The Concept System Framework
Model, manage, and publish terminology registries with a rich domain model aligned with ISO 10241, 704, 30042, 12620, and 25964
From Concept to Publication
A structured pipeline that takes you from domain modeling to multilingual terminology publication
1. Model
Define your concept system using the rich Glossarist domain model — 24 OWL classes, 32 relationship types, 7 designation types, SHACL validation shapes.
Concept Model →2. Author
Write terminology concepts in human-readable YAML (V2 or V3 schema). ManagedConcept, LocalizedConcept, designations, sources — all in structured YAML.
YAML Schema Ref →3. Process
Read, validate, transform, and export using the Ruby gem or JavaScript SDK. GCR packages, TBX, SKOS, Turtle, JSON-LD output.
JS SDK →orRuby Gem →4. Publish
Deploy as an interactive multilingual concept browser, SKOS thesaurus, or TBX exchange format — ready for standards bodies and domain communities.
See Geolexica →The Glossarist Concept Model
A rich, standards-aligned domain model for structured terminology — the heart of everything Glossarist does
ManagedConcept
The top-level entity. Contains a UUID, lifecycle status, domain references, and maps language codes to LocalizedConcept instances.
statusnotValid · valid · superseded · retiredlocalized_conceptsHash of lang → LocalizedConceptrelated32 typed relationship kindsdomainsSubject area referencesLocalizedConcept
Per-language realization of a concept. Each language gets its own definition, terms, notes, examples, and classification.
designationsTyped term entriesdefinitionDetailedDefinition arraynotes / examplesSupplementary contentlanguage_codeISO 639 3-letter codeDesignations
7 designation types in a MECE hierarchy — expression, abbreviation, symbol, letter_symbol, graphical_symbol, prefix, suffix.
Relationships
32 typed semantic links spanning 4 ISO standards — hierarchical, partitive, associative, equivalence, mapping, spatiotemporal.
Sources
Provenance tracking with authoritative and lineage sources, status tracking (identical, modified, restyled, generalisation).
typeauthoritative · lineagestatusidentical · modified · restyled · +4originCitation referenceOWL Ontology
Formal RDF/OWL vocabulary with SHACL shapes for validation. Aligned with SKOS, SKOS-XL, ISO 25964, PROV-O, Dublin Core.
Structured Data, Any Language
Author in YAML, process with Ruby or JavaScript, export to TBX/SKOS/Turtle/JSON-LD
V3 YAML — Human-Readable Concept Data
Write terminology concepts in structured YAML. Each file contains a ManagedConcept with all its localizations, designations, and relationships.
Schema Reference# concepts/3.1.1.1.yaml termid: "3.1.1.1" termid_uuid: "uuid-..." status: valid eng: terms: - type: expression designation: "entity" normative_status: preferred definition: - content: "A concrete or abstract thing" notes: - "This includes objects and concepts" sources: - type: authoritative origin: "ISO 19107:2003" fra: terms: - type: expression designation: "entité" normative_status: preferred definition: - content: "chose concrète ou abstraite"
glossarist-js — Node.js SDK
Read, write, validate, and manage GCR packages with bidirectional YAML serialization. Stream concepts for memory-efficient processing of large datasets.
JS SDK Docsimport { loadGcr, readConcepts } from 'glossarist'; // Read a GCR package (streaming) const pkg = await loadGcr( fs.readFileSync('geolexica.gcr') ); await pkg.eachConcept((concept) => { console.log(concept.id, concept.primaryDesignation('eng')); }); // Read from directory const concepts = readConcepts('./geolexica-v2/'); // Write GCR package const buf = await createGcr([concept], { shortname: 'my-dataset' });
glossarist-ruby — Ruby Gem
The original Glossarist library. Full CRUD for concept management, multi-format serialization, TBX/SKOS/Turtle export, and GCR package support.
Ruby Gem Docsrequire 'glossarist' # Load a concept collection collection = Glossarist::ManagedConceptCollection.new collection.from_yaml('./concepts/') # Access concepts concept = collection['3.1.1.1'] puts concept.localizations['eng'].definition puts concept.localizations['fra'].designations # Export to multiple formats collection.to_tbx('output.tbx') collection.to_skos('output.ttl') collection.to_jsonld('output.jsonld')
Universal Interchange
Export your concept system to any standard format. Import from existing terminology datasets. Full round-trip support.
TBX-XMLISO 30042 terminology markupSKOS/RDFW3C knowledge organizationTurtleRDF triples, human-readableJSON-LDLinked data in JSONYAMLNative Glossarist formatJSONLStreaming line-delimitedBuilt on International Standards
Every entity in the Glossarist model maps to established terminology and knowledge organization standards
ISO 10241-1Terminology EntriesStructured terminology entries in standardized vocabularies
ISO 704Principles & MethodsConcept systems, definitions, and term formation rules
ISO 30042TBX FormatTerminology markup framework for data exchange
ISO 12620Data Categories34 term type classifications and data category registry
ISO 25964ThesauriHierarchical and mapping relationships for thesaurus interoperability
OWL 2OntologyFormal RDF/OWL vocabulary with class hierarchies
SHACLValidationShape Constraints for data validation and integrity
SKOS/XLKnowledge OrgReified labels and concept schemes for the semantic web
End-to-End Tooling
Libraries and applications for every stage of terminology management
glossarist-ruby v2.8.1
Ruby gem implementing the Glossarist concept model. Read, write, validate, and manage terminology concepts with multi-language YAML serialization, GCR packages, and TBX/SKOS/Turtle export.
glossarist-js v0.2.1
JavaScript SDK for Glossarist GCR packages. Read, write, validate, and manage terminology concepts with bidirectional YAML serialization and cross-reference resolution.
glossarist-desktop v1.6.14
Desktop viewer and editor for concept registries. Manage concepts, propose changes, and review change requests from a native app on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
