Foundations for a Generic Ontology for Visualization: A Comprehensive Survey
Journal
Information
Date Issued
2025-10-18
Author(s)
Panov, Panče
DOI
10.3390/info16100915
Abstract
This paper surveys existing ontologies for visualization, which formally define and organize knowledge about visualization concepts, techniques, and tools. Although visualization
is a mature field, the rapid growth of data complexity makes semantically rich frameworks
increasingly essential for building intelligent and automated visualization systems. Current
ontologies remain fragmented, heterogeneous, and inconsistent in terminology and modeling strategies, limiting their coverage and adoption. We present a systematic analysis of
representative ontologies, highlighting shared themes and, most importantly, the gaps that
hinder unification. These gaps provide the foundations for developing a comprehensive,
generic ontology of visualization, aimed at unifying core concepts and supporting reuse
across research and practice.
is a mature field, the rapid growth of data complexity makes semantically rich frameworks
increasingly essential for building intelligent and automated visualization systems. Current
ontologies remain fragmented, heterogeneous, and inconsistent in terminology and modeling strategies, limiting their coverage and adoption. We present a systematic analysis of
representative ontologies, highlighting shared themes and, most importantly, the gaps that
hinder unification. These gaps provide the foundations for developing a comprehensive,
generic ontology of visualization, aimed at unifying core concepts and supporting reuse
across research and practice.