ISO/IEC 24707:2018
(Main)Information technology — Common Logic (CL) — A framework for a family of logic-based languages
Information technology — Common Logic (CL) — A framework for a family of logic-based languages
This document specifies a family of logic languages designed for use in the representation and interchange of information and data among disparate computer systems. The following features are essential to the design of this document. — Languages in the family have declarative semantics. It is possible to understand the meaning of expressions in these languages without appeal to an interpreter for manipulating those expressions. — Languages in the family are logically comprehensive ? at its most general, they provide for the expression of arbitrary first-order logical sentences. — Languages in the family are translatable by a semantics-preserving transformation to a common XML-based syntax, facilitating interchange of information among heterogeneous computer systems. The following are within the scope of this document: — representation of information in ontologies and knowledge bases; — specification of expressions that are the input or output of inference engines; — formal interpretations of the symbols in the language. The following are outside the scope of this document: — specification of proof theory or inference rules; — specification of translators between the notations of heterogeneous computer systems; — computer-based operational methods of providing relationships between symbols in the logical "universe of discourse" and individuals in the "real world". This document describes Common Logic's syntax and semantics. This document defines an abstract syntax and an associated model-theoretic semantics for a specific extension of first-order logic. The intent is that the content of any system using first-order logic can be represented in this document. The purpose is to facilitate interchange of first-order logic-based information between systems. Issues relating to computability using this document (including efficiency, optimization, etc.) are not addressed.
Technologies de l'information — Logique Commune (CL) — Cadre pour une famille des langages logique-basés
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INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 24707
Second edition
2018-07
Information technology — Common
Logic (CL) — A framework for a family
of logic-based languages
Technologies de l'information — Logique Commune (CL) — Cadre
pour une famille des langages logique-basés
Reference number
ISO/IEC 24707:2018(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2018
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ISO/IEC 24707:2018(E)
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ISO/IEC 24707:2018(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms . 4
4.1 Symbols . 4
4.2 Abbreviated terms . 5
5 Requirements and design overview . 5
5.1 Requirements . 5
5.1.1 Common Logic should include full first-order logic with equality . 5
5.1.2 Common Logic should provide a general-purpose syntax for
communicating logical expressions . 5
5.1.3 Common Logic should be easy and natural for use on the Web . 5
5.1.4 Common Logic should support open networks . 6
5.1.5 Common Logic should not make arbitrary assumptions about semantics . 6
5.2 A family of languages . 6
6 Common Logic abstract syntax and semantics . 6
6.1 Common Logic abstract syntax . 6
6.1.1 Abstract syntax categories . 6
6.1.2 Metamodel of the Common Logic abstract syntax . 8
6.1.3 Importation closure .15
6.1.4 Abstract syntactic structure of dialects .16
6.2 Common logic semantics .17
6.3 Datatypes .19
6.4 Satisfaction, validity and entailment .20
6.5 Sequence markers, recursion and argument lists: discussion .20
6.6 Special cases and translations between dialects .21
7 Conformance .21
7.1 Dialect conformance .21
7.1.1 Syntax .21
7.1.2 Semantics .22
7.1.3 Presupposing dialects .23
7.2 Application conformance .24
7.3 Network conformance .24
Annex A (normative) Common Logic Interchange Format (CLIF) .25
Annex B (normative) Conceptual Graph Interchange Format (CGIF) .36
Annex C (normative) eXtended Common Logic Markup Language (XCL) .57
Annex D (informative) Translating between dialects .69
Bibliography .70
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ISO/IEC 24707:2018(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www .iso .org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, SC 32,
Data management and interchange.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 24707:2007), which has been
technically revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— the list of syntactic errors that have already been identified in the Defect Report has been fixed;
— the XML syntax in Annex C has been corrected and completed;
— a more general approach to annotation of CL-texts has been made;
— semantics has been modified to allow the existence of definitional extensions in CL;
— support for circular imports;
— semantics of CL-module have been clarified;
— clarification of the distinction between segregated and non-segregated dialects;
— clarification of conformance conditions has been made.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
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ISO/IEC 24707:2018(E)
Introduction
Common Logic is a logic framework intended for information exchange and transmission. The
framework allows for a variety of different syntactic forms, called dialects, all translatable by a
semantics-preserving transformation to a common XML-based syntax.
Common Logic has some novel features, chief among them being a syntax which permits “higher-
order” constructions, such as quantification over classes or relations while preserving a first-order
model theory, and a semantics which allows theories to describe intentional entities such as classes or
properties. It also has provision for the use of datatypes and for naming, importing and transmitting
content on the World Wide Web using XML.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 24707:2018(E)
Information technology — Common Logic (CL) — A
framework for a family of logic-based languages
1 Scope
This document specifies a family of logic languages designed for use in the representation and
interchange of information and data among disparate computer systems.
