating thousands of grid-enabled biological data services and analysis services. The framework consists of three major components: the Web ontology language (OWL)-description logic (DL)-based biological domain ontology, OWL Web service ontology (OWL-S)-based service annotation, and semantic matchmaker based on the ontology reasoning. Built upon the framework, workflow technologies are extensively exploited in the SIMDAT to assist biologists in (semi)automatically performing in silico experiments. We present a typical usage scenario through the case study of a biological workflow: IXodus.