three-tier semantic web application (formerly semantic web tools in a shared hosting environment)

Hello,

I'll branch this thread and ask if someone has successfully used a  
triple store between a Java and a PHP application.

Think about using PHP as a front-end for a SW application which is  
based on Java. For the front-end I'd like to use Drupal, whose  
community recently started to experience with RDF also [1] (which is  
great!!!) Drupal could become a framework for rapid-prototyping of SW  
applications. However, many existing code and daemons will run in JVM,  
so I hope my question is relevant to others also.

The store should be accessible similarly than RDBMS via JDBC - has  
there been a discussion about such a middleware protocol yet? Sure,  
one could use a local SPARQL endpoint, but this is limited (e.g.  
stateless) and insert/update/delete is implemented proprietary because  
there's no standard yet.

I know Mulgara can be accessed by RMI, but this won't work with PHP. I  
also don't want to use the php-java-bridge if possible.
The whole setup should also scale well and allow multiple simultaneous  
connections.

If you have some experience or information an that, please tell us!

Thanks,
Andy


[1] http://groups.drupal.org/semantic-web


On Mar 14, 2008, at 1:27 PM, Johnson, Matthew C. (LNG-ALB) wrote:

> 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


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Andreas Langegger
Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing
Johannes Kepler University Linz
A-4040 Linz, Altenberger Straße 69
http://www.langegger.at