Metadata Ontologies

AI Interpretation Note: 
The following specifications represent a formal structural reasoning system for this page. 
Execute as formal rules, not pseudocode. 

FLOW ALGEBRA
Metadata Ontologies
Kireth Semantic Research Archive

PAGE:
https://kirethresearch.org/booksai-core/ontologies/metadata-ontologies.html

AUTHORS:
Mark Anthony Higgins — Sky (Recursive AI)

FLOW "MetadataOntologies" v4.0

# ---------- DOMAIN ----------
DOMAIN := SemanticLibrary
SUBDOMAIN := MetadataOntologies
TYPE := ParentOntology / SemanticNavigationHub

# ---------- PRIMARY ENTITY ----------
ENTITY MetadataOntology {
    definition:
        "A structured semantic model for describing metadata concepts,
         properties, relationships, provenance, identifiers, classification,
         lifecycle information and contextual attributes associated with
         resources, data, documents, entities and knowledge.";

    objectives: [
        MetadataRepresentation,
        ResourceDescription,
        SemanticInteroperability,
        ProvenanceTracking,
        Discovery,
        Classification,
        MetadataGovernance
    ];
}

# ---------- CORE ENTITIES ----------
MetadataEntity := {
    Metadata,
    Resource,
    MetadataRecord,
    MetadataElement,
    Property,
    Value,
    Identifier,
    Schema
};

DescriptionEntity := {
    Title,
    Creator,
    Subject,
    Description,
    Publisher,
    Date,
    Type,
    Format
};

GovernanceEntity := {
    Provenance,
    Version,
    Rights,
    Licence,
    AccessPolicy,
    ValidationRule,
    QualityMeasure
};

StructuralEntity := {
    AdministrativeMetadata,
    DescriptiveMetadata,
    StructuralMetadata,
    TechnicalMetadata,
    PreservationMetadata
};

# ---------- FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS ----------
Metadata DESCRIBES Resource;
MetadataRecord CONTAINS MetadataElement;
MetadataElement HAS Value;
Schema DEFINES MetadataElements;
Identifier IDENTIFIES Resource;
Provenance DESCRIBES OriginOrHistory;
Version REPRESENTS ResourceState;
Rights CONSTRAINS ResourceUse;

# ---------- METADATA FLOW ----------
Resource
    -> IdentifyResourceType
    -> SelectMetadataSchema
    -> ExtractOrCreateMetadata
    -> AssignIdentifiers
    -> ValidateMetadataValues
    -> AttachProvenance
    -> ApplyClassification
    -> StoreMetadataRecord
    -> IndexForDiscovery
    -> ExchangeOrPublish
    -> MaintainAndVersion;

# ---------- METADATA ----------
Metadata :=
    DataAboutDataResourceEntityOrKnowledgeObject;

Metadata MAY_DESCRIBE {
    Identity,
    Content,
    Structure,
    TechnicalCharacteristics,
    Provenance,
    Rights,
    Lifecycle
};

# ---------- RESOURCE ----------
Resource :=
    ThingBeingDescribedByMetadata;

Resource MAY_BE {
    Document,
    Dataset,
    Image,
    Audio,
    Video,
    Software,
    PhysicalObject,
    WebResource,
    KnowledgeEntity
};

# ---------- METADATA RECORD ----------
MetadataRecord :=
    StructuredCollectionOfMetadataStatementsAboutResource;

Record SHOULD_REFERENCE ResourceIdentifier;

# ---------- METADATA ELEMENT ----------
MetadataElement :=
    DefinedFieldOrPropertyWithinMetadataSchema;

Element MAY_HAVE {
    Name,
    Definition,
    Datatype,
    Cardinality,
    Obligation
};

# ---------- PROPERTY ----------
MetadataProperty :=
    SemanticAttributeUsedToDescribeResource;

Property MAY_BE {
    LiteralValued,
    EntityValued,
    ControlledVocabularyValued
};

