add instance option to Term Search

[graybeal]

Add to the Term Search API an option to also_search_instances.

Not sure if it should or could take hierarchies into consideration. Probably it would have to use the typed class for the instances to search, or maybe any instances in any class hierarchically under that class.

[amoeba]

Hey @graybeal, just wanted to check in to say we could still use this feature. Being able to find instances using the Term Search API, or having a separate instance search, would be useful. An Instances listing on the web side (next to Classes, Properties, etc) would be useful too. I'd be happy to provide more info and/or example ontologies if it'd be useful.

[jonquet]

I also support this feature request. Instances are a key element of ontologies (even if they are not always used). Very often ontologists will use instances for the last level of their hierarchies and by ignoring instances, BioPortal ignores part of the content of these ontologies.

There are several services that would benefit from instances (maybe another ticket more generic about instance handling in BioPortal would be better):

• instance search (as suggested above, but with searching instance by default and with an option to deactivate)
• instances visualisation tab (when on a class in the hierarchy, another tab shall allow to see the instances on the right hand panel)
• annotation with instances with the Annotator (therefore, addition of instances in the Annotator dictionary)
• instance mapping (when Loom executes, it shall also consider instance as it consider classes for lexical match).