The following features are essential to the design of this document.
— Languages in the family have declarative semantics. It is possible to understand the meaning of
expressions in these languages without appeal to an interpreter for manipulating those expressions.
— Languages in the family are logically comprehensive – at its most general, they provide for the
expression of arbitrary first-order logical sentences.
— Languages in the family are translatable by a semantics-preserving transformation to a common
XML-based syntax, facilitating interchange of information among heterogeneous computer systems.
The following are within the scope of this document:
— representation of information in ontologies and knowledge bases;
— specification of expressions that are the input or output of inference engines;
— formal interpretations of the symbols in the language.
The following are outside the scope of this document:
— specification of proof theory or inference rules;
— specification of translators between the notations of heterogeneous computer systems;
— computer-based operational methods of providing relationships between symbols in the logical
“universe of discourse” and individuals in the “real world”.
This document describes Common Logic’s syntax and semantics.
This document defines an abstract syntax and an associated model-theoretic semantics for a specific
extension of first-order logic. The intent is that the content of any system using first-order logic can
be represented in this document. The purpose is to facilitate interchange of first-order logic-based
information between systems.
Issues relating to computability using this document (including efficiency, optimization, etc.) are not
addressed.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 2382:2015, Information technology — Vocabulary
ISO/IEC 10646:2014, Information technology — Universal Coded Character Set (UCS)
ISO/IEC 14977:1996, Information technology — Syntactic metalanguage — Extended BNF
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3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http: //www .electropedia .org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https: //www .iso .org/obp
3.1
axiom
any sentence (3.15), statement or text which is assumed to be true, or from which others are derived, or
by which they are entailed
Note 1 to entry: In a computational setting, an axiom is a sentence which is never posed as a goal to be proved,
but only used to prove other sentences.
3.2
conceptual graph
CG
graphical or textual display of symbols arranged according to the style of conceptual graph theory (3.3)
3.3
conceptual graph theory
form of first-order logic which represents existential quantification and conjunction via the assertion
of logical constructs called concepts and relations which are arranged in an abstract or visually
displayed graph
3.4
CLIF
text-based first-order formalism using a LISP-like list notation
Note 1 to entry: This is one of the concrete syntaxes for Common Logic (described in Annex A).
Note 2 to entry: CLIF is a KIF-based syntax that is used for illustration purposes in this document. KIF, introduced
[3]
by Mike Genesereth , originated with the Knowledge Sharing Effort sponsored by the U.S. DARPA. The name
“KIF” is not used for this syntax in order to distinguish it from the commonly used KIF dialects. No assumptions
are made in this document with respect to KIF semantics; in particular, no equivalence between CLIF and KIF is
intended.
Note 3 to entry: Historically, CLIF was an acronym for Common Logic Interchange Format. However, CLIF does
not hold a privileged position among Common Logic dialects (3.7), as the expanded name suggests. Further, XCL is
the recommended interchange format on the Web.
3.5
Conceptual Graph Interchange Format
CGIF
text version of conceptual graphs (3.2)
Note 1 to entry: Sometimes, this may refer to an example of a character string that conforms to Annex B, intended
to convey exactly the same structure and semantics as an equivalent conceptual graph.
3.6
denotation
relationship holding between a name or expression and the thing to which it refers
Note 1 to entry: Also used with “of” to mean the thing being named, i.e. the referent of a name or expression.
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3.7
Common Logic dialect
concrete instance of Common Logic syntax that shares (at least some of) the uniform semantics of
Common Logic
Note 1 to entry: A dialect may be textual or graphical or possibly some other form. A dialect, by definition, is also
a conforming language (see 7.1 for further details).
3.8
eXtensible Common Logic Markup Language
XCL
XML-based syntax for Common Logic
3.9
individual
one element of the universe of discourse (3.17) of an interpretation (3.12)
Note 1 to entry: The universe of discourse of an interpretation is the set of all of its individuals.
3.10
internationalized resource identifier
IRI
string of Unicode characters intended for use as an Internet network identifier syntax which can
accommodate a wide variety of international character forms
3.11
inscription
structure of symbols that may be either linear or graphic
3.12
interpretation
formal specification of the meanings of the names in a vocabulary of a Common Logic dialect (3.7) in
terms of a universe of reference (3.18)
Note 1 to entry: A Common Logic interpretation, in turn, determines the semantic values of all complex
expressions of the dialect, in particular, the truth values of its sentences (3.15), statements and texts.
