Knowledge Database
by VTi
A LinkedData store

Tom Klaasen
• Developer at (http://10to1.be)
• Consultant to VTi
• Working on Knowledge Database

LinkedData
• Data
• Everything has a URI
• RDF
• HTTP
• Link with other datasources

Ruby
• Programming language
• ˚1993
• Made popular by Rails ~1995
• Object-oriented
• Dynamic typing (“scripting”)
• Duck typing

Rails
• Web application framework
• “Convention over configuration”
• OR mapping
• Model - View - Controller

Ruby and Rails
• Open Source

Architecture
Desktop PC
Internet
Server
DB

OR Mapping
Server
DB

OR Mapping
Person Production
people_prod
people productions
uctions

OR Mapping in Rails
• ActiveRecord

MVC
View
• Model
• View Model
• Controller
Controller

Rails
• Model: ActiveRecord
• View: ActionView
• Controller: ActionController

How is this interesting?
• Replace the
HTML view with
an RDF view!

Code

ReST
• Service Oriented Architecture
• HTTP methods
• Simple!

ReST principles
• Everything has a URI
• Actions are defined via URIs
• Actions are executed with HTTP methods:
GET, PUT, POST, DELETE

Rails and ReST
• ActiveResource

LinkedData and Rails
• Data : ActiveRecord
• Everything has a URI: ReST
• HTTP : ReST
• RDF : MVC, writing plugin
• Link with other datasources: Enrichment

VTi
• People
• Organisations
• Productions
• Documentation

VTi
• Existing database in MS SQL Server
• Migrated to PostgreSQL

VTi Migration
• Migration script in Ruby (+ ActiveRecord)

Migration opportunities
• Data cleaning
• Data restructuring
• Discovering new data structures:
• Seasons
• Genres
•…

Seasons

State
• Basic RDF: automatically
• Mid-term future: plugins
• Near future:
• add existing ontologies
• enrichment with other datasources

Thank You
tom@10to1.be