VTi Knowledge Database: a LinkedData project

Knowledge Databaseby VTi

A LinkedData store

Tom Klaasen

• Developer at (http://10to1.be)

• Consultant to VTi

• Working on Knowledge Database

LinkedData

• Data

• Everything has a URI

• RDF

• HTTP

• Link with other datasources

Ruby

• Programming language

• ˚1993

• Made popular by Rails ~1995

• Object-oriented

• Dynamic typing (“scripting”)

• Duck typing

Rails

• Web application framework

• “Convention over configuration”

• OR mapping

• Model - View - Controller

Ruby and Rails

• Open Source

Architecture

DB

Server

Desktop PC

Internet

OR Mapping

DB

Server

OR Mapping

Person Production

peoplepeople_prod

uctionsproductions

OR Mapping in Rails

• ActiveRecord

• Model

• View

• Controller

MVC

Model

View

Controller

Rails

• Model: ActiveRecord

• View: ActionView

• Controller: ActionController

How is this interesting?

• Replace the HTML view with an RDF view!

Code

ReST

• Service Oriented Architecture

• HTTP methods

• Simple!

ReST principles

• Everything has a URI

• Actions are defined via URIs

• Actions are executed with HTTP methods: GET, PUT, POST, DELETE

Rails and ReST

• ActiveResource

LinkedData and Rails

• Data : ActiveRecord

• Everything has a URI: ReST

• HTTP : ReST

• RDF : MVC, writing plugin

• Link with other datasources: Enrichment

VTi

• People

• Organisations

• Productions

• Documentation

VTi

• Existing database in MS SQL Server

• Migrated to PostgreSQL

VTi Migration

• Migration script in Ruby (+ ActiveRecord)

Migration opportunities

• Data cleaning

• Data restructuring

• Discovering new data structures:

• Seasons

• Genres

• …

Seasons

State

• Basic RDF: automatically

• Mid-term future: plugins

• Near future:

• add existing ontologies

• enrichment with other datasources

Thank You

tom@10to1.be