Ontology-based Software Repository System

Abstract

The reuse of software and related artifacts is a key tenant of DoD acquisition improvement initiatives, including the Naval Open Architecture program. While there are many inhibitors of reuse, software repositories are considered enablers in that they provide a central store of artifacts as well as capabilities for search, retrieval, and reconfiguration of existing components into newly developed systems. However, current software repositories lack robust search and discovery capabilities and are thus limited enablers. This research expands on previous efforts to reform the organizational approach to software repositories by using ontologies as the framework of repository information. By combining metadata with domain, architectural, and other information, more sophisticated search techniques are enabled. In this paper, we describe the approach and demonstrate, through a use case, a new type of search that takes advantage of the context provided by the ontologies and emphasizes human interaction. New navigation techniques will be employed that guide human users, offering suggestions based on projected needs. The improved search capability will encourage developers to consider reuse and improve the software reuse enabling power of software repositories.