Note 2 to entry: See 6.2 for a more precise description of how an interpretation is defined.
3.13
operator
distinguished syntactic role played by a specified component within a functional term (3.16)
Note 1 to entry: The denotation (3.6) of a functional term in an interpretation (3.12) is determined by the
functional extension of the denotation of the operator together with the denotations of the arguments.
3.14
predicate
distinguished syntactic role played by exactly one component within a simple
sentence (3.15)
Note 1 to entry: The truth value of a simple sentence in an interpretation (3.12) is determined by the relational
extension of the denotation (3.6) of the predicate together with the denotations of the arguments.
3.15
sentence
expression in the syntactic form of a traditional first-order logical formula
EXAMPLE A simple sentence (see 6.1.1.15), Boolean sentence (see 6.1.1.14) or quantification (see 6.1.1.13).
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3.16
term
expression which denotes an individual (3.9), consisting of either a name or,
recursively, a functional term applied to a sequence of arguments, which are themselves terms
Note 1 to entry: Languages for traditional first-order logic specifically exclude predicate (3.14) quantifiers and
the use of the same name in both predicate and argument position in simple sentences (3.15), both of which are
permitted (though not required) in Common Logic. Languages for traditional first-order logic fall within the
category of presupposing CL dialect, with a discourse presupposition of “non-discourse” for all names used as
function operators (3.13) or predicates, and “discourse” for all names used as the arguments of functional terms
or simple sentences or as bindings.
3.17
universe of discourse
domain of discourse
set of all the individuals (3.9) in an interpretation (3.12), i.e. the set over which the quantifiers range
Note 1 to entry: Required to be a subset of the universe of reference (3.18) and may be identical to it.
3.18
universe of reference
set of all the things needed to define the meanings of logical expressions in an interpretation (3.12)
Note 1 to entry: Required to be a superset of the universe of discourse (3.17) and may be identical to it.
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms
4.1 Symbols
fun mapping from UR to functions from UD * to UD
I I I I
I interpretation in the model-theoretic sense
int mapping from names in a vocabulary V to UR ; informally, a means of associating names in V
I I
to referents in UR
I
rel mapping from UR to subsets of UD *
I I I
seq mapping from sequence markers in V to UD *
I I
λ lexicon, which consists of a vocabulary, a set of sequence markers (Smark), and a set of
titles (Ttl)
V vocabulary, which is a set of names
Smark set of sequence markers
Ttl set of titles
UD universe of discourse; a non-empty set of individuals that an interpretation I is “about” and
I
over which the quantifiers are understood to range
UR universe of reference, i.e. the set of all referents of names in an interpretation I
I
X* set of finite sequences of the elements of X, for any set X. Thus, X* = { | x ,…,x ∈ X},
1 n 1 n
for any n ≥ 0. Note that the empty sequence is in X*, for any X.
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4.2 Abbreviated terms
CL Common Logic
DF display form
EBNF Extended Backus-Naur Format (as in ISO/IEC 14977)
FO first-order
KIF Knowledge Interchange Format
OWL Web Ontology Language
RDF Resource Description Framework
RDFS Resource Description Framework Schema
TFOL traditional first-order logic
XML eXtensible Markup Language
5 Requirements and design overview
5.1 Requirements
5.1.1 Common Logic should include full first-order logic with equality
Common Logic abstract syntax and semantics shall provide for the full range of first-order syntactic
forms with their usual meanings. Any traditional first-order syntax will be directly translatable into
Common Logic without loss of information or alteration of meaning.
5.1.2 Common Logic should provide a general-purpose syntax for communicating logical
expressions
a) There should be a single XML syntax for communicating Common Logic content on the Web.
b) Common Logic languages should be able to express various commonly used “syntactic sugarings”
for logical forms or commonly used patterns of logical sentences.
c) The Common Logic abstract syntax should relate to existing conventions; in particular, it should be
capable of rendering any content expressible in RDF, RDFS or OWL.
d) There should be at least one human-readable presentation syntax defined which can be used to
express the entire language.
5.1.3 Common Logic should be easy and natural for use on the Web
a) The XML syntax should be compatible with the published specifications for XML, IRI syntax, XML
Schema, Unicode and other conventions relevant to transmission of information on the Web.
b) IRIs should be usable as names in the language.
c) IRIs should be usable to title texts and label expressions, in order to facilitate Web operations such
as retrieval, importation and cross-reference.
