MarkLogic Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Semantic Triples by Alex Woodie.
From the post:
You write a query with great care, and excitedly hit the “enter” button, only to see a bunch of gobbledygook spit out on the screen. MarkLogic says the chances of this happening will decrease thanks to the new RDF Triple Store feature that it formally introduced today with the launch of version 7 of its eponymous NoSQL database.
The capability to store and search semantic triples in MarkLogic 7 is one of the most compelling new features of the new NoSQL database. The concept of semantic triples is central to the Resource Description Framework (RDF) way of storing and searching for information. Instead of relating information in a database using an “entity-relationship” or “class diagram” model, the RDF framework enables links between pieces of data to be searched using the “subject-predicate-object” concept, which more closely corresponds to the way humans think and communicate.
The real power of this approach becomes evident when one considers the hugely disparate nature of information on the Internet. An RDF powered application can build links between different pieces of data, and effectively “learn” from the connections created by the semantic triples. This is the big (and as yet unrealized) pipe dream of the semantic Web.
RDF has been around for a while, and while you probably wouldn’t call it mainstream, there are a handful of applications using this approach. What makes MarkLogic’s approach unique is that it’s storing the semantic triples–the linked data–right inside the main NoSQL database, where it can make use of all the rich data and metadata stored in documents and other semi-structured files that NoSQL databases like MarkLogic are so good at storing.
This approach puts semantic triples right where it can do the most good. “Until now there has been a disconnect between the incredible potential of semantics and the value organizations have been able to realize,” states MarkLogic’s senior vice president of product strategy, Joe Pasqua.
“Managing triples in dedicated triple stores allowed people to see connections, but the original source of that data was disconnected, ironically losing context,” he continues. “By combining triples with a document store that also has built-in querying and APIs for delivery, organizations gain the insights of triples while connecting the data to end users who can search documents with the context of all the facts at their fingertips.”
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A couple of things caught my eye in this post.
First, the comment that:
RDF has been around for a while, and while you probably wouldn’t call it mainstream, there are a handful of applications using this approach.
I can’t disagree so why would MarkLogic make RDF support a major feature of this release?
Second, the next sentence reads:
What makes MarkLogic’s approach unique is that it’s storing the semantic triples–the linked data–right inside the main NoSQL database, where it can make use of all the rich data and metadata stored in documents and other semi-structured files that NoSQL databases like MarkLogic are so good at storing.
I am reading that to mean that if you store all the documents in which triples appear, along with the triples, you have more context. Yes?
Trivially true but I not sure how significant an advantage that would be. Shouldn’t all that “contextual” metadata be included with the triples?
But I haven’t gotten a copy of version 7 so that’s all speculation on my part.
If you have a copy of MarkLogic 7, care to comment?
Thanks!