SPARQL Graduates to W3C Recommendation

KjetilK writes "The W3C just gave SPARQL the stamp of approval. SPARQL is a query language for the Semantic Web, and differs from other query languages in that is usable across different data sources. There are already 14 implementations of the spec available. Most of them are free software. There are also billions of relations out there that are query-able, thanks to the Linking Open Data project. The structured data of Wikipedia is now query-able at DBpedia. Also, have a look at Ivan Herman's presentations on this topic."

Query

[minginqunt]

A query language for the semantic web...

A what for the what now?

I'd always assumed the semantic web was some meaningless and faded buzzword designed to keep the W3C away from useful stuff. Is it back again with a vengeance?

THE SEMANTIC WEB II: THIS TIME IT'S FOLKSONOMY

Eek.

Oblig.

[Anonymous Coward]

Mr Sparquru! You have very lucky dishes!

Re:Query

[verbalcontract]

I spent a minute trying to find out what this was all about, and came upon this from Tim Berners-Lee:

The Semantic Web isn't just about putting data on the web. It is about making links, so that a person or machine can explore the web of data. With linked data, when you have some of it, you can find other, related, data.

Like the web of hypertext, the web of data is constructed with documents on the web. However, unlike the web of hypertext, where links are relationships anchors in hypertext documents written in HTML, for data they links between arbitrary things described by RDF,. The URIs identify any kind of object or concept. But for HTML or RDF, the same expectations apply to make the web grow:

1. Use URIs as names for things

2. Use HTTP URIs so that people can look up those names.

3. When someone looks up a URI, provide useful information.

4. Include links to other URIs. so that they can discover more things.

Simple.

So, uh, yeah. I'm just as stumped as you are.

SPARQL Motion

[grassy_knoll]

"Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to SPARQL Motion! "

With apologies to Donnie Darko [imdb.com] ...

Re:It is really simple

[smittyoneeach]

Let me (perhaps over-) simplify this for you.
Stupid Question Language (SQL) does great for two dimensional sets of data.
Special Peoples' Advanced Retarded Question language (SPARQL) is meant for return results from tree-shaped lumps of textual data, and lets you use regular expressions to figure out where you are in the tree and match nodes and attributes and stuff.
I think smart money is going to continue to arrange data in sets, and in five years, your SQL knowledge will still be serving you in quite good stead.

SPARQL

[morgan_greywolf]

Am I the only person who looked at that name 'SPARQL' and went 'Is that Sun's new name for MySQL [slashdot.org]?'

Re:It is really simple

[_xeno_]

<http://www.kjetil.kjernsmo.net/foaf#me [kjernsmo.net]>

Good lord, you actually have content there. Sweet Zombie Jesus, it's like if MySpace was irradiated with XML-Rays and mutated into a complete XML-based social network specification [xmlns.com], which requires everyone to write their own specifications and hand-edit XML files.

That's just ... scary.

Re:Query

[fromeroj]

mmmhhh Chocolate Boobies...

Re:Wonderful!

[trouser]

Really? I was wondering how I could use it to get girls.