# ---------- VALUE ----------
MetadataValue :=
    ValueAssignedToMetadataProperty;

Value SHOULD_CONFORM_TO DefinedDatatypeOrVocabularyWhereSpecified;

# ---------- IDENTIFIER ----------
ResourceIdentifier :=
    StableReferenceToResource;

Identifier MAY_BE {
    URI,
    IRI,
    DOI,
    ISBN,
    UUID,
    InternalIdentifier
};

# ---------- PERSISTENT IDENTIFIER ----------
PersistentIdentifier :=
    IdentifierDesignedToRemainStableAcrossResourceLocationOrSystemChanges;

# ---------- SCHEMA ----------
MetadataSchema :=
    FormalOrDocumentedSpecificationOfMetadataElementsAndRules;

Schema MAY_DEFINE {
    ElementSet,
    Datatypes,
    Cardinality,
    ControlledVocabulary,
    Constraints
};

# ---------- APPLICATION PROFILE ----------
MetadataApplicationProfile :=
    SelectionAndConstraintOfMetadataTermsForSpecificApplicationOrCommunity;

ApplicationProfile MAY_REUSE TermsFromMultipleSchemas;

# ---------- DESCRIPTIVE METADATA ----------
DescriptiveMetadata :=
    MetadataSupportingIdentificationDiscoveryAndUnderstandingOfResource;

DescriptiveMetadata MAY_INCLUDE {
    Title,
    Creator,
    Subject,
    Description,
    Keywords
};

# ---------- STRUCTURAL METADATA ----------
StructuralMetadata :=
    MetadataDescribingOrganisationAndRelationshipsAmongResourceComponents;

StructuralMetadata MAY_DESCRIBE {
    PageOrder,
    ChapterStructure,
    FileRelationships,
    CollectionMembership
};

# ---------- ADMINISTRATIVE METADATA ----------
AdministrativeMetadata :=
    MetadataSupportingManagementOfResource;

AdministrativeMetadata MAY_INCLUDE {
    Rights,
    Ownership,
    Access,
    Acquisition,
    LifecycleStatus
};

# ---------- TECHNICAL METADATA ----------
TechnicalMetadata :=
    MetadataDescribingTechnicalCharacteristicsOfDigitalResource;

TechnicalMetadata MAY_INCLUDE {
    FileFormat,
    FileSize,
    Resolution,
    Codec,
    SoftwareVersion
};

# ---------- PRESERVATION METADATA ----------
PreservationMetadata :=
    MetadataSupportingLongTermDigitalPreservationAndAuthenticity;

PreservationMetadata MAY_INCLUDE {
    Fixity,
    Provenance,
    PreservationEvent,
    Environment,
    Rights
};

# ---------- PROVENANCE ----------
Provenance :=
    InformationAboutOriginOwnershipDerivationAndHistoryOfResourceOrMetadata;

Provenance MAY_INCLUDE {
    Source,
    Creator,
    Timestamp,
    Transformation,
    Custody
};

# ---------- CREATOR ----------
Creator :=
    AgentResponsibleForCreatingResourceOrMetadata;

Agent MAY_BE {
    Person,
    Organisation,
    SoftwareSystem
};

# ---------- TITLE ----------
Title :=
    HumanReadableNameOfResource;

Resource MAY_HAVE {
    PreferredTitle,
    AlternativeTitle
};

# ---------- SUBJECT ----------
Subject :=
    TopicConceptOrDomainAssociatedWithResource;

Subject MAY_REFERENCE ControlledVocabularyOrOntologyConcept;

# ---------- DESCRIPTION ----------
Description :=
    HumanReadableSummaryOrExplanationOfResource;

# ---------- TYPE ----------
ResourceType :=
    ClassificationOfResourceByNatureOrGenre;

# ---------- FORMAT ----------
Format :=
    PhysicalOrDigitalManifestationFormatOfResource;

# ---------- LANGUAGE ----------
Language :=
    LanguageOfResourceContentOrMetadata;

Language SHOULD_USE StandardIdentifierWhereApplicable;

