OWL is an acronym for Web Ontology Language, a markup language for publishing and sharing data using Ontology (computer science) on the Internet. OWL is a vocabulary extension of RDF (the Resource Description Framework) and is derived from the DAML+OIL Web Ontology Language. Together with Resource Description Framework and other components, these tools make up the semantic web project.

OWL currently has three flavors: OWL Lite, OWL DL, and OWL Full. These flavors incorporate different features, and in general it is easier to reason about OWL Lite than OWL DL and OWL DL than OWL Full. OWL Lite is constructed in such a way that every statement can be decided in finite time, the higher OWL versions can contain endless loops .

OWL DL is based on the description logic mathcal{SHOIN} (D). Its subset OWL Lite is based on the less expressive logic mathcal{SHIF} (D).

= About the acronym =

Some may claim that the correct acronym for Web Ontology Language should be WOL instead of OWL . Others believe that the order was chosen in honor of the character Owl (Winnie the Pooh) from Winnie the Pooh, who wrote his name WOL instead of OWL. In truth, OWL was [http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-webont-wg/2001Dec/0169.html proposed] as acronym that would be easily pronounced, yield good logos, suggest wisdom and honor Bill Martin s One World Language KR project from the 1970s. And, quoting Guus Schreiber: Why not be inconsistent in at least one aspect of a language which is all about consistency

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