[data-shapes] Use case: A boolean property being true disallowing another property (#341)

ajnelson-nist has just created a new issue for https://github.com/w3c/data-shapes:

== Use case: A boolean property being true disallowing another property ==
This is a fuller illustration of [this comment of Issue 311](https://github.com/w3c/data-shapes/issues/311#issuecomment-2715293996), in response to [this later comment also on 311](https://github.com/w3c/data-shapes/issues/311#issuecomment-2765613802).  This is a modeling exercise, but rather than discuss the "right" way to model this topic, I mean to look through strategies available to SHACL 1.0 and potentially available to Node Expressions.

This example considers effects of a single boolean-valued property on other properties, but discussion should consider that there are more complex conditions that could involve multiple properties.

A community I work with has a class for actions, which might or might not link a performer of the action.  For example, this would be Alice sending an email:

```turtle
ex:sendEmail-1
  a ex:Action ;
  ex:performer ex:Alice ;
  .
```

We would like to represent that some actions are automated.  If an action is automated, it would not have a performer.

```turtle
ex:receiveEmail-1
  a ex:Action ;
  ex:isAutomated true ;
  .
```

The designation of automation was initially proposed as a boolean variable, and the question later came about whether an automated action should have a performer or should be disallowed from having a performer.  We have a class hierarchy rooted at `ex:Action` that makes it slightly less attractive to define a subclass `ex:AutomatedAction`, because of some desires in the community (e.g., considerations for programming language bindings) to avoid multi-typing.

We also have automatically generated documentation, within which this rule should "render nicely."

The validation rule to implement would be, **"If `ex:isAutomated` is `true` (explicitly), then the maximum count of `ex:performer` is 0."**

The condition universal to the below examples is the constraint that there is at most one value of `ex:isAutomated` on any action, and it's boolean-valued:

```turtle
ex:Action
  a rdfs:Class, sh:NodeShape ;
  sh:targetClass ex:Action ;
  sh:property [
    sh:path ex:isAutomated ;
    sh:datatype xsd:boolean ;
    sh:maxCount 1 ;
  ] ;
  .
```


## Styles available to SHACL 1.0


### Define a class

This implementation style eschews the boolean variable entirely.

```turtle
ex:AutomatedAction
  a rdfs:Class, sh:NodeShape ;
  rdfs:subClassOf ex:Action ;
  sh:targetClass ex:AutomatedAction ;
  sh:property [
    sh:path ex:performer ;
    sh:maxCount 0 ;
  ] ;
  .
```

If both subclass and boolean variable are in the model, they can at least be constrained to be consistent within the subclass:

```turtle
ex:AutomatedAction
  sh:not [
    sh:property [
      sh:path ex:isAutomated ;
      sh:hasValue false ;
    ] ;
  ] ;
  .
```


### Disjunctive form of implication

Following "p → q ⇔ ¬p ∨ q", the consistency check across the two properties would be an `sh:or` on the node shape:

```turtle
ex:Action
  sh:or (
    [
      sh:not [
        sh:property [
          sh:path ex:isAutomated ;
          sh:hasValue true ;
        ] ;
      ] ;
    ]
    [
      sh:property [
        sh:path ex:performer ;
        sh:maxCount 0 ;
      ] ;
    ]
  ) ;
  .
```

Without an `sh:message`, my understanding is this form gets pretty verbose in a SHACL validation report where the message is generated from the reporting constraint component.


## Styles available to Node Expressions (?)

Please excuse misunderstandings of the current proposals of node expression syntax.  Corrections welcome.  I saw `sh:if` mentioned on #215 and #222 .


### Conditional constraints

This is drawn from #311 .

```turtle
ex:Action
  sh:property [
    sh:path ex:performer ;
    sh:maxCount [
      sh:if [
        sh:property [
          sh:path ex:isAutomated ;
          sh:hasValue true ;
        ] ;
      ] ;
      sh:then 0 ;
      sh:else 1 ;
    ] ;
  ] ;
  .
```


### Targeting nodes

This is drawn from a remark as @tpluscode and @HolgerKnublauch were discussing #311 on today's WG call.  The gist is that this case should be handled well enough by a node expression on `sh:targetNode`.

**Note**: I'm shaky on this syntax.  Can corrections please be ported over to #339 , which I think is the most specific Issue now for `sh:targetNode`?  I'm eyeing [`sh:SPARQLTarget`](https://www.w3.org/TR/2017/NOTE-shacl-af-20170608/#SPARQLTarget) and [`sh:condition`](https://www.w3.org/TR/2017/NOTE-shacl-af-20170608/#condition) from the 2017 state of SHACL-AF for syntax hints.

```turtle
ex:Action-extra-shape
  a sh:NodeShape ;
  sh:property [
    sh:path ex:performer ;
    sh:maxCount 0 ;
  ] ;
  sh:targetNode [
    a sh:NodeExpression ;
    sh:condition [
      a sh:NodeShape ;
      sh:property [
        a sh:PropertyShape ;
        sh:path ex:isAutomated ;
        sh:hasValue true ;
      ] ;
    ] ;
  ] ;
  .
```


## Styles available to Rules


### Entail a class

This strategy does not use a node expression, and instead uses a [`sh:TripleRule` from SHACL-AF](https://www.w3.org/TR/2017/NOTE-shacl-af-20170608/#rules-examples)---a topic for the inferencing document, IIRC, but topic-scheduling corrections are welcome.

If the subclass `ex:AutomatedAction` from above is defined in the ontology and shapes graph, and it's desired for users to be relieved of needing to assign `rdf:type ex:AutomatedAction` in their data, then a rule can entail `ex:AutomatedAction` before validation is run to check the no-performers constraint.

```turtle
ex:Action
  sh:rule [
    a sh:TripleRule ;
    sh:subject sh:this ;
    sh:predicate rdf:type ;
    sh:object ex:AutomatedAction ;
    sh:condition [
      a sh:NodeShape ;
      sh:property [
        a sh:PropertyShape ;
        sh:path ex:isAutomated ;
        sh:hasValue true ;
      ] ;
    ] ;
  ] ;
  .
```

This strategy most closely mirrors what would be available in OWL by defining `ex:AutomatedAction` with an equivalence class, and running OWL inferencing before SHACL validation:

```turtle
ex:AutomatedAction
  a owl:Class ;
  owl:equivalentClass [
    a owl:Class ;
    rdfs:subClassOf
      ex:Action ,
      [
        a owl:Restriction ;
        owl:onProperty ex:isAutomated ;
        owl:hasValue true ;
      ]
      ;
  ] ;
  .
```

Please view or discuss this issue at https://github.com/w3c/data-shapes/issues/341 using your GitHub account


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Received on Monday, 31 March 2025 11:46:42 UTC