Semantic Standards and Interoperability
Keep the meaning when a model crosses a boundary: identity, context, mapping limits and evidence matter as much as the format.
A foundation, with explicit differences
Transitrix uses plain-text models under Git. ArchiMate 3.2 is a starting foundation, alongside BPMN for process modelling. Transitrix also makes deliberate choices about identity, time, stakeholder interests and evidence. Better model representation takes precedence over strict fidelity.
A matching name does not guarantee a matching meaning. The maintained ArchiMate differences register records the source, rationale, status, direction and information loss for each comparison. A partial mapping stays partial; a lossy mapping names what it cannot preserve.
One authoritative profile
The Transitrix Semantic Standards Profile defines obligations for explicitly declared scopes: authoring and interpretation, an optional semantic interchange contract, and a tool's claim of support. It preserves Git/YAML authoring and does not require every model to become RDF.
Within a claimed scope, MUST means required, SHOULD means a recommendation whose departure needs a reason and evidence, and MAY means optional. A declaration names its profile version, subject, source revision, supported subset and exceptions. The profile and register in Methodology are authoritative; this page is an introduction.
- RDF 1.1, Turtle and JSON-LD 1.1: requirements for a selected interchange target, with explicit graph context, supported fields and losses. A serialization is not a complete mapping contract.
- SKOS and OWL 2: distinct ways to describe retrieval concepts and formal classes. An ontology or inference regime is an optional, separately justified choice.
- SHACL 1.0 and SPARQL 1.1: explicit constraints and questions for a declared dataset. Shape validation, inference and approval are separate.
- PROV-O, Dublin Core Terms and DCAT 3: possible evidence and metadata mappings for actual resources and datasets. A catalogue entry alone does not establish a service or dataset publication.
ISO terminology and architecture standards inform the reviewed correspondence. Where full requirements were unavailable, clause-level conformance remains unevaluated. No upper ontology or external metadata-registry profile is adopted merely by citing it.
A concept, a class and an instance
A taxonomy concept such as payment processing helps readers find related things. An ontology class such as Application describes a formally interpreted category. A particular Payments application is an instance. They can be connected without becoming the same resource.
Identifiers preserve catalogue and local scope. Two organisations can both use the same local application ID without referring to the same application. A persistent resource IRI should survive a repository move; a snapshot and a vocabulary version identify descriptions, not replacement identities.
The worked profile example shows separate identifiers, a deliberately non-equivalent vocabulary mapping and source-backed provenance. Its fictional namespaces are illustrative, not a deployed Transitrix vocabulary.
Evidence is not approval
“Declared”, “observed”, “inferred” and “AI-proposed” describe different origins. A useful evidence record identifies the source and version, responsible agent and time, or keeps missing information explicitly unknown. Approval does not change how the assertion originated; a matching digest does not prove that a document was generated from particular inputs.
A query also needs a known dataset, date and inference regime. An unavailable or incomplete dataset is unknown, not a successful answer with zero results. A shape pass checks its declared constraints; it cannot by itself admit a fact or certify a model.
Requirements and implemented support
Current Transitrix specifications and validators have their own documented scopes. The semantic profile is a documentation contract, not a bundled RDF exporter, OWL reasoner, SHACL engine or SPARQL endpoint. The standards review supplies evidence and illustrative checks; proposed mappings do not establish released tool capabilities.
An integration must name its implemented subset, versions, test evidence and unsupported cases before claiming support. Changed identities, relation meanings or required fields also need compatibility and migration evidence. Conceptual alignment, tested interoperability, formal conformance and certification are different claims.
For the source formats and tools you can use today, see the model examples, installation options and ArchiMate reference sheet.