In response to the "Semantic Web Technology" application classification scheme espoused by ReadWriteWeb (RWW), emphasized in the post titled: Where are all the RDF-based Semantic Web Apps?, here is my attempt to clarify and reintroduce what OpenLink Software offers (today) in relation to Semantic Web technology.

From the RWW Top-Down category, which I interpret as: technologies that produce RDF from non RDF data sources. Our product portfolio is comprised of the following; Virtuoso Universal Server, OpenLink Data Spaces, OpenLink Ajax Toolkit, and OpenLink Data Explorer (which includes ubiquity commands).

Virtuoso Universal Server functionality summary:

  1. Generation of RDF Linked Data Views of SQL, XML, and Web Services in general
  2. Deployment of RDF Linked Data
  3. "On the Fly" generation of RDF Linked Data from Document Web information resources (i.e. distillation of entities from their containers e.g. Web pages) via Cartridges / Drivers
  4. SPARQL query language support
  5. SPARQL extensions that bring SPARQL closer to SQL e.g Aggregates, Update, Insert, Delete Named Graph support (i.e. use of logical names to partition RDF data within Virtuoso's multi-model dbms engine)
  6. Inference Engine (currently in use re. DBpedia via Yago and UMBEL)
  7. Host and exposes data from Drupal, Wordpress, MediaWiki, phpBB3 as RDF Linked Data via in-built support for PHP runtime
  8. Available as an EC2 AMI
  9. etc..

OpenLink Data Spaces functionality summary:

  1. Simple mechanism for Linked Data Web enabling yourself by giving you an HTTP based User ID (a de-referencable URI) that is linked to a FOAF based Profile page and OpenID
  2. Binds all your data sources (blogs, wikis, bookmarks, photos, calendar items etc. ) to your URI so can "Find" things by only remembering your URI
  3. Makes your profile page and personal URI the focal point of Linked Data Web presence
  4. Delivers Data Portability (using data access by value or data access by reference) across data silos (e.g. Web 2.0 style social networks)
  5. Allows you make annotations about anything in your own Data Space(s) on the Web without exposure to RDF markup
  6. A Briefcase feature that provides a WebDAV driven RDF Linked Data variant of functionality seen in Mac OS X Spotlight and WinFS with the addition of SPARQL compliance
  7. Automatically generates RDFa in its (X)HTML pages
  8. Blog, Wiki, WebDAV File Server, Shared Bookmarks, Calendar, and other applications that look and feel like Web 2.0 counterparts but emitt RDF Linked Data amongst a plethora of data exchange formats
  9. Available as an EC2 AMI
  10. etc..

OpenLink Ajax Toolkit functionality summary:

  1. Provides binding to SQL, RDF, XML, and Web Services via Ajax Database Connectivity Layer (you only need an ODBC, JDBC, OLE-DB, ADO.NET, XMLA Driver, or Web Service on the backend for dynamic data access from Javascript)
  2. All controls are Ajax Database Connectivity bound (widgets get their data from Ajax Database Connectivity data sources)
  3. Bundled with Virtuoso and ODS installations.
  4. etc.

OpenLink Data Explorer functionality summary

  1. Distills entities associated with information resource style containers (e.g. Web Pages or files) as RDF Linked Data
  2. Exposes the RDF based Linked Data graph associated with information resources (see the Linked Data behind Web pages)
  3. Ubiquity commands for invoking the above
  4. Available as a Hosted Service or Firefox Extension
  5. Bundled with Virtuoso and ODS installations
  6. etc.

Note:

Of course you could have simply looked up OpenLink Software's FOAF based Profile page (*note the Linked Data Explorer tab*), or simply passed the FOAF profile page URL to a Linked Data aware client application such as: OpenLink Data Explorer, Zitgist Data Viewer, Marbles, and Tabulator, and obtained information. Remember, OpenLink Software is an Entity of Type: foaf:Organization, on the burgeoning Linked Data Web :-)

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