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Transition Request Oct 2012
This is a transition request, and also serves as an agenda for a Transition Meeting with the Director.
This is a mixed transition request, with documents going to CR, PR, and PER.
Contents
1 Documents
We propose to publish the following eleven documents as Proposed Recommendation (PR), Candidate Recommendation (CR), or Proposed Edited Recommendation (PER), as indicated.
Except for the PER (which of course did not have a Last Call), the Last Call Working Drafts all contained this notice:
For seven specifications, the Working Group has obtained sufficient evidence of interoperable implementations to skip CR. For three others, work remains. As the group is on a tight timeline, it would like to proceed to PR where feasible in order to reduce its workload and focus on the remaining specifications. Two of the three CR documents are entirely independent and could be left in CR if necessary, when the group ends, without impacting the rest of the group's work.
For each document, in this section, we provide information in the following form: (proposed status) for (title) (Latest TR Version URL) (Current Editor's draft URL) (URL of Resolution to Publish) (Abstract) PR for "SPARQL 1.1 Overview" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-overview/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/sparql11-overview/Overview.xml http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-02#resolution_8 This document is an overview of SPARQL 1.1. It provides an introduction to a set of W3C specifications that facilitate querying and manipulating RDF graph content on the Web or in an RDF store. PR for "SPARQL 1.1 Query Language" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-query/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/query-1.1/rq25.xml http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-02#resolution_2 RDF is a directed, labeled graph data format for representing information in the Web. This specification defines the syntax and semantics of the SPARQL query language for RDF. SPARQL can be used to express queries across diverse data sources, whether the data is stored natively as RDF or viewed as RDF via middleware. SPARQL contains capabilities for querying required and optional graph patterns along with their conjunctions and disjunctions. SPARQL also supports aggregation, subqueries, negation, creating values by expressions, extensible value testing, and constraining queries by source RDF graph. The results of SPARQL queries can be result sets or RDF graphs. PR for "SPARQL 1.1 Update" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-update/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/update-1.1 http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_2 This document describes SPARQL 1.1 Update, an update language for RDF graphs. It uses a syntax derived from the SPARQL Query Language for RDF. Update operations are performed on a collection of graphs in a Graph Store. Operations are provided to update, create, and remove RDF graphs in a Graph Store. PR for "SPARQL1.1 Service Description" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-service-description/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/service-description-1.1/xmlspec.xml http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_6 This document describes SPARQL service description, a method for discovering, and vocabulary for describing SPARQL services made available via the SPARQL 1.1 Protocol for RDF [SPROT]. These descriptions provide a mechanism by which a client or end user can discover information about the SPARQL service such as supported extension functions and details about the available dataset. PR for "SPARQL 1.1 Federated Query" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-federated-query/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/fed/service.xml http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_7 RDF is a directed, labeled graph data format for representing information in the Web. SPARQL can be used to express queries across diverse data sources, whether the data is stored natively as RDF or viewed as RDF via middleware. This specification defines the syntax and semantics of SPARQL 1.1 Federated Query extension for executing queries distributed over different SPARQL endpoints. The SERVICE keyword extends SPARQL 1.1 to support queries that merge data distributed across the Web. PR for "SPARQL 1.1 Query Results JSON Format" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-results-json/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/json-results/json-results.xml http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-02#resolution_6 SPARQL is a set of standards for the query and update of RDF data, along with ways to access such data over the web. This document describes the representation of SELECT and ASK query results using JSON. PR for "SPARQL 1.1 Query Results CSV and TSV Formats" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-results-csv-tsv/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/csv-tsv-results/results-csv-tsv http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-02#resolution_7 The formats CSV [RFC4180] (comma separated values) and TSV [IANA-TSV] (tab separated values) provide simple, easy to process formats for the transmission of tabular data. They are supported as input datat formats to many tools, particularly spreadsheets. This document describes their use for expressing SPARQL query results from SELECT queries. PER for "SPARQL Query Results XML Format (Second Edition)" http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-sparql-XMLres/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/xmlres http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_9 RDF is a flexible, extensible way to represent information about World Wide Web resources. It is used to represent, among other things, personal information, social networks, metadata about digital artifacts like music and images, as well as provide a means of integration over disparate sources of information. A standardized query language for RDF data with multiple implementations offers developers and end users a way to write and to consume the results of queries across this wide range of information. This document describes an XML format for the variable binding and boolean results formats provided by the SPARQL query language for RDF, developed by the W3C RDF Data Access