Abstract

Relational databases are one of the most used data sources. However, as a storage source, they present a group of shortcomings. It is complex to store semantic knowledge in relational databases. To solve the deficiencies in knowledge representation of relational databases, one trend has been to use ontologies. Ontologies possess a richer semantic and are closer to the end user vocabulary than relational database schemas. The objective of the present research was to carry out a systematic mapping about the scenarios where relational databases and ontologies are linked to provide a better integration, query, and visualization of stored data. The mapping was carried out by applying a methodological proposal established in the literature. As outcomes of the research, it was detected that the mapping of relational databases to ontologies and the ontologies usage for the integration of heterogeneous data sources were the most common scenarios. Likewise, trends and challenges were identified in each scenario, which might deserve further research efforts in the future.