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Data Façades Community Group

The group's primary goal is to foster the long-term stability and broader adoption of the approach for accessing heterogeneous web data using data façades, by decoupling it from its original implementation in the SPARQL Anything project. This would involve creating a vendor-neutral, interoperable technology that can be implemented by various developers and organisations, including graph database vendors.

The key activities of the Community Group include:

  • Developing the Façade-X Method: Defining the core principles of the method and specifications of Façade-X as a "homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources"
  • Creating Standard Mappings (Profiles): Developing mappings for Façade-X to various data formats.
  • Establishing a Process for New Formats: Creating a transparent and monitored process to add new data formats to the technology over time.
  • Developing the SPARQL Dialect: Addressing the specific conventions and functions used by SPARQL Anything to make them part of the technology, including SERVICE IRIs, BGPs, and magic properties.
  • Collaborating with Other W3C Groups: Building connections with other relevant W3C efforts, such as the RDF & SPARQL and Data Shapes WGs, to ensure consistency and integration within the broader web standards ecosystem.
  • Fostering Community and Business Engagement: Encouraging collaboration among developers, businesses, and adopters to gather ideas, feedback, and support for the technology.
  • Supporting the Development of Implementations: While SPARQL Anything could remain as a reference implementation, the group would encourage and support implementations for other platforms/vendors, and expand the web data façades approach to other languages (e.g. SHACL).
Group's public email, repo and wiki activity over time

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First steps of the Data Façades Community Group

Enrico Daga | Posted on:

We are thrilled to report on the successful initial two meetings of the Data Façades Community Group. Launched in September 2025, this initiative aims to revolutionise how RDF technologies interact with diverse data sources on the web.

Our Mission: Beyond SPARQL Anything

The primary objective of this group is to foster long-term stability and broader adoption of the data façades approach. By decoupling the Façade-X method from its original implementation in the SPARQL Anything project, we are developing a vendor-neutral, interoperable technology. Our goal is to provide a solution that can be implemented by a wide range of developers and organisations, including graph database vendors.

To achieve this, the group is focused on several key activities:

  • Developing the Façade-X Method: Defining core principles and specifications to create a homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources.
  • Standard Mappings and Profiles: Creating standard mappings for various data formats and establishing a transparent process for adding new formats over time.
  • SPARQL Dialect Specification: Standardising conventions used by SPARQL Anything, such as SERVICE IRIs and magic properties, into the core technology.
  • W3C Collaboration: Ensuring consistency by building connections with the RDF & SPARQL and Data Shapes Working Groups.

A Look Back at Our Initial Meetings

Since our inception, the community has held two pivotal sessions to lay the groundwork for our future technical specifications.

• Inaugural Meeting (27 October 2025): This session focused on launching the group and introducing the background of Façade-X, which originated from the EU SPICE project. The members established that the priority is to develop a Facade-X specification and meta-model, choosing GitHub as the primary collaboration platform for technical work. In addition, the group agreed on a monthly meeting format that includes member case study presentations and discussions of evolving specifications.

• Second Meeting (1 December 2025): The group reviewed a case study on teaching SPARQL and Facade-X to library science students, presented by Prof. Ryan Shaw (University of Carolina). Technical discussions centred on whether to create a single RDF vocabulary or a two-part specification. The group decided to focus on the RDF vocabulary first, while agreeing to explore RML (RDF Mapping Language) to represent meta-model mappings.

Currently, the group is led by Enrico Daga and Luigi Asprino as Chairs and supported by a growing community of 21 participants. We would like to acknowledge the founding support from Ryan Shaw, Julian Rojas, Ivo Velitchkov, Andy Seaborne, and Mathias Vanden Auweele.

Get Involved and Stay Connected

We invite developers, businesses, and data enthusiasts to join us in shaping the future of web data façades. You do not need to be a W3C member to participate—anyone is welcome to join.

    Call for Participation in Data Façades Community Group

    sysbotcg | Posted on:

    The Data Façades Community Group has been launched:

    The group’s primary goal is to foster the long-term stability and broader adoption of the approach for accessing heterogeneous web data using data façades, by decoupling it from its original implementation in the SPARQL Anything project. This would involve creating a vendor-neutral, interoperable technology that can be implemented by various developers and organisations, including graph database vendors.

    The key activities of the Community Group include:

    • Developing the Façade-X Method: Defining the core principles of the method and specifications of Façade-X as a “homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources”
    • Creating Standard Mappings (Profiles): Developing mappings for Façade-X to various data formats.
    • Establishing a Process for New Formats: Creating a transparent and monitored process to add new data formats to the technology over time.
    • Developing the SPARQL Dialect: Addressing the specific conventions and functions used by SPARQL Anything to make them part of the technology, including SERVICE IRIs, BGPs, and magic properties.
    • Collaborating with Other W3C Groups: Building connections with other relevant W3C efforts, such as the RDF & SPARQL and Data Shapes WGs, to ensure consistency and integration within the broader web standards ecosystem.
    • Fostering Community and Business Engagement: Encouraging collaboration among developers, businesses, and adopters to gather ideas, feedback, and support for the technology.
    • Supporting the Development of Implementations: While SPARQL Anything could remain as a reference implementation, the group would encourage and support implementations for other platforms/vendors, and expand the web data façades approach to other languages (e.g. SHACL).

    In order to join the group, you will need a W3C account. Please note, however, that W3C
    Membership     is not required to join a Community Group.

    This is a community initiative. This group was originally proposed on 2025-09-28 by Enrico Daga. The following people supported its creation: Enrico Daga, Julian Rojas, Ivo Velitchkov, Luigi Asprino and Mathias Vanden Auweele. W3C’s hosting of this group does not imply endorsement of the activities.

    The group must now choose a chair. Read more about how to get started in a new group and good practice for running a group.

    We invite you to share news of this new group on social media and other channels.

    If you believe that there is an issue with this group that requires the attention of the W3C staff, please email us at site-comments@w3.org

    Thank you,
    W3C Community Development Team

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    Chairs

    • Luigi Asprino's avatar

      Luigi Asprino

    • Enrico Daga's avatar

      Enrico Daga

    Participants (22)

    • Emidio Stani's avatar
    • Andy Seaborne's avatar
    • Raza NAQVI's avatar
    • Lukas Plank's avatar
    • Thomas de Bodt's avatar
    • Mathias Vanden Auweele's avatar
    • Miguel Ceriani's avatar
    • Ivo Velitchkov's avatar
    • Julian Rojas's avatar
    • Justin Dowdy's avatar

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