Ontolog Forum
This document is a collection of definitions from different sources.
DiU - definition is unattainable. This means we have a URL to the source description, but not the definition itself!
DB - database.
KB - knowledge base.
PID - person ID. There are two person roles: presenting his own definition xor presenting a reference to the source of the definition.
bref - bibliographic reference. If not full, keeps "???".
Every definition has a unique ID and is a separate unit of knowledge. If the definition is personal, "!" follows after the ID.
If there is no direct link to the source in the form of a URL, the ID of the person who provided the definition is provided to ask. If the person created the definition himself, the definition's ID is followed by "!".
End letter "G" in definition ID means that the definition is IN GENERAL i.e. not only for IT.
General abbr
ITSM - IT Service Management refers to the entire lifecycle of designing, delivering, managing, and optimizing IT services for users. URL:???
Rules to keep collection and discussion
see DEFINITIONs. rules & tasks
COLLECTION
ISO2382
A knowledge base is a database that contains inference rules and information about human experience and expertise in a domain.
URL:https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:2382:ed-1:v2:en entry numbers: 2121399 2123867.
WIKIP
A knowledge base (KB) is a set of sentences, each sentence given in a knowledge representation language, with interfaces to tell new sentences and to ask questions about what is known, where either of these interfaces might use inference.[1]
URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_base
ATERA1
A knowledge base is a centralized database of information categorized to be easily retrievable.
URL:https://www.atera.com/blog/what-is-a-knowledge-base-in-it/
MOTADATA1
A knowledge base is a digital library containing a curated collection of articles, FAQs, how-to guides, and troubleshooting steps pertaining to a specific technology, product, or service.
URL:https://www.motadata.com/it-glossary/knowledge-base/
ONTOTEXT1
The knowledge base is a collection of interlinked descriptions of entities (real-world objects, events, situations or concepts) that enables storage, analysis and reuse of this knowledge in a machine-interpretable way.
URL:https://www.ontotext.com/knowledgehub/fundamentals/what-is-a-knowledge-base/
ATLASSIAN1
A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic.
URL:https://www.atlassian.com/itsm/knowledge-management/what-is-a-knowledge-base
RNAI
A knowledge base is a set of sentences in a formal language.
URL: http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/ !DiU! PID: JA bref: Russell, S., & Norvig, P. (2021). Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 7, Section 7.1, p. 228.
BLKR
A KB consists of a representation language plus a set of assertions in that language.
URL:??? PID:JA bref:Brachman & Levesque, Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (2004) p.???
+?+NFES
A KB is the knowledge component separated from the inference engine.
URL:??? PID:JA bref:???
Comments:
<JA:Feigenbaum, E. A. (1977). The Art of Artificial Intelligence: Themes and Case Studies of Knowledge Engineering.
Proceedings of the 5th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI-77), pp. 1014–1029. Stanford University Archive.
URL: https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:bg342cm2034/bg342cm2034.pdf
Key supporting page: p. 1014
Quotation: “The knowledge is the key to power. The inference engine is comparatively simple.”
Newell, A. (1982). The Knowledge Level. Artificial Intelligence, 18(1), 87–127.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-3702(82)90012-1
Relevant discussion: pp. 91–100 (distinction between knowledge level and symbol level; independence of mechanism).
>
<AS: JA's comment supposedly proves that these two sources do not contain a definition marked NFES, and it should be attributed to JA directly!>
JA001N!
A knowledge base is a structured or semi-structured repository of information intended for systematic retrieval or inferential use.
Comments:
<JA:Antill, J. (2026). Author-proposed synthesis definition of knowledge base.
This definition synthesizes retrieval-oriented usage in IT service management and inference-oriented usage in artificial intelligence and knowledge representation. It is not directly quoted from a single source.
Conceptually compatible with:
ISO/IEC 2382 (1993/1995): “database that contains inference rules and information about human experience and expertise in a domain.”
Russell, S., & Norvig, P. (2021). Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th ed.), p. 228.
Common ITSM usage (e.g., Atlassian, Atera), where “knowledge base” denotes a centralized, structured repository for reuse.
This formulation permits retrieval-only repositories as knowledge bases.
>
BL001G!
A knowledge base is a centralized, machine-readable repository of information designed for storage and dissemination.
Comments:
<AS:URLs before consolidation:
URL:https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/knowledge-base PID:BL
URL:https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/knowledge-base PID:BL
>
TK026!
A knowledge base is a centralized repository of curated knowledge - including facts, relationships, rules, and context - organized to support efficient retrieval, understanding, and reasoning.
DISCUSSION
Range: From "KB is any collection of useful artifacts containing knowledge" of knowledge engineering, to formal ontology - "computer based artifact where knowledge is fully structured and formalized as much as possible".
(JA)Classification notes
ISO2382 Candidate base definition (recommended for ontology derivation):
ISO2382 is inference-essential and aligns with KR tradition.
Proposed label: KB-I (Inference-essential KB).
WIKIP Classification: KB-I (inference mentioned explicitly)
ATERA1 Classification: KB-R (retrieval/library oriented; inference not required)
MOTADATA1 Classification: KB-R (retrieval/library oriented; inference not required)
ONTOTEXT1 Classification: KB-I (machine-interpretable; implies formalizable semantics)
ATLASSIAN1 Classification: KB-R (self-serve library; inference not required)
(JA)Editorial Decision: Base Definition for Knowledge Base (KB)
This document collects definitions of “knowledge base” from multiple communities, including:
IT service management (retrieval-oriented knowledge bases)
Artificial intelligence and knowledge representation (inference-oriented knowledge bases)
Semantic technology and ontology engineering
These communities use the term “knowledge base” with different levels of technical rigor.
For the purpose of deriving a definition of IT-ontology, this document adopts an inference-essential base definition of knowledge base.
Base Definition (KB-I):
A knowledge base is a structured set of knowledge artifacts expressed in a representation that supports systematic retrieval and inferential use.
Clarifications:
“Structured” excludes unorganized document collections.
“Representation” implies an explicit form suitable for systematic processing.
“Inferential use” means the contents support reasoning, rule application, decision logic, or consequence derivation — not merely keyword retrieval.
This definition is representation-neutral (it does not require OWL, Prolog, or any specific formalism).
This base definition is compatible with:
ISO/IEC 2382 (inference rules + domain expertise)
AI/KR literature (sentences in a representation language)
Practical KM systems that encode decision logic or governance rules
It excludes:
Pure document repositories without structured inferential intent
Retrieval-only libraries with no decision or reasoning function
All subsequent distinctions between “knowledge base” and “IT-ontology” will be derived from this base definition.
Person IDs
in ABC order.
AS Alex Shkotin
Independent Computer Scientist
Linkedin ∘ RGate ∘ Academia.edu
Ontolog BoT
BL Ben Lutkevich
https://www.techtarget.com/contributor/Ben-Lutkevich
JA John Antill
MS KM, MCKM, CKS IA & KT, KCS
MS AI Student at Purdue
256-541-1229
KB Ken Baclawski
https://ontologforum.com/index.php/KenBaclawski
TK Tom Knorr
The NeuroCollective Research
+1 (443) 254-6193