Next Generation RDF and SPARQL

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Advancements and Future Directions

RDF 1.2 and SPARQL 1.2


Date: June 10, Berlin 16:00 / London 15:00 / New York 10:00am

Location: Online Zoom

Registration Count: 109 (2025/06/10)




The W3C working group is tasked with devel8oping the next-generation RDF and SPARQL recommendations. With significant progress already made, the latest developments will be shared directly by the group’s participants.

The Lotico community is excited to host a presentation on the future of RDF. We'll begin by exploring the new reification scheme in RDF 1.2, which introduces triples as a new object type, alongside IRIs, blank nodes, and literals. This enhancement improves the reification mechanism, enabling "linking to links."

We will also discuss how these advancements enable the annotation of asserted triples, allowing the addition of “marginalia” for fact provenance and context through "reifiers." Both Turtle and SPARQL will support this new syntax, and JSON-LD 1.2 is expected to follow suit. Summary Additionally, we will examine how reifiers interact with named graphs and review the introduction of an optional text direction for language literals. In the RDF 1.2 Semantics draft, triples are used to represent propositions—core units of meaning in propositional logic.

Speakers:

Niklas Lindström is the Co-Chair of the DCMI Usage Board and has a background in consulting for web and data technologies. He was part of the W3C RDFa 1.1 working group and co-authored JSON-LD 1.0. Currently a systems developer at the National Library of Sweden, Niklas specializes in linked data structures, semantics, protocols, and interoperability. The Usage Board oversees the maintenance of all DCMI vocabularies, including DCMI Metadata Terms and ISO 15836. Niklas is also an editor of the W3C RDF 1.2 Primer Working Group Note

Slides: https://niklasl.github.io/rdf-docs/presentations/RDF12-Lotico-2026-06/

Andy Seaborne champions open software development and serves as Vice President at Apache Software Foundation, representing W3C Relations. He is the chair and a contributor to the Apache Jena project, a free and open-source Java framework for building Semantic Web and Linked Data applications. Andy also serves as an editor for the W3C RDF 1.2 Concepts and Abstract Syntax Candidate Recommendation.

Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1swA_ivRPWnwGfMI-Y5uVcoZ0ttsPg1i0/view

References included:


Event Categorization

Session-Type: Core Standards - W3C
Session-Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Session-Language: English

Event Recap

Next Generation RDF and SPARQL 1.2 - Tuesday Jun 10, 14:02-17:13
Generated by a Zoom AI Companion Assistant with some manual edits

The Lotico meeting focused on next-generation RDF and SPARQL developments, with presentations by Nicholas Lindstrom and Andy Seaborne covering new features like reifiers, triple terms, and text direction in RDF 1.2. The discussion explored practical applications, compatibility considerations, and implementation timelines for these new capabilities, with participants addressing questions about specifications, tool support, and W3C processes. The session concluded with clarifications about triples as objects and SPARQL compatibility, while noting that slides and recordings would be shared and a follow-up meeting was scheduled in the following weeks.


Next-Generation RDF and SPARQL

The meeting began with Marco Neumann introducing the Lotico session on next-generation RDF and SPARQL, highlighting the evolution of RDF over 25 years and its current maturity in empowering developers. He mentioned the involvement of various teams and initiatives, including the W3C, and set the context for the presentation by referencing past efforts and ongoing developments. The meeting had more than 100 registered participants and Marco introduced Nicholas Lindström and Andy Seaborne, who are active participants in the W3C Working Groups, as speakers for the session. The session was structured to include presentations by Nicholas and Andy, followed by a Q&A session, and concluded with an open chat.


RDF 1.2 Triple Object Capabilities

Niklas presented on RDF 1.2's new capability to use triples as objects, explaining how this enables more sophisticated data modeling compared to traditional RDF triples. He demonstrated how triples can be used to represent abstract propositions and their relationships, showing examples from various domains including provenance, Wikidata, and academic degrees. The presentation covered both the technical syntax and semantics of this feature, including the concept of reifiers and how they can be used to add context and qualifications to simple facts. Niklas emphasized that while this feature builds on existing RDF concepts, it provides a more flexible way to handle complex relationships and varying levels of granularity in data modeling.


RDF Reifiers for Complex Relationships

Niklas presented on the use of reifiers in RDF to handle complex relationships, demonstrating how they can be used to add granular details to simple relationships without requiring complete remodelling of data. He explained that while n-ary relationships would be a better approach in some cases, the existing simple model must be maintained due to production constraints, and showed how reifiers can be used with OWL for advanced reasoning. The discussion concluded with a comparison to named graphs, clarifying that while they serve different use cases and are complementary designs, reifiers and named graphs address different aspects of data management.


RDF Version Transition Planning

The working group has been focusing on the transition from RDF 1.1 to RDF 1.2, including new syntax features like triple terms and text direction for literals. They have introduced a versioning mechanism to help smooth the adoption of these changes across the web, allowing for content negotiation and future-proofing. The group has also developed a basic encoding for triple terms and confirmed that existing RDF toolkits can handle the new versioning parameters without issues.


RDF 1.2 Features and Applications

This part of the meeting focused on RDF 1.2 and its implications, with presentations by Niklas and Andy highlighting new features like reification and nested triples. Participants discussed practical applications, compatibility issues, and potential use cases for these features. Questions were raised about the significance of text direction, the relationship between RDF 1.2 and SHACL, and the potential for using RDF Star to achieve functionality similar to named graphs. The group also touched on the need for clarity in the specifications and the importance of robustness in handling different scripts and display directions.


RDF 1.2 and SPARQL Updates

This part of the meeting focused on RDF 1.2 and SPARQL compatibility, implementation timelines, and ongoing development. Andy explained that RDF 1.2 and SPARQL are largely compatible, with RDF 1.2 including updates like RDF JSON data type formalization and clarifications on initial text direction. Michael inquired about implementation timelines, and Andy suggested that core specifications could be ready in a few months, with major vendors like Jenna and Oxigraph planning to support RDF 1.2 soon. Alex asked about the W3C process for recommendation status, and Andy clarified that two implementations of each feature are required, not two complete implementations. The conversation ended with a reminder about upcoming sessions and events related to RDF and SPARQL development.


RDF Triples and SPARQL Syntax

This part of the meeting focused on discussing the use of triples in RDF and SPARQL, with Niklas explaining that triples cannot be used as subjects to avoid abstract propositions being treated as concrete entities, following community group reports on the "Seminal Error." Andy and Niklas clarified that while RDF 1.2 and SPARQL 1.2 syntax is partially supported in Jena 1.1.5, there are no compatibility issues when using TDB 2 databases, though older versions of Jena might produce incorrect results. Marco concluded the session, thanking the participants and noting that slides and recordings would be shared, with plans for a follow-up session the following week.