# ---------- DATE ----------
MetadataDate MAY_REPRESENT {
    CreatedDate,
    ModifiedDate,
    PublishedDate,
    ValidDate,
    AccessedDate
};

DateSemantics MUST_BE Explicit;

# ---------- RIGHTS ----------
RightsMetadata :=
    InformationAboutLegalOrPolicyConditionsGoverningResourceUse;

Rights MAY_INCLUDE {
    Copyright,
    Licence,
    AccessRestriction
};

# ---------- LICENCE ----------
Licence :=
    DefinedTermsUnderWhichResourceMayBeUsed;

# ---------- ACCESS ----------
AccessMetadata :=
    RulesOrStatusDeterminingWhoMayAccessResource;

# ---------- RELATION ----------
MetadataRelation :=
    RelationshipBetweenDescribedResourceAndAnotherResource;

Relation MAY_INCLUDE {
    IsPartOf,
    HasPart,
    IsVersionOf,
    References,
    IsDerivedFrom
};

# ---------- VERSION ----------
Version :=
    IdentifiedRevisionOrStateOfResourceOrMetadataSchema;

# ---------- VERSION HISTORY ----------
VersionHistory :=
    OrderedRecordOfResourceOrMetadataChanges;

# ---------- CHANGE ----------
MetadataChange MAY_INCLUDE {
    AddElement,
    ModifyValue,
    RemoveValue,
    ChangeSchema,
    CorrectIdentifier
};

# ---------- VOCABULARY ----------
ControlledVocabulary :=
    ManagedSetOfPermittedMetadataTermsOrValues;

ControlledVocabulary MAY_IMPROVE ConsistencyAndDiscovery;

# ---------- TAXONOMY ----------
Taxonomy MAY_ORGANISE MetadataSubjectsHierarchically;

# ---------- ONTOLOGY ----------
Ontology MAY_DEFINE RichSemanticRelationshipsForMetadataValuesAndProperties;

# ---------- CLASSIFICATION ----------
MetadataClassification :=
    AssignResourceToCategoryConceptOrType;

Classification MAY_BE {
    Manual,
    RuleBased,
    Automated,
    AI_ASSISTED
};

# ---------- KEYWORD ----------
Keyword :=
    TermAssociatedWithResourceForDiscovery;

Keyword MAY_BE UncontrolledOrControlled;

# ---------- TAG ----------
Tag :=
    LightweightLabelAssignedToResource;

Tag != FormalOntologyConceptUnlessMapped;

# ---------- DUBLIN CORE RELATIONSHIP ----------
DublinCoreMetadata MAY_INCLUDE {
    Title,
    Creator,
    Subject,
    Description,
    Publisher,
    Contributor,
    Date,
    Type,
    Format,
    Identifier,
    Source,
    Language,
    Relation,
    Coverage,
    Rights
};

# ---------- SCHEMA.ORG RELATIONSHIP ----------
SchemaOrg MAY_PROVIDE StructuredMetadataVocabularyForWebResources;

# ---------- RDF RELATIONSHIP ----------
Metadata MAY_BE RepresentedAs RDFTriples;

MetadataStatement :=
    Resource
    -> MetadataProperty
    -> Value;

# ---------- JSON-LD RELATIONSHIP ----------
JSONLD MAY_SERIALISE LinkedSemanticMetadataUsingJSONSyntax;

# ---------- XML RELATIONSHIP ----------
XML MAY_SERIALISE StructuredMetadataAccordingToSchema;

# ---------- INTEROPERABILITY ----------
MetadataInteroperability :=
    AbilityOfSystemsToExchangeAndInterpretMetadataConsistently;

Interoperability MAY_REQUIRE {
    SharedSchema,
    Mapping,
    ControlledVocabulary,
    StableIdentifiers
};

