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Contributing

We welcome contributions to this collection of Ontology Design Patterns. Whether you have a new pattern, an improvement to an existing one, or a bug fix, your help is valued.

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository and clone it locally.
  2. Create a new branch for your contribution: git checkout -b my-pattern
  3. Make your changes following the guidelines below.
  4. Push and open a Pull Request against main.

Adding a New Pattern

  1. Copy the template from Patterns/template.md.
  2. Create a folder under Patterns/<OntologyName>/<requirement>/.
  3. Add your pattern file (.ttl preferred) and fill in the template with:
    • Motivation — What modeling problem does this solve?
    • Intent — What is the goal of the pattern?
    • Competency Questions — What questions can be answered using this pattern?
    • Diagram — A visual representation (optional but recommended).
    • Examples — At least one usage example with instance data.
    • References — Links to related ontologies, papers, or standards.
  4. Ensure your .ttl file is valid by parsing it with rdflib or ROBOT: 
    1
    robot report -i your-pattern.ttl --fail-on ERROR

Adding a New Ontology

  1. Place the ontology file (.ttl, .owl, .rdf, or .obo) in the Ontologies/ directory.
  2. The build pipeline will automatically extract entities and generate documentation.
  3. If the ontology has import dependencies, ensure they are resolvable or provide a merged version.

Code Style

  • Turtle files: Use consistent prefix declarations and indentation.
  • Python: Follow PEP 8 conventions for any build script changes.
  • Markdown: Use standard GitHub-flavored Markdown.

CI Checks

Pull requests are automatically checked by CI workflows:

  • Build Test — The MkDocs site builds successfully with your changes.
  • Validation — ROBOT and rdflib verify ontology and pattern files have no errors.

Please ensure all checks pass before requesting a review.

Reporting Issues

Found a bug, broken link, or incorrect pattern? Open an issue with:

  • A clear description of the problem.
  • Steps to reproduce (if applicable).
  • The affected file(s) or URL(s).