Datalog Basics and RDFox
Semantic Reasoning Fundamentals
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This article aims to provide a basic introduction to Datalog with RDFox. It will explain what Datalog is, why RDFox uses Datalog, how to write Datalog rules, how rules can enhance SPARQL query performance, and touch upon RDFox’s Datalog extensions.
What is Datalog?
Datalog is a rule language for knowledge representation. Rule languages have been in use since the 1980s in the fields of data management and artificial intelligence.
A Datalog rule is a logical implication, where both the “if” part of the implication (the rule body) and the “then” part of the implication (the rule head) consist of a conjunction of conditions. In the context of RDF, a Datalog rule conveys the idea that, from certain combinations of triples in the input RDF graph, we can logically deduce that some other triples must also be part of the graph.
Datalog has various applications including knowledge representation, ontological reasoning, data integration, networking, information extraction, cloud computing, program analysis and security.
Why does RDFox use Datalog?
RDFox is a high-performance knowledge graph and semantic reasoning engine. Reasoning is the ability to calculate the logical consequences of applying a set of rules to a set of facts. RDFox uses the Datalog rule language to express rules. Rules offer an expressive way to process and manipulate a knowledge graph. Rules bring the intelligence layer closer to the data and can also simplify query formulation and data management.
As Datalog is a declarative logic-based language, renowned for its simplicity and use within knowledge representation, it complements RDFox, as a declarative solution. Declarative tools are useful across a broad range of use cases, for example, applying business logic, machine learning models, business rules, in-house devops or compliance tools or streaming attribution.
It is a widely understood language, which is central to an abundance of rule formalisms and maintains a wide range of extensions. You can read our introduction to rules here or read the Do’s and Don’ts of Rule and Query Writing article here.
