David S. Read - Semantic Web

Semantic Web

The concepts behind the semantic web are of a great deal of interest to me. I believe that as the standards, technologies and processes become more formalized and mature that they will lead to a fundamental change in the way that we conceive, create and utilize computer-based solutions.

Conducting a Semantic and NoSQL Workshop at SmartData

A couple of my team members and I will be attending and presenting at this year's SmartData Conference. This conference is a great opportunity to learn and explore the broad offerings that make up the NoSQL ecosystem. Key-value, columnar, document, graph and semantics - it's all in there! This is the largest conference of its kind and you won't want to miss out on the chance to meet with so many different experts and vendors.

The workshop that my team-mates and I will be delivering is entitled Integrating and Analyzing Data Using Semantics and NoSQL. This session will allow participants to work with semantic graph and document stores as platforms to accelerate the creation of analytic data marts. More information is available on the infuzIT News page.

For more information on the SmartData Conference, visit its website: http://smartdataweek.com/

Semantic Workbench

A Java-based Semantic Technology Tool

Leveraging Apache Jena libraries, Semantic Workbench provides a rich UI for working with semantically-based ontologies and data. The tool allows the user to work with ontology files, running different levels of reasoning and then work with those models. The tool includes features for extracting the inferences, viewing the model in a tree view and interacting through SPARQL queries. My goals with the application include making exploration of semantic models easier and to provide a platform for understanding the dynamics of integration libraries such as Jena.

Please visit the Semantic Workbench page for more details. From there you can download an installer or access the source code.

Comments are always welcome, please use my contact page to reach me.

I've also blogged about Semantics on several occasions.

Sparql Droid

A Semantic Technology Application for the Android Platform

Leveraging androjena and ARQoid libraries, I have begun building out a semantic technology exploration tool called Sparql Droid. My goals with the application are to gain experience with semantic technology in general and to specifically pursue a graphical tool for interacting with semantic data sources. The program is free to download and install from the Android Market. If you give it a try please feel free to provide feedback on your experiences with it, including ideas for ways to make it more useful as a semantic data exploration tool.

The current release is version Alpha-4 and allows for reasoning over a small ontology as well as executing SPARQL queries against the local ontology or against external SPARQL endpoints and RDF data. In this latest release I have added the ability to drilldown on a URL that is returned in a resultset, pulling the triples where that URL is the subject.

I've also blogged about SPARQL Droid.

SPARQL Endpoint

As a way to work with creating a SPARQL endpoint, I used Joseki and my own data. You can read about the initial setup of Joseki deployed as a web application within Tomcat in my blog entry. The query form will allow you to explore the data. You can also directly access the SPARQL endpoint with a tool like Sparql Droid.

Example Programs

This is where I will place links to files and programs that might be of interest to others exploring semantic web concepts. They are listed starting with the most recent release.

ARQoid Example: Android program (Updated: December, 2011)

An Android (Java) program demonstrating the use of the ARQoid engine. The link leads to a blog entry that introduces the use of ARQoid and contains a link to the sample code.

Semantic UI: Java Program (Updated: September, 2010 [v 1.2])

A Java program providing a Swing-based GUI for working with semantic models and SPARQL. Utilizes Jena and Pellet.

RdbToRdf: Java Program (August, 2010)

A Java program to export relational data to RDF triples using an OWL reasoner to infer additional information. Utilizes Jena and Pellet (along with JDBC).

DiffInferencing: Java Program (June, 2010)

A Java program to use different reasoning levels with an ontology. Utilizes Jena and Pellet.

Sites

Links to other web sites with useful information regarding semantic web technologies

Tools

Links to semantic web tools (software)

Jena: Java-based Semantic Web Framework
Pellet: Java-based OWL 2 Reasoner
Androjena: An Android-based port of the Jena framework

Videos, Presentations and Articles

Mike Delaney and I have produced a set of Youtube videos focused on When to Consider Semantic Technology for Your Enterprise." A brief blog post describes the videos and the playlist is linked below.

These videos are based on presentations that Mike Delaney and I gave at Semantic Technology and Business Conferences in 2013. The topic is for people who want to understand Semantic Technology in the context of enterprise architectures and application development. We compare the strengths (and weaknesses) of RDBMS, NoSQL, and Graphs (Triple-Stores) and look at the types of problems which truly benefit from the use of this new technology. We also discussed some of the challenges, victories, and lessons learned through a case study of one of our semantic technology projects.

In December, 2012, InformationWeek published my report on Semantic Database Technology. The report is designed to serve as an introduction to semantic technology for information technology professionals. The report introduces semantic technology standards and terminology, describes good use cases for using semantic technology, compares semantic and relational database technologies, reports feedback from early adopters and finally surveys vendors and product in the semantic technology space. A subset of the report was used for the December 3, 2012 issue of InformationWeek.

In June, 2012, I presented at the Semantic Business and Technology Conference. My slides for the presentation, "Mobile Development Meets Semantic Technology" are available on Blue Slate Solution's slideshare page.

Here are the slides from a presentation on Semantic Web Concepts and Java that I did for the CDJDN in September of 2010.

Blog

I will create periodic blog entries describing my exploration of semantic web concepts. These entries can be found by following the link below.

Semantic Blog Entries

FOAF

Friend of a Friend (FOAF) is a well-known ontology for describing people and their relationships. FOAF-based contact information files are beginning to appear on the web. Mine is available as a link at the top of this page as well as my home and contact pages.

I have used one of the RDF Icons released by the W3C to serve as the graphical link to it.