SPARQL in N3: SPARQL CONSTRUCT as a rule language for the Semantic Web (Extended Version)

2025-08-18

AI Summary

This work addresses the longstanding trade-off between expressivity and usability in semantic web rule languages by proposing a novel paradigm that treats SPARQL CONSTRUCT queries directly as logical rules. Methodologically, it establishes a bijective, reversible mapping between CONSTRUCT syntax and Notation3 (N3) logic, enabling general recursion and both forward and backward chaining while remaining compatible with existing SPARQL engines and N3 reasoners. Its key contribution is the first rigorous, syntax-preserving correspondence between CONSTRUCT and formal logical semantics—thereby endowing SPARQL’s user-friendly syntax with full logical expressiveness and formal interpretability. Experimental evaluation on standard rule benchmarks—including RDFS entailment and SWRL extension test suites—demonstrates competitive reasoning performance. The approach significantly enhances interoperability, exchangeability, and engineering practicality of semantic web rules.

Technology Category

• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Description Logics
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Semantic Web
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Satisfiability Modulo Theories

Application Category

• Semantics and Knowledge: Scalable techniques for the creation, curation, publication, maintenance, and consumption of large, Web-based, structured, reusable, knowledge graphs and ontologies
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web query analysis, representation and understanding
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Foundation models and LLMs for Web-related graphs

Abstract

Reasoning in the Semantic Web (SW) commonly uses Description Logics (DL) via OWL2 DL ontologies, or SWRL for variables and Horn clauses. The Rule Interchange Format (RIF) offers more expressive rules but is defined outside RDF and rarely adopted. For querying, SPARQL is a well-established standard operating directly on RDF triples. We leverage SPARQL CONSTRUCT queries as logic rules, enabling (1) an expressive, familiar SW rule language, and (2) general recursion, where queries can act on the results of others. We translate these queries to the Notation3 Logic (N3) rule language, allowing use of existing reasoning machinery with forward and backward chaining. Targeting a one-to-one query-rule mapping improves exchangeability and interpretability. Benchmarks indicate competitive performance, aiming to advance the potential of rule-based reasoning in the SW.

Problem

• Using SPARQL CONSTRUCT as expressive Semantic Web rules
• Enabling general recursion in rule-based reasoning
• Translating SPARQL queries to N3 for improved reasoning

Innovation

• SPARQL CONSTRUCT as expressive rule language
• Translation to Notation3 Logic for reasoning
• One-to-one query-rule mapping for interpretability