OPEN

Presentation DATA
metadata SUPPORT

Open Data Support is Training Module 1.3

funded by the European
Commission under SMART
2012/0107 ‘Lot 2: Provision of

Introduction to RDF &

services for the Publication,
Access and Reuse of Open
Public Data across the
European Union, through
existing open data
SPARQL
portals’(Contract No. 30-CE-
0530965/00-17).

© 2014 European Commission

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 1

Learning objectives

By the end of this training module you should have an understanding of:
• The Resource Description Framework (RDF).
• How to write/read RDF.
• How you can describe your data with RDF.
• What SPARQL is.
• The different types of SPARQL queries.
• How to write a SPARQL query.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 2

Content

This module contains ...

• An introduction to the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for
describing your data.
- What is RDF?
- How is it structured?
- How to represent your data in RDF.
• An introduction to SPARQL on how you can query and manipulate
data in RDF.
• Pointers to further reading, examples and exercises.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 3

Resource
Description
Framework
An introduction on RDF.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 4

RDF in the stack of Semantic Web technologies

• RDF stands for:

- Resource: Everything that can
have a unique identifier (URI), e.g.
pages, places, people, dogs,
products...
- Description: attributes, features,
and relations of the resources
- Framework: model, languages and
syntaxes for these descriptions
• RDF was published as a W3C
recommendation in 1999.
• RDF was originally introduced as a
data model for metadata.
• RDF was generalised to cover
knowledge of all kinds.
See also:
http://www.w3.org/RDF/

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 5

Example: RDF description of an organisation

Nike, Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem

<rdf:RDF
xmlns:rov=“http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/ “
xmlns:org=“http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-org/”
xmlns:locn=“http://www.w3.org/ns/locn#” >

<rov:RegisteredOrganization rdf:about=“http://example.com/org/2172798119”>
<rov:legalName> “Nike”< /rov:legalName>
<org:hasRegisteredSite rdf:resource=“http://example.com/site/1234”/>
</rov:RegisteredOrganization>

<locn:Address rdf:about=“http://example.com/site/1234”/>
<locn:fullAddress>” Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem”</locn:fullAddress>
</locn:Address>

</rdf:RDF>

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 6

RDF structure
Triples, graphs and syntax.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 7

What is a triple?

RDF is a general syntax for representing data on the Web.

Every piece of information expressed in RDF is represented as a triple:

• Subject – a resource, which may be identified with a URI.
• Predicate – a URI-identified reused specification of the relationship.
• Object – a resource or literal to which the subject is related.

Example: name of a legal entity:

http://example.com/org/2172798119 has as legal name “Nikè”.

Subject Predicate Object

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 8

RDF is graph based

Dahliastraat 24
Graph = 2160 Wommelgem

A collection of triples full address

http://example.co
m/site/1234

has registered site

http://example.com/
org/2172798119

has legal name

Nikè

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 9

RDF Syntax
RDF/XML
<rdf:RDF

xmlns:rov=“http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/ “
xmlns:org=“http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-org/” Definition of prefixes
xmlns:locn=“http://www.w3.org/ns/locn#” >

<rov:RegisteredOrganization rdf:about=“http://example.com/org/2172798119”>

Graph
<rov:legalName> “Niké”< /rov:legalName>
<org:hasRegisteredSite rdf:resource=“http://example.com/site/1234”/>
</rov:RegisteredOrganization>

<locn:Address rdf:about=“http://example.com/site/1234”/>
<locn:fullAddress>” Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem”</locn:fullAddress>
</locn:Address>
Description of data – triples
</rdf:RDF>
Subject RDF/XML is currently the only syntax that is
standardised by W3C.
Predicate

Object

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 10

RDF Syntax
Turtle

@prefix rov: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/> . Definition of prefixes

@prefix org: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-org/> .
@prefix locn: <http://www.w3.org/ns/locn#> .

< http://example.com/org/2172798119 >

Graph
a <rov:RegisteredOrganization> ;
rov:legalName “Niké “;
org:hasRegisteredSite <http://example.com/site/1234> .

<http://example.com/site/1234>
a <locn:Address> ;
Description of data – triples
locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Subject Turtle will be

standardised in RDF 1.1.
Predicate

Object
See also:
http://www.w3.org/2009/12/rdf-ws/papers/ws11
OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 11
RDF Syntax
RDFa

<html>
embedding RDF data in HTML
<head> ... </head>
<body>
...
<div resource=“http://example.com/org/2172798119”
typeof= “http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/RegisteredOrganization”>
<p>
<span property=" http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/legalName">Nike<span>
Address: <span property="http://www.w3.org/ns/locn#fullAddress"> Dahliastraat
24, 2160 Wommelgem </span>
</p></div>
</body>

Subject

Predicate

Object
See also:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/NOTE-rdfa-primer-20120607/

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 12

How to represent
data in RDF
Classes, properties and vocabularies

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 13

RDF Vocabulary

“A vocabulary is a data model comprising classes, properties and

relationships which can be used for describing your data and
metadata.”

