Conceptual modeling of information exchange requirements based on ontological means

Unambiguous definition of the information exchanged between distributed systems is a necessary requirement for simulation system interoperability. The onto logical spectrum categorizes ontological means and shows the various degrees of support from recovery and discovery to reasoning. These means are highly applicable in support of data engineering to define information exchange requirements and therefore can increase interoperability. If the systems interfaces and resulting information exchange requirements are captured using the appropriate metadata, these ontological means can be furthermore applied to unambiguously identify exchangeable information. This allows systems to exchange information based on self-organizing principles using what they can exchange and not on mandated specifications of what they should exchange.