Formal Versus Nonformal
In information science an ontology is formal if it is specified in a formal language, otherwise it is informal.
In philosophy, a separate distinction between formal and nonformal ontologies exists, which does not relate to the use of a formal language.
Read more about this topic: Formal Ontology
Famous quotes containing the word formal:
“The spiritual kinship between Lincoln and Whitman was founded upon their Americanism, their essential Westernism. Whitman had grown up without much formal education; Lincoln had scarcely any education. One had become the notable poet of the day; one the orator of the Gettsyburg Address. It was inevitable that Whitman as a poet should turn with a feeling of kinship to Lincoln, and even without any association or contact feel that Lincoln was his.”
—Edgar Lee Masters (1869–1950)