NAME
	RDFStore - Perl API for RDF Storage

FEATURES

*Modular interface using packages
*Perl-way API to fetch, parse, process, store and query RDF models
*W3C RDF and strawman syntax parsing
*Perl TIE seamless access to RDF triplet databases
*Either DB_File and BerkeleyDB support
*Automatic Vocabulary generation
*Basic RDF Schema support
*Initial TCP/IP remote storage service support

DESCRIPTION

RDFStore is a set of Perl modules to manage Resource Description Framework
(RDF) model databases in a easy and straightforward way. It is a pure Perl
implementation of the Draft Java API from the Stanford University DataBase
Group (http://www-db.stanford.edu/~melnik/rdf/api.html) by Sergey Melnik 
with some additional cool modules to read/write RDF triples directly from 
the Perl language environment.
By using the Perl TIE interface, a generic application script can access RDF
triplets using normal key/value hashes; the storage can happen either
in-memory data structures (not tie) or on the local filesystem by using the
DB_File.pm or BerkeleyDB.pm modules. An experimental remote storage service
is also provided using a custom DBMS.pm module coupled with a fast and
performant TCP/IP deamon (http://rdfstore.sourceforge.net/dbms.html). The 
deamon has been written entirely in the C language and is actually storing 
the data in Berkeley DB v1.x files; such a software is similar to the rdfbd 
(http://web1.guha.com/rdfdb/) approach from Guha.  The input RDF files are 
being parsed and processed by using a streaming SiRPAC like parser completely 
written in Perl. Such an implementation includes most of the proposed bug 
fixes and updates as suggested on the W3C RDF-interest-Group mailing list and 
on the SiRPAC Web site.  A strawman parser for a simplified syntax proposed 
by Jonathan Borden at http://www.openhealth.org/RDF/rdf_Syntax_and_Names.htm, 
Jason Diamond's at http://www.injektilo.org/rdf/rdf.xsl and Dan Connolly at 
http://www.w3.org/XML/2000/04rdf-parse/ is also included. By using the Sablotron 
XSLT engine is then possible to easily tranform XML documents to RDF and query 
them from the Perl language.

INSTALLATION

(see INSTALL help file)

DOCUMENTATION

The RDFStore Perl API documentation is now available at 
http://rdfstore.sourceforge.net/documentation/api.html. You might want to refer 
to the Perl pod documentation coming with the RDFStore distribution using hte 
perldoc command or by browsing through it at http://rdfstore.sourceforge.net/documentation/pod.
Additionally you can refer to the good Javadoc stuff of Sergey at 
http://www-db.stanford.edu/~melnik/rdf/api-doc/ (or at 
http://rdfstore.sourceforge.net/documentation/doc/). If you want to read more 
about the TCP/IP based storage go at http://rdfstore.sourceforge.net/dbms.html .

For technical details about the indexing algorithm used by the software see
the SWADe-rdfstore.html paper into the doc/ directory  or remotely at
http://www.asemantics.net/presos/SWAD-E/SWADe-rdfstore.html .

SUPPORT & DEVELOPMENT

The homepage for RDFStore is http://rdfstore.sourceforge.net
A public mailing about technical developments, updates and bug reports
is available at rdfstore@yahoogroups.com and archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rdfstore

DEMONSTRATION

An on-line demostration of the capabilities of RDFStore is available at http://demo.asemantics.com/rdfstore

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2000-2006 All rights reserved
Alberto Reggiori <areggiori@webweaving.org>
Dirk-Willem van Gulik <dirkx@webweaving.org>

Parts copyright (c) 1991-2000 iMatix Corporation.

This product uses parts of the iMatix SFL, Copyright 1991-2000 iMatix Corporation <http://www.imatix.com>.

$Id: README,v 1.7 2006/06/19 10:10:21 areggiori Exp $
