Ontology Validator

Goal

Validate that material sample annotations comply with ontology constraints: correct class names, valid properties, consistent domain/range relationships, and required fields present.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+

• No external dependencies (Python standard library only)

• Requires ontology-explorer's cmso_summary.json and ontology_registry.json

Inputs to Gather

Input Description Example

Annotation JSON dict or list of annotation dicts {"class":"UnitCell","properties":{"has Bravais lattice":"cF"}}

Class name Class to check completeness for Crystal Structure

Provided properties Comma-separated property names "has unit cell,has space group"

Relationships JSON array of subject-property-object triples [{"subject_class":"Material","property":"has structure","object_class":"Crystal Structure"}]

Decision Guidance

What do you need to validate? ├── An annotation (classes and properties are correct) │ └── schema_checker.py --ontology cmso --annotation '<json>' ├── Completeness of a class annotation │ └── completeness_checker.py --ontology cmso --class <name> --provided <props> └── Object property relationships └── relationship_checker.py --ontology cmso --relationships '<json>'

Script Outputs (JSON Fields)

Script Key Outputs

scripts/schema_checker.py

results.valid , results.errors , results.warnings , results.class_valid , results.properties_valid

scripts/completeness_checker.py

results.completeness_score , results.required_missing , results.recommended_missing , results.optional_missing , results.unrecognized

scripts/relationship_checker.py

results.valid , results.results , results.errors

Workflow

• After mapping a sample with ontology-mapper, pass the annotations to schema_checker.py to verify correctness.

• For a specific class, use completeness_checker.py to see what required/recommended properties are missing.

• When building relationships between instances, use relationship_checker.py to ensure domain/range consistency.

Conversational Workflow Example

User: I annotated my sample as CrystalStructure with properties hasUnitCell and hasBasis. Is this correct and complete?

Agent: Let me validate your annotation and check completeness.

[Runs: completeness_checker.py --ontology cmso --class "Crystal Structure" --provided "has unit cell,has basis" --json]

Your annotation is partially complete:

• has unit cell: provided (required)
• has basis: not a direct property of Crystal Structure (it belongs to Unit Cell)
• Missing required: has space group

The "has basis" property belongs to the Unit Cell class, not Crystal Structure. You should add "has space group" to Crystal Structure and move "has basis" to the Unit Cell annotation.

CLI Examples

Validate an annotation

python3 skills/ontology/ontology-validator/scripts/schema_checker.py
--ontology cmso
--annotation '{"class":"Unit Cell","properties":{"has Bravais lattice":"cF"}}'
--json

Check completeness

python3 skills/ontology/ontology-validator/scripts/completeness_checker.py
--ontology cmso
--class "Crystal Structure"
--provided "has unit cell,has space group"
--json

Validate relationships

python3 skills/ontology/ontology-validator/scripts/relationship_checker.py
--ontology cmso
--relationships '[{"subject_class":"Computational Sample","property":"has material","object_class":"Material"}]'
--json

Error Handling

Error Cause Resolution

Class 'X' not found

Invalid class name Use ontology-explorer to find correct name

Property 'X' not found

Invalid property name Use property_lookup.py to search

Annotation must be a dict

Wrong input format Provide valid JSON dict

Relationships must be a non-empty list

Wrong input format Provide JSON array of relationship dicts

Interpretation Guidance

• Errors indicate definite problems (unknown class/property, range mismatch)

• Warnings indicate potential issues (domain mismatch — may be intentional for subclasses)

• Completeness score: 0.0-1.0 ratio of provided vs. total tracked properties

• required_missing: must fix for valid annotation

• recommended_missing: should fix for quality

• unrecognized: may indicate typos or properties from a different ontology

Limitations

• Constraints file is manually curated, not derived from OWL axioms

• Does not validate data types (e.g., whether a value is actually a float vs string)

• Does not validate cardinality (e.g., exactly one space group per structure)

• Subclass checking uses simple parent traversal, not full OWL reasoning

References

• Validation Rules — what is validated and why

• CMSO Constraints — required/recommended properties per class

• CMSO Guide — CMSO ontology overview

Version History

Date Version Changes

2026-02-25 1.0 Initial release with CMSO validation support