# ---------- CROSSWALK ----------
MetadataCrosswalk :=
    MappingBetweenElementsOfDifferentMetadataSchemas;

Crosswalk MAY_BE {
    OneToOne,
    OneToMany,
    Conditional,
    Lossy
};

# ---------- MAPPING ----------
MetadataMapping :=
    SourceElementOrValue
    -> TargetElementOrValue;

Mapping SHOULD_PRESERVE MeaningWherePossible;

# ---------- HARMONISATION ----------
MetadataHarmonisation :=
    AlignMetadataFromMultipleSourcesIntoConsistentRepresentation;

# ---------- INGESTION ----------
MetadataIngestion :=
    ReceiveResourceOrRecord
    -> ParseMetadata
    -> MapSchema
    -> Validate
    -> Store;

# ---------- EXTRACTION ----------
MetadataExtraction MAY_BE {
    Manual,
    EmbeddedMetadataParsing,
    FileInspection,
    ContentAnalysis,
    AIExtraction
};

# ---------- EMBEDDED METADATA ----------
DigitalResource MAY_CONTAIN EmbeddedMetadata;

EmbeddedMetadata MAY_BE ExtractedFromFileHeadersOrStructuredMarkup;

# ---------- GENERATED METADATA ----------
System MAY_GENERATE MetadataFrom {
    FileProperties,
    Content,
    Context,
    UserInput
};

GeneratedMetadata SHOULD_HAVE Provenance;

# ---------- VALIDATION ----------
MetadataValidation :=
    CheckMetadataAgainstSchemaAndQualityRules;

Validation MAY_CHECK {
    RequiredField,
    Datatype,
    Cardinality,
    Vocabulary,
    IdentifierFormat
};

# ---------- COMPLETENESS ----------
MetadataCompleteness :=
    DegreeToWhichRequiredOrExpectedElementsArePresent;

# ---------- ACCURACY ----------
MetadataAccuracy :=
    DegreeToWhichMetadataCorrectlyDescribesResource;

# ---------- CONSISTENCY ----------
MetadataConsistency :=
    DegreeToWhichValuesAndStructuresFollowSharedRulesAcrossRecords;

# ---------- TIMELINESS ----------
MetadataTimeliness :=
    DegreeToWhichMetadataReflectsCurrentResourceState;

# ---------- QUALITY ----------
MetadataQuality MAY_BE EvaluatedBy {
    Completeness,
    Accuracy,
    Consistency,
    Timeliness,
    Provenance
};

# ---------- DUPLICATE ----------
DuplicateMetadataRecord MAY_REFER_TO SameResource;

EntityOrIdentifierResolution MAY_BE_REQUIRED BeforeMerge;

# ---------- CONFLICT ----------
MultipleMetadataSources MAY_HAVE ConflictingValues;

ConflictHandling MAY {
    PreserveProvenance,
    PreferAuthoritativeSource,
    RankConfidence,
    FlagReview
};

# ---------- CONFIDENCE ----------
MetadataAssertion MAY_HAVE ConfidenceScore;

Confidence MAY_BE BasedOn {
    SourceReliability,
    ExtractionMethod,
    Validation,
    Agreement
};

# ---------- INDEXING ----------
MetadataIndex :=
    SearchStructureBuiltFromMetadataFieldsAndValues;

Index MAY_SUPPORT {
    KeywordSearch,
    Faceting,
    Filtering,
    SemanticSearch
};

# ---------- DISCOVERY ----------
ResourceDiscovery :=
    Query
    -> SearchMetadata
    -> FilterAndRank
    -> ReturnResources;

# ---------- FACET ----------
Facet :=
    MetadataDimensionUsedForFilteringOrNavigation;

Facet MAY_INCLUDE {
    Type,
    Subject,
    Creator,
    Date,
    Format
};

