Background
==========

Before diving into ontologies and linked data, it helps to understand the basic ideas that make them work. This section gives a short, hands-on introduction to the core building blocks of semantic technology — the language that lets data from different sources connect and make sense together.

Each section builds on the previous one:

- **Ontology** explains the *ideas* — how to represent knowledge formally.  
- **RDF** explains the *syntax* — how to write those ideas in graph form.  
- **Linked Data** explains the *connections* — how graphs can talk to each other.  
- **EMMO** shows the *application* — how we describe real scientific systems.

By the end of this chapter, you’ll understand how these layers fit together to form the backbone of **interoperable scientific data** — a language that allows humans, databases, and software to speak the same structured truth about the world.

Contents
--------

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2

   ontology/index
   rdf/index
   linked_data/index
   emmo/index