Working Group (DAWG), part of the Semantic Web Activity as described in the activity statement . CR for "SPARQL 1.1 Entailment Regimes" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-entailment/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/entailment/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_4 SPARQL is a query language and a protocol for data that is stored natively as RDF or viewed as RDF via middleware. The main mechanism for computing query results in SPARQL is subgraph matching: RDF triples in both the queried RDF data and the query pattern are interpreted as nodes and edges of directed graphs, and the resulting query graph is matched to the data graph using variables as wild cards. Various W3C standards, including RDF and OWL, provide semantic interpretations for RDF graphs that allow additional RDF statements to be inferred from explicitly given assertions. Many applications that rely on these semantics require a query language such as SPARQL, but in order to use SPARQL, basic graph pattern matching has to be defined using semantic entailment relations instead of explicitly given graph structures. There are different possible ways of defining a basic graph pattern matching extension for an entailment relation. This document specifies one such way for a range of standard semantic web entailment relations. Such extensions of the SPARQL semantics are called entailment regimes within this document. An entailment regime defines not only which entailment relation is used, but also which queries and graphs are well-formed for the regime, how the entailment is used (since there are potentially different meaningful ways to use the same entailment relation), and what kinds of errors can arise. The entailment relations used in this document are standard entailment relations in the semantic web: RDF entailment, RDFS entailment, D-entailment, OWL Direct and RDF-Based Semantics entailment, and RIF Core entailment. CR for "SPARQL 1.1 Protocol" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-protocol/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/protocol-1.1/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_5 The SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) is a query language and protocol for RDF. This document specifies the SPARQL Protocol; it describes a means for conveying SPARQL queries and updates to a SPARQL processing service and returning the results via HTTP to the entity that requested them. This protocol was developed by the W3C SPARQL Working Group, part of the Semantic Web Activity as described in the activity statement . CR for "SPARQL 1.1 Graph Store HTTP Protocol" http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-http-rdf-update/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/docs/http-rdf-update/ http://www.w3.org/2009/sparql/meeting/2012-10-09#resolution_8 This document describes the use of HTTP operations for the purpose of managing a collection of RDF graphs. This interface is an alternative to the SPARQL 1.1 Update protocol. Most of the operations defined here can be performed using that interface, but for some clients or servers, this interface may be easier to implement or work with. This specification may serve as a non-normative suggestion for HTTP operations on RDF graphs which are managed outside of a SPARQL 1.1 graph store.
2 Status Sections, Changes since Last Call
Before publication, the status sections for all the documents will changed to be the standard boilerplate for the given status level, plus text about the changes since the last publication. Query also includes a brief statement of what's new in SPARQL 1.1. Specifically:
Overview - no changes
Query -
The new features in SPARQL 1.1 Query are: Aggregates Subqueries Negation Expressions in the SELECT clause Property Paths Assignment A short form for CONSTRUCT An expanded set of functions and operators The following are the corrections made since last publication: Grammar: DISTINCT for paths had been left in the grammar - removed. Restore translation of BIND as per text in previous publications (first and second last call).
Update - Editorial changes
Service Description - Aligned terminology with Protocol document and improved wording regarding SD access
Federated Query - Changed the word "BINDINGS" to "VALUES" to match change in Query Specification.
Query Results JSON Format - No Changes
Query Results CSV and TSV Formats - No Changes
XML Results Format - Change reference from SPARQL to SPARQL 1.1 and add pointers to other results formats.
Entailment Regimes - No Changes
Protocol - Changed media type used in example error report
Graph Store HTTP Protocol - Editorial changes to remove references to REST and clarify guidance about status codes and indirect reference.
3 Satisfies Group's Requirements
The requirements have not changed since the previous transition. None of the many reviews have claimed that the documents fail to satisfy the group's requirements.
The charter deliverables are met by the group's publications, along with the test suite website.
4 Dependencies
SPARQL 1.1 is not dependent on any technologies or specifications not already at Recommendation. The one interconnection is with the RDF Working Group; as SPARQL WG was making minor refinements in going from 1.0 to 1.1, the RDF Working Group is doing the same thing. The overlapping group membership, including one chair, the staff contact, and at least two editors, has helped make sure things are aligned without any spec dependency.
The other groups identified as dependencies in the charter involve technologies on which SPARQL is built and which are all now at REC. The Last Call WDs were announcement to chairs@w3.org, but reviews were not received in response. The SPARQL WG chairs did not consider it necessary to pursue getting reviews given then lack of relevant novel material in SPARQL 1.1.
edit 2012-10-22: Additional contacts with xml chairs and response and i18n chairs and response.
5 Received Wide Review
See the responses to public comments, detailing 48 comments from 21 people during Last Call.
6 Issues Formally Addressed
See:
- Working Group Issue List - 66 issues, all closed
- Responses to public comments
7 Objections
There have been no formal objections.
8 Implementations
The group maintains a table of implementations and test results (snapshot 9 October 2012).
The group approved the exit criteria of have each approved test passed by two or more implementations.
9 Patent Disclosures
None.