• RDF Vocabularies are sets of terms used to describe things.

• A term is either a class or a property.
 Object type properties (relationships)
 Data type properties (attributes)

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 14

What are classes, relationships and properties?

• Class. A construct that represents things in the real and/or

information world, e.g. a person, an organisation, a concepts such as
“health” or “freedom”.
• Relationship. A link between two classes; for the link between a
document and the organisation that published it (i.e. organisation
publishes document), or the link between a map and the geographic
region it depicts (i.e. map depicts geographic region). In RDF
relationships are encoded as object type properties.
• Property. A characteristic of a class in a particular dimension such as
the legal name of an organisation or the date and time that an
observation was made.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 15

 Examples of classes, relationships and properties
Class

RegisteredOrganisation Address

a Relationship a

site
http://.../org/217279 http://example.com/site
8119 /1234
Property

legalName fullAddress

Dahliastraat 24, 2160

“Nikè” Wommelgem

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 16

Reusing RDF vocabularies

• Reuse greatly aids interoperability of your data.

Use of dcterms:created, for example, the value for which should be a data typed date
such as 2013-02-21^^xsd:date, is immediately processable by many machines. If your
schema encourages data publishers to use a different term and date format, such as
ex:date "21 February 2013" – data published using your schema will require further
processing to make it the same as everyone else's.

• Reuse adds credibility to your schema.

It shows it has been published with care and professionalism, again, this promotes its
reuse.

• Reuse is easier and cheaper.

Reusing classes and properties from well defined and properly hosted vocabularies
avoids your having to replicate that effort.

See also:
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/semic/document/cookbook-
translating-data-models-rdf-schemas
http://www.slideshare.net/OpenDataSupport/model-your-data-metadata

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 17

Where can I find existing vocabularies?

http://joinup.ec.europa.eu/

http://lov.okfn.org/
Refine the search results via the
faceted search filters.
2 3

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 18

 See also:
http://www.w3.org/wiki/TaskForces/CommunityProj
ects/LinkingOpenData/CommonVocabularies
Well-known vocabularies
Friend-of-a-Friend (FOAF) Vocabulary for describing people

Vocabulary to describe the fundamental characteristics of

Core Person Vocabulary
a person, e.g. the name, the gender, the date of birth...

DOAP Vocabulary for describing projects

Vocabulary based on the Data Catalogue vocabulary

DCAT-AP
(DCAT) for describing public sector datasets in Europe.

ADMS Vocabulary for describing interoperability assets.

Dublin Core Defines general metadata attributes

Vocabulary for describing organizations, typically in a

Registered Organisation Vocabulary
national or regional register

Organization Ontology for describing the structure of organizations

Vocabulary capturing the fundamental characteristics of a

Core Location Vocabulary
location.
Vocabulary capturing the fundamental characteristics of a
Core Public Service Vocabulary
service offered by public administration
Agreed vocabularies for publishing structured data on the
schema.org
Web elaborated by Google, Yahoo and Microsoft
OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 19
Model your own vocabulary as an RDF Schema

If there is no suitable authoritative reusable vocabulary for describing

your data, use conventions for describing your own vocabulary:
- RDF Schema (RDFS)
- Web Ontology Language (OWL)

Example: definition of a class :

cpsv:PublicService a rdfs:Class, owl:Class;
rdfs:label "Public Service"@en;
rdfs:comment "This class represents the service itself. As noted in
the scope, a public service is the capacity to carry out a procedure
and exists whether it is used or not. It is a set of deeds and
acts performed by or on behalf of a public agency for the benefit of a
citizen, a business or another public agency."@en.

See also:
http://www.slideshare.net/OpenDataSupport/model-your-
data-metadata
OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 20
Introduction to
SPARQL
The RDF Query Language

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 21

About SPARQL

SPARQL is the standard language to query graph data represented as

RDF triples.

• SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language

• One of the three core standards of the Semantic Web, along with
RDF and OWL.
• Became a W3C standard January 2008.
• SPARQL 1.1 now in Working Draft status.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 22

Types of SPARQL queries

• SELECT
Return a table of all X, Y, etc. satisfying the following conditions ...
• CONSTRUCT
Find all X, Y, etc. satisfying the following conditions ... and substitute
them into the following template in order to generate (possibly new)
RDF statements, creating a new graph.
• DESCRIBE
Find all statements in the dataset that provide information about the
following resource(s) ... (identified by name or description)
• ASK
Are there any X, Y, etc. satisfying the following conditions ...

See also:
http://www.euclid-project.eu/modules/chapter2

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 23

 Structure of a SPARQL Query

PREFIX rov: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/> Definition

of prefixes
Type of SELECT ?name Variables, i.e. what to search for
query
WHERE
RDF triple patterns,
{ ?x rov:legalName ?name }
i.e. the conditions
that have to be met

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 24

SELECT – return the name of an organisation with
particular URI
Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

Comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem .

Query
PREFIX comp: < http://example/org/org/>
PREFIX org: < http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/ >
PREFIX site: <http://example.org/site/>
PREFIX rov: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/>

SELECT ?name

WHERE
{ ?x org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .
?x rov:haslegalName ?name .}

Result
name

“Niké”

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 25

SELECT - return the name and address of organisations

Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

Comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX org: < http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/ >
PREFIX locn:< http://www.w3.org/ns/locn#>
PREFIC rov:<http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/>

SELECT ?name ?address

WHERE
{ ?x org:hasRegisteredSite ?site.
?x rov:haslegalName ?name .
?site locn:fullAddress ?address . }

Result
name address
“Niké” “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem”

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 26

SELECT - Return all books under a certain price (1/2)

Sample data
@prefix dc: <http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/> .
@prefix : <http://example.org/book/> .
@prefix ns: <http://example.org/ns#> .

:book1 dc:title "SPARQL Tutorial" .

:book1 ns:price 42 .
:book2 dc:title "The Semantic Web" .
:book2 ns:price 23 .

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 27

SELECT – Return all books under a certain price (2/2)

Query
PREFIX dc: <http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/> .
PREFIX : <http://example.org/book/> .
PREFIX ns: <http://example.org/ns#> .

SELECT ?book ?title

WHERE
{ ?book dc:title ?title .
?book ns:price ?price . FILTER ( ?price < 40 )
}

Result
book title
:book2 “The Semantic Web”

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 28

CONSTRUCT – Create a new graph with another label for
name
Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX comp: < http://example/org/org/>
PREFIX org: < http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/ >
PREFIC rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-schema/>

CONSTRUCT {?comp rdfs:label ?name}

WHERE
{ ?comp org:haslegalName ?name. }

Resulting graph
@prefix comp: <http://example/org/> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-schema/>

comp:a rdfs:label “Niké" .

comp:b rdfs:label “BARCO" .

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 29

DESCRIBE – Return all triples of organisations registered
at a particular site
Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX comp: <http://example/org/>
PREFIX site: <http://example/site>
PREFIX org: < http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/

DESCRIBE ?organisation

WHERE
{?organisation org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234}

Result
@prefix comp: <http://example/org/> .
@prefix org: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/> .

comp:A has:legalName “Niké” .

comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 30

DESCRIBE – Return all triples associated to a particular
resource (organisation)
Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX comp: <http://example/org/>

DESCRIBE comp:A

Result
@prefix comp: <http://example/org/> .
@prefix org: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/> .

comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .

comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 31

ASK – Are there any organisations having “1234” as their
registered site?
Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX org: < http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/

ASK

WHERE
{?organisation org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234}

Result
TRUE

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 32

ASK – Is there a registered site for organisation “BARCO”?

Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX comp: <http://example/org/>
PREFIX org: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/>

ASK

WHERE
{comp:B org:hasRegisteredSite ?site .}
Result
FALSE

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 33

SPARQL Update

Can be used for...

• Adding data (INSERT)
• Deleting data (DELETE)
• Loading RDF Graph (LOAD / LOAD .. INTO)
• Clearing an RDF Graph (CLEAR GRAPH)
• Creating RDF Graphs (CREATE GRAPH)
• Removing RDF Graphs (DROP GRAPH)
• Copying RDF Graphs (COPY GRAPH ... TO GRAPH)
• Moving RDF Graphs (MOVE GRAPH ... TO GRAPH)
• Adding RDF Graphs (ADD GRAPH TO GRAPH)

See also:
http://www.euclid-project.eu/modules/chapter2
http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-update/
OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 34
INSERT – Add a registered site for “BARCO”?
Sample data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX comp: <http://example/org/>
PREFIX org: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/>

INSERT DATA
{
site:5678 locn:fullAddress “President Kennedypark 35, 8500 Kortrijk“ .
comp:B org:hasRegisteredSite site:5678 .
}

Result
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

comp:B org:hasRegisteredSite site:5678 .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

site:5678 locn:fullAddress “President Kennedypark 35, 8500 Kortrijk“ . Slide 35
OPEN DATASUPPORT
INSERT/DELETE – Change the address for “Niké”?
Data
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .

comp:B rov:haslegalName “BARCO” .

