First drafts for SPARQL 1.1 published

The W3C SPARQL Working Group published the First Public Working Draft of six SPARQL 1.1 specifications. SPARQL is the query language of the Semantic Web, and SPARQL 1.1 enhances the SPARQL landscape with:

• SPARQL 1.1 Query - Adds support for aggregates, subqueries, projected expressions, and negation to the SPARQL query language.
• SPARQL 1.1 Update - Defines an update language for RDF graphs.
• SPARQL 1.1 Protocol - Defines an abstract interface and HTTP bindings for a protocol to issue SPARQL Query and SPARQL Update statements against a SPARQL endpoint.
• SPARQL 1.1 Service Description - Defines a vocabulary and discovery mechanism for describing the capabilities of a SPARQL endpoint.
• SPARQL 1.1 Uniform HTTP Protocol for Managing RDF Graphs - Describes the use of the HTTP protocol for managing named RDF graphs on an HTTP server.
• SPARQL 1.1 Entailment Regimes - Defines conditions under which SPARQL queries can be used with entailment regimes such as RDF, RDF Schema, OWL, or RIF.