ProductsSemanticWorksRDF & RDFS Editing

Altova SemanticWorks® 2008 provides powerful support for designing and editing RDF and RDFS documents to implement Semantic Web applications in an intuitive, visual manner.

RDF (Resource Description Framework) is an XML-based standard for describing resources that exist on the Web, intranets, and extranets. RDF builds on existing XML and URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) technologies, using a URI to identify every resource, and using URIs to make statements about resources. RDF statements describe a resource, the resource’s properties, and the values of those properties and are often referred to as “triples.” RDF triples consist of a subject, predicate, and object, which correspond to a resource (subject), property (predicate), and property value (object).

While RDF provides the model and syntax for describing resources, it by itself does not define the meaning of those resources. That’s where other technologies such as RDFS come in.

RDFS (RDF Schema) defines vocabularies of RDF resources within a particular domain. For example, separate RDFS vocabularies could be created to describe anything from books to Internet standards to types of ice cream and beyond. RDFS defines the allowable properties that can be used by RDF instances in a given domain and specifies the classes that each resource belongs to.

Used together, RDF and RDFS are read by machines, which can then make logical deductions and actions based on the relationships between resources.

RDF also forms the basis of OWL (Web Ontology Language), a specification for creating Semantic Web ontologies.

For more information about the Semantic Web and its related technologies, check out “What is the Semantic Web? ”

Altova SemanticWorks® 2008 allows you to experiment with and learn RDF by creating documents in a visual manner, checking the syntax against the RDF specification, then viewing and saving the corresponding code in either RDF/XML or N-Triples format.

You can start a new RDF document from scratch, or experiment with one of the example files included with SemanticWorks® 2008.

SemanticWorks lists all the resources in your RDF document on the Resources tab in the RDF/OWL view. Creating a new RDF resource is as easy as clicking the insert resource button on the Resources tab, then defining the name for your resource.

Selecting any of the resources presents you with an RDF graph that displays the associated details, allowing you to view and edit the URI and/or predicate and value for each resource. The graphical display is highly configurable, and you can adjust the width of the items in the graph, display it with a vertical or horizontal orientation, adjust the distances between parent and child nodes, and even change the font styles and colors used.

Context sensitive entry helpers and an intelligent right-click menu help you change or add details to the RDF resource quickly and easily. The entry helpers and menus offer only the choices permitted based on the RDF specification, so you can be sure to create valid documents every time.

SemanticWorks also allows you to check the syntax of your RDF document. Any conflicts are listed in the errors window with links so you can find and repair them quickly and easily.

As you’re working, you can click over to the editable text view to see how your document is being built in RDF/XML or N-triples, and you can export your document to either format at any time. The text view includes syntax coloring, source folding, and line numbers for easy file navigation.

SemanticWorks® 2008 also provides powerful features for working with RDF in RDFS vocabularies (below) and OWL ontologies.

RDFS vocabularies define the allowable properties (predicates) for RDF instances within a particular domain. RDFS also allows you to define classes to further classify the relationships between resources. SemanticWorks displays the instances, properties, and classes in an RDFS vocabulary on separate tabs, allowing you to view and edit these different items with ease.

The Instance tab lists all resources in the document, and the Properties tab lists all the properties. When a property is selected in the main pane, the domain of that property is displayed in another window. The Class tab lists all the classes available in the vocabulary with a separate window that lists the instances and properties of the selected class as they appear throughout the RDFS.

You can view and edit the details of any item listed by clicking its expand button. SemanticWorks displays resources graphically according to their associations with other resources.

The SemanticWorks display is highly configurable. You can adjust the width of the items in the graph, display it with a vertical or horizontal orientation, adjust the distances between parent and child nodes, and even change the font styles and colors used.

To help you immediately visualize class relationships, RDFS classes are enclosed in yellow boxes in the graphical display. Holding your mouse over any item or icon display reveals its meaning or corresponding URI. The same entry helpers and context-sensitive choices described in the RDF editing section above are available for RDFS editing, and syntax checking based on the RDFS specification ensure that your document is valid.

As you’re creating your visual RDFS design, SemanticWorks® 2008 is auto-generating the corresponding RDF/XML or N-Triples code behind the scenes, and you can view and edit it at any time by clicking the Text tab.

In addition to support for RDF and RDFS development, SemanticWorks® 2008 provides powerful support for visual OWL editing.

Start working with the Semantic Web today. Download a free 30-day trial to see how easy visual RDF and RDFS editing can be with SemanticWorks® 2008.