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

Query
PREFIX comp: <http://example/org/>
PREFIX org: <http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-regorg/>

DELETE DATA
{
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1234 .
}

INSERT DATA
{
site:5678 locn:fullAddress “Rue de Loi 34, 1000 Bruxelles“ .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:5678 .
}

Result
comp:A rov:haslegalName “Niké” .
comp:A org:hasRegisteredSite site:1000.

site:1234 locn:fullAddress “Dahliastraat 24, 2160 Wommelgem” .

site:1000 locn:fullAddress “Rue de Loi 34, 1000 Bruxelles“ . OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 36
Summary

• RDF is a general way to express data intended for publishing on the

Web.
• RDF data is expressed in triples: subject, predicate, object.
• Different syntaxes exist for expressing data in RDF.
• SPARQL is a standardised language to query graph data expressed
as RDF.
• SPARQL can be used to query and update RDF data.

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 37

Thank you!
...and now YOUR questions?

Take the online test here!

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 38

This presentation has been created by Open Data Support
Disclaimers
1. The views expressed in this presentation are purely those of the authors and may not, in any
circumstances, be interpreted as stating an official position of the European Commission.
The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the information included in this
presentation, nor does it accept any responsibility for any use thereof.
Reference herein to any specific products, specifications, process, or service by trade name,
trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation, or favouring by the European Commission.
All care has been taken by the author to ensure that s/he has obtained, where necessary,
permission to use any parts of manuscripts including illustrations, maps, and graphs, on which
intellectual property rights already exist from the titular holder(s) of such rights or from her/his
or their legal representative.

2. This presentation has been carefully compiled by PwC, but no representation is made or
warranty given (either express or implied) as to the completeness or accuracy of the information it
contains. PwC is not liable for the information in this presentation or any decision or consequence
based on the use of it. PwC will not be liable for any damages arising from the use of the
information contained in this presentation. The information contained in this presentation is of a
general nature and is solely for guidance on matters of general interest. This presentation is not a
substitute for professional advice on any particular matter. No reader should act on the basis of
any matter contained in this publication without considering appropriate professional advice.

Authors:
Michiel De Keyzer, Nikolaos Loutas, Christophe Colas and Stijn Goedertier

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 39

References

Slide 6: Slide 35:

• Semantic Web Stack. W3C. http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/diagrams/sweb- • Module 2: Querying Linked Data. EUCLID. http://www.euclid-
stack/2006a.png project.eu/modules/course2

Slides 18& 20: • SPARQL 1.1 Update. W3C.. http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-update/

• Linked Data Cookbook. W3C.

http://www.w3.org/2011/gld/wiki/Linked_Data_Cookbook

Slide 21:

• Cookbook for translating data models to RDF schemas. ISA Programme.

https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/semic/document/cookbook-translating-
data-models-rdf-schemas

Slide 22:

• Common Vocabularies / Ontologies / Micromodels. W3C.

http://www.w3.org/wiki/TaskForces/CommunityProjects/LinkingOpenData/Commo
nVocabularies

Slide 23-24:

• SPARQL Query Language for RDF. W3C. http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-sparql-query/

Slide 24:

• Module 2: Querying Linked Data. EUCLID. http://www.euclid-

project.eu/modules/course2

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 40

Further reading

Learning SPARQL. Bob DuCharme.

http://www.learningsparql.com/

Semantic Web for the working ontologist. Dean Allemang, Jim

Hendler.
http://workingontologist.org/

EUCLID - Course 2: Querying Linked Data

http://www.euclid-project.eu/modules/course2

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 41

Related projects and initiatives

Joinup, https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/

Linked Open Vocabularies, http://okfn.org/

W3C GLD WG, http://www.w3.org/2011/gld/wiki/Main_Page

W3C Schools – Learn RDF
http://www.w3schools.com/rdf/default.asp

EUCLID, http://euclid-project.eu/

TopBraid Composer

Protégé Ontology Editor , http://protege.stanford.edu/

XML Summer School http://xmlsummerschool.com/

OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 42

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OPEN DATASUPPORT Slide 43