# Ontology ### Definition An ontology is the template for all the actors in your contracts. It defines what [information](/guides/glossary/information.md) should be collected when an instance of that ontology is used in a [case](/guides/glossary/case.md). ### Example A person is a good example for an ontology. Using the word person does not mean a specific individual. It is a generic term, meaning a human being. The ontology of person is therefore a template to describe an individual person. The template could say that every person should have first name, last name and a date of birth. These things that describe an individual person are information of the ontology. An ontology can also have different [roles](/guides/glossary/role.md) which other instances can take. An example for an ontology's role could be mother and father which every individual person has. These roles can be taken by other individuals. So a person called Jim Jones could have a mother called Anna Jones and father called Anthony Jones. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.atfinity.io/guides/glossary/ontology.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.