RE: semantic web tools in a shared hosting environment

Thanks for the information.  I should have mentioned that I
intentionally left out the open-source vs. pay-for-use option out of the
equation to see what advice was given.  However, you're right in that it
probably affects the answer.  Given my own propensity and the fact that
I'm just playing right now, going the open-source route is preferable.

 

Matt

 

________________________________

From: Richard Newman [mailto:rnewman@twinql.com] 
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 11:37 PM
To: Johnson, Matthew C. (LNG-ALB)
Cc: semantic-web@w3.org
Subject: Re: semantic web tools in a shared hosting environment

 

Hi Matthew,





I'm hoping that someone can provide some advice/pointers on
setting-up/configuring semantic web tools (e.g. RDF parsers, SPARQL
services, etc.) in a shared hosting environment where one does not have
root access, etc.  Assuming that languages such as Perl, Python, and PHP
are accessible (but not Java), 

 

It might clarify your question to explicitly state "free or open-source
tools", or "web scripting languages", if that's what you mean. You could
install and run Java in your user account on a high port, or do the same
with almost any commercial tool. Very few, I imagine, require root.

 

	

	*	For a small-scale application, is a true "triple store"
database actually necessary?  Would it be simpler (especially for
learning) to simply use flat files?  If so, this would potentially
simplify my configuration work.

 

If you're mostly concerned with serving RDF, you can do quite a lot by
dumping some RDF to disk and configuring Apache correctly for content
negotiation.

 

Anything beyond that, you probably want a persistent RDF store. If
you're limited to a typical shared hosting setup, that probably means
"some Apache-compatible language like PHP that stores its data in
MySQL". I'm afraid I can't offer any advice in that area; others will
doubtless mention Perl APIs, RAP, and others.

 

I have to say: if I were given this situation, I'd consider whether I
would be best serving static files, or using a real RDF store. If the
latter, I'd pay the small amount extra for a "real" host (e.g.,
Slicehost versus DreamHost) and use one of the many excellent RDF
systems out there. The restrictions you imagine exist might not be
necessary.

 

HTH!

 

-R