The semantic spectrum, sometimes referred to as the ontology spectrum, the smart data continuum, or semantic precision, is in linguistics, a series of increasingly precise or rather semantically expressive definitions for data elements in knowledge representations, especially for machine use.

At the low end of the spectrum is a simple binding of a single word or phrase and its definition. At the high end is a full ontology that specifies relationships between data elements using precise URIs for relationships and properties.

With increased specificity comes increased precision and the ability to use tools to automatically integrate systems, but also increased cost to build and maintain a metadata registry.

Some steps in the semantic spectrum include the following:

The following is a list of questions that may arise in determining semantic precision.

Many organizations today are building a metadata registry to store their data definitions and to perform metadata publishing. The question of where they are on the semantic spectrum frequently arises. To determine where your systems are, some of the following questions are frequently useful.

Today, much of the World Wide Web is stored as Hypertext Markup Language. Search engines are severely hampered by their inability to understand the meaning of published web pages. These limitations have led to the advent of the Semantic web movement.

In the past, many organizations that created custom database application used isolated teams of developers that did not formally publish their data definitions. These teams frequently used internal data definitions that were incompatible with other computer systems. This made Enterprise Application Integration and Data warehousing extremely difficult and costly. Many organizations today require that teams consult a centralized data registry before new applications are created.