Not going near the multilingual problem yet, I suggest this for an API -


getConcept(URI uri)

getConcept(Literal descriptor, URI thesaurus)

getConcept(Literal externalID, URI thesaurus)

	--> Returns a single 'Concept' datastructure.  The Concept datastructure includes all literal properties, so all labels, external ID and scope notes.


matchConcepts(String regularExpression)

matchConcepts(String regexp, URI thesaurus)

	--> Returns a list of possible concepts, ordered according to likelihood of match


getSupportedSemanticRelations()

getSupportedSemanticRelations(URI thesaurus)

	--> Return a list of supported semantic relations (e.g. broader, narrower, is-a, etc.), each with a unique uri and a description of their meaning.


getConceptRelatives(URI conceptURI, SemanticRelation rel)

getConceptRelatives(Literal descriptor, URI thesaurus, SemanticRelation rel)

getConceptRelatives(Literal externalID, URI thesaurus, SemanticRelation rel)

	--> Returns the concepts which are relatives of concept specified, according to the given semantic relation


getConceptRelatives(URI conceptURI)

getConceptRelatives(Literal descriptor, URI thesaurus)

getConceptRelatives(Literal externalID, URI thesaurus)
 
	--> returns all concepts that are relatives of concept specified