The domain-specific language – the ontology

The previous section provided a detailed discussion about the spoken language and, in particular, the use of SysML as this language. This section looks at the other half of having a common language – the domain-specific language or, to use the modeling term, the ontology.

The importance of the ontology will be discussed and then example ontology views will be presented that will be used throughout this book.

Understanding the ontology – the cornerstone of MBSE

The ontology is the single most important construct within MBSE as it provides the basis for the model. The ontology is used for almost every aspect of MBSE, including the following:

• The domain-specific language: The main concepts and their associated terminology must be defined for successful systems engineering, as discussed in Chapter 1, Introduction to Systems Engineering. The ontology is the visualization of the domain-specific language.
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