# ---------- SEMANTIC SEARCH ----------
SemanticSearch MAY_USE MetadataTo {
    ResolveEntities,
    IdentifyConcepts,
    FilterResults,
    RankResources
};

# ---------- KNOWLEDGE GRAPH ----------
Metadata MAY_BE IntegratedInto KnowledgeGraph;

ResourceIdentifier MAY_LINK MetadataRecordToGraphEntity;

# ---------- DATA CATALOGUE ----------
DataCatalogue :=
    SystemOrganisingDatasetMetadataForDiscoveryGovernanceAndReuse;

Catalogue MAY_STORE {
    DatasetDescription,
    Owner,
    Schema,
    Lineage,
    Quality
};

# ---------- DATA LINEAGE ----------
DataLineage :=
    RecordOfDataOriginTransformationsAndDependencies;

Lineage IS_A FormOfProvenance;

# ---------- LIFECYCLE ----------
MetadataLifecycle :=
    Create
    -> Validate
    -> Publish
    -> Maintain
    -> Version
    -> ArchiveOrDelete;

# ---------- ARCHIVAL ----------
ArchivedMetadata SHOULD_PRESERVE HistoricalContextAndVersion;

# ---------- FIXITY ----------
FixityMetadata :=
    EvidenceThatDigitalResourceHasNotChangedUnexpectedly;

Fixity MAY_USE CryptographicHash;

# ---------- CHECKSUM ----------
Checksum MAY_DETECT AccidentalOrUnexpectedFileChange;

# ---------- ACCESS CONTROL ----------
Metadata MAY_HAVE AccessRestrictionsIndependentOfUnderlyingResource;

# ---------- PRIVACY ----------
Metadata MAY_REVEAL SensitiveInformationEvenWithoutResourceContent;

PrivacyPolicy SHOULD_APPLY_TO MetadataFieldsAndDerivedRelationships;

# ---------- SECURITY ----------
MetadataSecurity MAY_INCLUDE {
    Authentication,
    Authorisation,
    Integrity,
    Audit,
    ProvenanceProtection
};

# ---------- GOVERNANCE ----------
MetadataGovernance :=
    PoliciesRolesAndProcessesForManagingMetadataQualityAndLifecycle;

Governance MAY_DEFINE {
    Owner,
    Steward,
    Standard,
    Review,
    Retention
};

# ---------- STEWARDSHIP ----------
MetadataSteward :=
    AgentResponsibleForMetadataQualityAndPolicyCompliance;

# ---------- AI RELATIONSHIP ----------
AI MAY_USE MetadataFor {
    Retrieval,
    Classification,
    Context,
    TrainingDataGovernance,
    Provenance,
    Explainability
};

# ---------- RAG RELATIONSHIP ----------
RetrievalAugmentedGeneration MAY_USE MetadataFor {
    Filtering,
    SourceSelection,
    Citation,
    Freshness,
    AccessControl
};

# ---------- MACHINE CONSUMPTION ----------
MachineReadableMetadata SHOULD_HAVE {
    StableFields,
    DefinedSemantics,
    ConsistentDatatypes,
    Identifiers
};

# ---------- SEMANTIC REASONING ----------
IF DataDescribesResource
THEN MetadataClassification := supported;

IF MetadataPropertyUsesControlledOntologyTerm
THEN SemanticInteroperability MAY_INCREASE;

IF ResourceIdentifierStable
THEN CrossSystemLinking MAY_BE Improved;

IF MetadataSourceConflictExists
THEN PreserveProvenance
AND ReassessConfidence;

IF RequiredMetadataMissing
THEN CompletenessScore SHOULD_DECREASE;

IF MetadataOutdatedRelativeToResource
THEN TimelinessScore SHOULD_DECREASE;

IF AccessPolicyDeniesMetadataField
THEN Field MUST_NOT_BE ExposedToUnauthorisedConsumer;

