54 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
# Mapping Specificity Rule: Broad vs Narrow vs Exact Mappings
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## 🚨 CRITICAL: Mapping Semantics
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When mapping LinkML classes to external ontologies, you MUST distinguish between **equivalence**, **hypernyms** (broader concepts), and **hyponyms** (narrower concepts).
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### The Rule
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1. **Exact Mappings (`skos:exactMatch`)**: Use ONLY when the external concept is **semantically equivalent** to your class.
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* *Example*: `hc:Person` `exact_mappings` `schema:Person`.
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2. **Broad Mappings (`skos:broadMatch`)**: Use when the external concept is a **hypernym** (a broader, more general category) of your class.
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* *Example*: `hc:AcademicArchiveRecordSetType` `broad_mappings` `rico:RecordSetType`.
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* *Rationale*: An academic archive record set *is a* record set type, but `rico:RecordSetType` is broader.
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* *Common Hypernyms*: `skos:Concept`, `prov:Entity`, `schema:Thing`, `schema:Organization`, `rico:RecordSetType`.
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3. **Narrow Mappings (`skos:narrowMatch`)**: Use when the external concept is a **hyponym** (a narrower, more specific category) of your class.
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* *Example*: `hc:Organization` `narrow_mappings` `hc:Library` (if mapping inversely).
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### Common Violations to Avoid
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❌ **WRONG**:
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```yaml
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AcademicArchiveRecordSetType:
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exact_mappings:
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- rico:RecordSetType # WRONG: This implies AcademicArchiveRecordSetType == RecordSetType
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```
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✅ **CORRECT**:
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```yaml
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AcademicArchiveRecordSetType:
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broad_mappings:
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- rico:RecordSetType # CORRECT: RecordSetType is broader
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```
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❌ **WRONG**:
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```yaml
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SocialMovement:
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exact_mappings:
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- schema:Organization # WRONG: SocialMovement is a specific TYPE of Organization
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```
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✅ **CORRECT**:
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```yaml
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SocialMovement:
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broad_mappings:
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- schema:Organization # CORRECT
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```
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### Verification Checklist
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- [ ] Does the `exact_mapping` represent the **exact same scope**?
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- [ ] If the external term is a generic parent class (e.g., `Type`, `Concept`, `Entity`), move it to `broad_mappings`.
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- [ ] If the external term is a specific instance or subclass, check `narrow_mappings`.
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