# Redland RDF Library Perl Binding

## Configuring the Redland Perl Binding

This can be built two ways - using the `configure` program or using Perl's CPAN style `perl Makefile.PL`

### Configuring the Perl binding with `configure`

Run `./configure` optionally with `--with-perl=/path/to/perl` to use a particular perl version/program. The standard 'make' at the top level will then compile the binding against Redland. If Redland is not already installed, an internal copy will be configured and built.

### Configuring the Perl building with CPAN `perl Makefile.PL`

Run `perl Makefile.PL` and a top-level Makefile will be created that is suitable for using in a CPAN or perl MakeMaker style. It will invoke `configure` and the makefile it generates internally.

## Building the Perl binding

      $ make

and optionally

      $ make check

## Testing the Redland Perl binding

If you did the install below, run the perl example program with:

      perl ./example.pl

Otherwise, to run in the source tree do:

      perl -Iblib/arch -Iblib/lib ./example.pl

and the result should be:

      Creating storage

      Creating model

      Creating statement

      Adding statement to model

      Adding statement (new Statement(n, n, n)) to model

      Adding statement (n,n,n) to model

      Parsing URI (file) ../data/dc.rdf
      Parsing added 3 statements

      Printing all statements
      Statement: {[http://example.org/foo], [http://example.org/foo], [http://example.org/foo]}
      Statement: {[http://example.org/foo], [http://example.org/foo], [http://example.org/foo]}
      Statement: {[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/], [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title], "Dave Beckett's Home Page"}
      Statement: {[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/], [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator], "Dave Beckett"}
      Statement: {[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/], [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator], "Dave Beckett"}
      Statement: {[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/], [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/description], "The generic home page of Dave Beckett."}

      Searching model for statements matching predicate http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator
      Matching Statement: {[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/], [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator], "Dave Beckett"}
        Subject: [http://purl.org/net/dajobe/]
        Predicate: [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator]
        Object: Dave Beckett
      Matching Statement: {[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/], [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator], "Dave Beckett"}
        Subject: [http://purl.org/net/dajobe/]
        Predicate: [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator]
        Object: Dave Beckett

      Searching model for targets of subject http://purl.org/net/dajobe/ predicate http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator
      Matching Node: Dave Beckett
      Matching Node: Dave Beckett
      Querying for dc:titles:
      result 1: {
        a=[http://purl.org/net/dajobe/]
        c=Dave Beckett's Home Page
      }

      Writing model to test-out.rdf as rdf/xml

    Done

## Installing the Perl Binding

To install the binding system wide do this as root (or maybe via sudo make install):

      root# make install

The Redland Perl interface is mature has been tested with the following versions (5.6.0 is the likely minimum; 5.005 is too old).

> 5.8.3 on Solaris/Sparc
> 5.8.3 on Linux/x86
> 5.8.2 on Linux/x86
> 5.8.1-RC3 on OSX/PPC
> 5.8.0 on Linux/x86
> 5.8.0 on Linux/IA64

## Using the Redland Perl API

Read the Redland Perl POD documentation for full details of the classes and methods provided along with examples of use.

The Perl API is an object-based API reflecting the same structure of the Redland objects with simple mappings between them:

Concept | Redland Class | Perl Class | Purpose
--- | --- | --- | ---
Resource / Literal | librdf_node | `RDF::Redland::Node`, `RDF::Redland::BlankNode`, `RDF::Redland::URINode`, `RDF::Redland::LiteralNode` and `RDF::Redland::XMLLiteralNode` | RDF Model & Syntax nodes
Statement / Triple | librdf_statement | `RDF::Redland::Statement` | RDF Model & Syntax arcs (statements, triples) [isa Resource]
Model | librdf_model | `RDF::Redland::Model` | Set of Statements usually held in one Storage.
Storage | librdf_storage | `RDF::Redland::Storage` | Storage for Models either persistant or in-memory.
Stream | librdf_stream | `RDF::Redland::Stream` | Providing sequences of Statements from Parsers, queries.
Parser | librdf_parser | `RDF::Redland::Parser` | Syntaxes parsers delivering Stream of Statements or writing to a Model
Query | librdf_query | `RDF::Redland::Query` | Querying of an Model delivering a QueryResults
QueryResults | librdf_query_results | `RDF::Redland::QueryResults` | Results of applying an Query to a Model giving either variable bindings with Node values or Stream of Statements
Serializer | librdf_serializer | `RDF::Redland::Serializer` | Serializes a Model into a syntax such as RDF/XML
Iterator | librdf_iterator | `RDF::Redland::Iterator` | Enumerating lists (of Node) from queries.
URI | librdf_uri | `RDF::Redland::URI` | Provides URIs for Resources, Parsers, ...
World |  | `RDF::Redland` | RDF wrapper class handling Redland startup/shutdown
Digest | librdf_digest |  | Internal content digest class
Hash | librdf_hash |  | Internal key:value maps class
|  | `RDF::Redland::RSS` | Perl Module providing RSS 1.0 support.

## Perl API Reference Documentation

Either use any of the `RDF::Redland::` module links above or start at the main RDF::Redland module and follow the references from there.

Copyright (C) 2000-2006 Dave Beckett, Copyright (C) 2000-2005 University of Bristol