Using Category Theory to facilitate multiple manufacturing service database integration

Published

July 20, 2016

Author(s)

Spencer J. Breiner, Albert T. Jones, David I. Spivak, Eswaran Subrahmanian, Ryan Wisnesky

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to illustrate the use of category theory as a basis for the integration of manufacturing service databases. In this paper we use as our reference prior work by Kolvatunyu, et. al (2013) on the use of Ontology Web Language(OWL)-based semantic web tools to study the integration of different manufacturing service capability (MSC) databases using a generic-model approach that they propose in their paper. We approach the same task using a different set of tools, specifically category theory and FQL, a functorial query language based on categorical mathematics. This work demonstrates the potential utility of category-theoretic information management tools, and illustrates some advantages of categorical techniques for the integration and evolution of databases. We conclude by making the case that a category-theoretic approach can provide a more flexible and robust approach to integration of existing and evolving information.

Citation

ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering

Report Number

8129

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

manufacturing supplier database, Category theory, ontology, semantic mediation, categorical informatics, information integration

Citation

Breiner, S. , Jones, A. , Spivak, D. , Subrahmanian, E. and Wisnesky, R. (2016), Using Category Theory to facilitate multiple manufacturing service database integration, ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering (Accessed October 16, 2025)