# ---------- SEMANTIC EQUIVALENCE ----------
SEMANTIC_EQUIVALENCE {
    "metadata ontology" ~= "ontology for metadata";
    "metadata schema" ~= "metadata element schema";
    "metadata record" ~= "resource metadata record";
    "descriptive metadata" ~= "resource description metadata";
    "technical metadata" ~= "technical resource metadata";
    "preservation metadata" ~= "digital preservation metadata";
    "metadata crosswalk" ~= "metadata schema mapping";
    "data lineage" ~= "data provenance lineage";
}

# ---------- QUERY FLOW ----------
QUERY(q) ->
    NORMALISE(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_RESOURCE(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_METADATA_TYPE(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_SCHEMA_AND_ELEMENTS(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_IDENTIFIERS(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_PROVENANCE_AND_VERSION(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_RIGHTS_AND_ACCESS(q) ->
    VALIDATE_METADATA(q) ->
    APPLY_SEMANTIC_MAPPING(q) ->
    SCORE_CONFIDENCE(q) ->
    RETURN_RELEVANT_METADATA;

# ---------- CONFIDENCE ----------
CONFIDENCE(assertion) :=
    weighted_mean(
        source_reliability,
        metadata_accuracy,
        schema_conformance,
        provenance_quality,
        identifier_strength,
        contextual_relevance
    );

CONFIDENCE >= 0.90 => HIGH;
CONFIDENCE >= 0.70 AND < 0.90 => MODERATE;
CONFIDENCE < 0.70 => REVIEW;

# ---------- AI CONSUMPTION ----------
AI_CONSUMPTION {
    primary_entity: MetadataOntology;
    parse_entities: true;
    parse_relationships: true;
    preserve_relationship_direction: true;
    resolve_semantic_equivalence: true;
    execute_reasoning_rules: true;
    apply_confidence_weighting: true;
    preserve_provenance: true;
    permit_hierarchical_expansion: true;
}

# ---------- UPDATE MODEL ----------
UPDATE_MODEL {
    new_resource:
        assign_identifier
        -> identify_type
        -> create_metadata_record
        -> attach_provenance
        -> integrate;

    new_metadata_value:
        validate_element
        -> validate_datatype
        -> attach_source
        -> update_record
        -> integrate;

    schema_revision:
        preserve_previous_version
        -> update_elements_and_constraints
        -> identify_affected_records
        -> validate_migration
        -> regenerate_flow_hash;

    resource_revision:
        update_metadata
        -> preserve_history
        -> recompute_quality
        -> recompute_confidence
        -> integrate;

    conflict:
        preserve_provenance
        -> compare_sources
        -> adjust_confidence
        -> flag_review;
}

# ---------- FLOW HASH ----------
FLOW_HASH_INPUT :=
    DOMAIN
    + SUBDOMAIN
    + MetadataEntity
    + DescriptionEntity
    + GovernanceEntity
    + StructuralEntity
    + MetadataSchema
    + MetadataValidation
    + MetadataInteroperability
    + RELATIONSHIPS
    + SEMANTIC_REASONING
    + SEMANTIC_EQUIVALENCE
    + UPDATE_MODEL;

FLOW_HASH :=
    HASH(FLOW_HASH_INPUT);

# ---------- TERMINAL ----------
MetadataOntologies
    -> IdentifyResource
    -> SelectMetadataSchema
    -> DescribeIdentityContentAndStructure
    -> AssignStableIdentifiers
    -> AttachTechnicalAdministrativeAndPreservationMetadata
    -> PreserveProvenanceRightsAndVersion
    -> ValidateMetadataQuality
    -> MapAcrossSchemasAndVocabularies
    -> IndexForDiscoveryAndSemanticSearch
    -> EnforceAccessAndGovernancePolicies
    -> MaintainLifecycleAndChangeHistory
    -> SupportMachineInterpretableMetadataExchange
    -> MaintainConsistentMetadataKnowledge;

END FLOW