W3C Opens Data on the Web with SPARQL

Powerful Technology for Querying Distributed and Diverse Data
http://www.w3.org/--(Business Wire)--W3C announced today the publication of SPARQL, the key standard
for opening up data on the Semantic Web. With SPARQL query technology,
pronounced "sparkle," people can focus on what they want to know
rather than on the database technology or data format used behind the
scenes to store the data. Because SPARQL queries express high-level
goals, it is easier to extend them to unanticipated data sources, or
even to port them to new applications.

"Trying to use the Semantic Web without SPARQL is like trying to
use a relational database without SQL," explained Tim Berners-Lee, W3C
Director. "SPARQL makes it possible to query information from
databases and other diverse sources in the wild, across the Web."

There are already 14 known implementations of SPARQL, many of
which are open source.

SPARQL Overcomes Traditional Query Language Limitations of Local
Searches, Single Formats

Many successful query languages exist, including standards such as
SQL and XQuery. These were primarily designed for queries limited to a
single product, format, type of information, or local data store.
Traditionally, it has been necessary to formulate the same high-level
query differently depending on application or the specific arrangement
chosen for the relational database. And when querying multiple data
sources it has been necessary to write logic to merge the results.
These limitations have imposed higher developer costs and created
barriers to incorporating new data sources.

The goal of the Semantic Web is to enable people to share, merge,
and reuse data globally. SPARQL is designed for use at the scale of
the Web, and thus enables queries over distributed data sources,
independent of format. Creating a single query across diverse data
stores is easier than having to create multiple queries; it also costs
less and provides richer results.

Because SPARQL has no tie to a specific database format, it can be
used to take advantage of the tidal wave of Web 2.0 data and mash it
up with other Semantic Web resources. Furthermore, because disparate
data sources may not have the same 'shape' or share the same
properties, SPARQL is designed to query non-uniform data.

SPARQL Turns Data Access into a Web Service

The combination of the SPARQL query language and protocol creates
a Web service in its purest sense; running on top of HTTP or SOAP, it
provides a standard Web service for anything which asks a question.

"SPARQL's focus on querying the data models saves time for
developers; there's no need for a host of little Web services to
retrieve different aspects of the state of a system," explained Lee
Feigenbaum, Chair of the RDF Data Access Working Group. "This allows
the user of the SPARQL endpoint to ask any question -- it is as though
they could design their own interface instead of having to work with a
limited set of fixed services."

The SPARQL specification defines a query language and a protocol
and works with the other core Semantic Web technologies from W3C:
Resource Description Framework (RDF) for representing data; RDF
Schema; Web Ontology Language (OWL) for building vocabularies; and
Gleaning Resource Descriptions from Dialects of Languages (GRDDL), for
automatically extracting Semantic Web data from documents. SPARQL also
makes use of other W3C standards found in Web services
implementations, such as Web Services Description Language (WSDL).

W3C's Data Access Working Group Includes Industry Leaders in
Database Technology, Web Applications

W3C RDF Data Access Working Group produced the three SPARQL
Recommendations issued today: the SPARQL Query Language for RDF, The
SPARQL Protocol for RDF, and the SPARQL Query Results XML Format. The
Working Group includes invited experts and participants from
Agfa-Gevaert N. V.; Asemantics S.R.L.; Clark & Parsia LLC; Cleveland
Clinic; Eindhoven University of Technology; Free University of
Bozen-Bolzano; Garlik; HP; IBM Corporation; Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI); Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (NTT);
OpenLink Software; Oracle; and Profium, Ltd. The SPARQL Testimonials
page contains statements of support and commitments to implement the
new Recommendations.

W3C continues to enhance the relationship between the Semantic Web
and traditional databases; see the report from the W3C Workshop on RDF
Access to Relational Databases from October 2007.

About the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium
where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work
together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission
through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to
ensure long-term growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are
Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA,
the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics
(ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan,and has
additional Offices worldwide. For more information see
http://www.w3.org/.

Americas, Australia
Ian Jacobs, +1-718-260-9447
or +1-617-253-2613
IJ@w3.org
or
Europe, Africa and the Middle East
Marie-Claire Forgue, +33.492.38.75.94
mcf@w3.org
or
Asia
Yasuyuki Hirakawa, +81.466.49.1170
chibao@w3.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008