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5.1.4 Common Logic should support open networks
a) Transmission of content between Common Logic-aware agents should not require negotiation
about syntactic roles of symbols or translations between syntactic roles.
b) Any piece of Common Logic text should have the same meaning, and support the same entailments,
everywhere on the network. Every name should have the same logical meaning at every node of the
network.
c) No agent should be able to limit the ability of another agent to refer to anything or to make
assertions about anything.
d) The language should support ways to refer to a local universe of discourse and be able to relate it to
other such universes.
e) Users of Common Logic should be free to invent new names and use them in published Common
Logic content.
5.1.5 Common Logic should not make arbitrary assumptions about semantics
a) Common Logic does not make gratuitous or arbitrary assumptions about logical relationships
between different expressions.
b) If possible, Common Logic agents should express these assumptions in Common Logic directly.
5.2 A family of languages
This subclause describes what is meant by a “family” of languages and gives some of the rationale
behind the development of Common Logic.
Following the convention whereby any language has a grammar, then Common Logic is a family
of languages rather than a single language. Different Common Logic languages, referred to in this
document as dialects, may differ sharply in their surface syntax, but they have a single uniform
semantics and can all be transcribed into the common abstract syntax. Membership in the family is
defined by being inter-translatable with the other dialects while preserving meaning, rather than by
having any particular syntactic form. Several existing logical notations and languages, therefore, can
be considered to be Common Logic dialects.
A Common Logic dialect called CLIF based on KIF (see Annex A) is used in giving examples throughout
[3]
this document. CLIF can be considered an updated and simplified form of KIF 3.0 and hence a
[1]
separate language in its own right. Conceptual graphs are also a well-known form of first-order logic
for machine processing; the CGIF language is specified in Annex B. An exactly conformant XML Dialect,
called XCL, is specified in Annex C, for the purpose of satisfying requirements 5.1.2 a) and 5.1.3 a).
6 Common Logic abstract syntax and semantics
6.1 Common Logic abstract syntax
6.1.1 Abstract syntax categories
6.1.1.1 Terms, sequence markers, sentences, statements and texts are well-formed expressions.
6.1.1.2 A text is a text construction, domain restriction, or importation.
6.1.1.3 A text construction contains a set, list or bag of sentences, statements and/or texts. A Common
Logic text may be a sequence, a set or a bag of sentences, statements and/or texts; dialects may
specify which is intended or leave this undefined. Re-orderings and repetitions of arguments of a text
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construction are semantically irrelevant. However, applications which transmit or re-publish Common
Logic text shall preserve the structure of text constructions, since other applications are allowed to utilize
the structure for other purposes, such as indexing. If a dialect imposes conditions on text constructions,
then these conditions shall be preserved by conforming applications. A text construction may be empty.
6.1.1.4 A domain restriction consists of a term and a text called the body text. The term indicates the
“local” universe of discourse in which the text is understood.
6.1.1.5 An importation contains a title. The intention is that the title provides an identifier to an
external Common Logic text, and that the importation re-asserts that external text in the importing text.
6.1.1.6 An axiom is a statement, sentence or text.
6.1.1.7 A statement is either a discourse statement or a titling.
6.1.1.8 A discourse statement is either an out-of-discourse statement or an in-discourse statement.
6.1.1.9 An out-of-discourse statement contains a sequence of terms.
6.1.1.10 An in-discourse statement contains a sequence of terms.
6.1.1.11 A titling contains a name and a text. The titling assigns a title to a text. Titles are often IRIs,
which identify the text as resource.
6.1.1.12 A sentence is either a quantified sentence or a Boolean sentence or a simple sentence.
6.1.1.13 A quantified sentence has (i) a type, called a quantifier, (ii) a finite, nonrepeating sequence
of interpretable names called the binding sequence, each element of which is called a binding of the
quantified sentence, and (iii) a sentence called the body of the quantified sentence. The abstract syntax
distinguishes the universal and the existential types of quantified sentence. A name which occurs in the
binding sequence is said to be bound in the body. Any name or sequence marker which is not bound in
the body is said to be free in the body.
6.1.1.14 A Boolean sentence has a type, called a connective, and a number of sentences called the
components of the Boolean sentence. The number depends on the particular type. The abstract syntax
distinguishes five types of Boolean sentences: conjunctions and disjunctions, which have any number
of components, implications and biconditionals, which have exactly two components, and negations,
which have exactly one component. The two components of an implication fill different roles; one is the
antecedent and the other is the consequent.
6.1.1.15 A simple sentence is either an equation containing two arguments, which are terms, or is an
atomic sentence, which consists o
...
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