Domain
We can define domain either as an area of knowledge, like an ontology, or as an area of use. To some extent, the definitions are two ways of looking at the same thing.1. Mathematics and Playing Games
Mathematics and games are natural domains for computer systems. Traditional games like chess continue to challenge programmers. Early games also included simulations of government processing like GBltd (Great Britain Limited) for the BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum.2. Automation: Driving Machines
We are building systems to act as the thinking machines for our basic machines. A classic problem for designing systems is the lift problem, where the command application for a building with multiple lifts must move individuals in the optimum way.3. Our Knowledge Base, Our Library
Systems are being used as a repository for knowledge. From an individual point of view, this includes the internet, with blogs and search engines. From an organisation point of view this is the corporate knowledge management software systems and corporate web sites.4. Social Networking and Virtual Worlds
A new kind of social club, language and picture based, mental but not physical. Changes relating to the internet are also driving web development, something that Howard Rheingold has commented on in his recent book "Smartmobs". Social Networking is part of this domain change. The interconnectness of the net means that referrals have become all important.5. Representation of Humans: Avatars
System design is also moving away from the strict mathematical symbolism towards attempting to model on the one hand agents, like avatars in NVEs, and on the other hand to model the 5 senses: sight, touch, hearing, feeling, taste, and the consequent mental reaction from these, including the mental representation of three dimensional space.Artificial intelligence, remains a distant goal, whether through agents, expert systems, symbolic computation or neural networks connectionism. The link between vision and language also is developing.
6. Business Modelling
Supporting complex corporations with structured communication and tasks: the field of business modelling and business process modelling.Data flow diagrams form the backbone of most business process development. Diagrams can be formed out of UML, SDL, SDL2000, ebXML and WS-Choreography. Classification of ontologies is an open issue. SAP remains the business process system of choice for major corporations. Object Oriented development methods with Java provide an object model to emphase code reuse and building blocks.
Theoretical Underpinnings
The frame problem remains for all information systems, including for the definition of hypotheses in the field of research. How can we formulate hypotheses which can be validated or invalidated, when the very concepts with which we frame the problem are shifting?Systems are being used to model individual knowledge systems, often called ontologies, however the interaction of knowledge requirements with knowledge databases depends on relevance algorithms which have still to be developed.