RDF.js: The new RDF and Linked Data JavaScript library

In a joint effort, MIT CSAIL, Ghent University and Zazuko will align 
their existing work to create RDF.js, a new RDF and Linked Data 
JavaScript library based on the RDFJS specification.

A diverse web requires decentralized data storage and maintenance. 
According to MIT's Tim Berners-Lee, "it is about making links, so that a 
person or machine can explore the web of data. With Linked Data, when 
you have some of it, you can find other, related, data".

Zazuko’s CTO Thomas Bergwinkl adds that "Linked Data is built on top of 
the web stack and the programming language of the web is JavaScript. It 
is crucial for Web Developers to have access to well-designed JavaScript 
libraries to work with RDF and Linked Data".

The RDFJS W3C Community Group[1] did a tremendous job in defining a 
standard to represent Linked Data in JavaScript. Several individuals and 
groups started to implement the RDFJS specification.

We are now happy to announce that in a joint effort MIT CSAIL[2], Ghent 
University[3] and Zazuko GmbH[4] decided to merge their efforts under 
the new name RDF.js. In particular the code of RDF-Ext[5], N3.js[6] and 
rdflib.js[7] as well as a modular SPARQL engine will be aligned and 
published on GitHub in the organization RDFJS[8].

Ghent University’s Ruben Verborgh states that "The usage of RDF and 
Linked Data on the web gained a lot of traction in the past years. By 
concentrating our efforts, we're paving the road for a new generation of 
web applications, benefiting both developers and end users".

We are open for contributions, if you would like to know more join our 
W3C community group[9] or talk to us on our Gitter channel[10].

## About MIT CSAIL

The Decentralized Information Group at CAIL/MIT is exploring how to 
radically change the way Web applications work today, resulting in 
decentralized architectures that enable true data ownership with the 
Solid project; working on frameworks that ensure information can be 
shared, used, and manipulated in a way that is compliant with 
regulation, business rules, social norms, and user preferences; 
investigating methodologies to make algorithms trustworthy and 
accountable, as well as harnessing mobile technologies for disaster relief.

## About Ghent University

IDLab at Ghent University – imec focuses on the “Web” part of the 
Semantic Web, by building tools and projects to publish, query, and 
process data at Web scale.

## About Zazuko GmbH

Zazuko is an owner-managed consulting company for Semantic Web and 
related technologies. Based on profound experience, we support our 
customers in successfully developing software based on the Linked Data 
stack. By integrating both internal and external data, Zazuko empowers 
organizations to optimize their core business activities. We enable 
linking any kind of information with any other information, no matter 
where the information lives.

[1] https://www.w3.org/community/rdfjs/
[2] https://www.csail.mit.edu/
[3] https://www.ugent.be/ea/elis/en
[4] http://www.zazuko.com/
[5] https://github.com/rdf-ext/rdf-ext
[6] https://github.com/RubenVerborgh/N3.js/
[7] https://github.com/linkeddata/rdflib.js/
[8] https://github.com/rdfjs/
[9] https://www.w3.org/community/rdfjs/
[10] https://gitter.im/rdfjs/public?source=orgpage

Received on Monday, 23 April 2018 13:01:18 UTC