R2RML Based ShEx Schema

R2RML is a W3C standard language that defines how to expose the relational data as RDF triples. The output from an R2RML mapping is only an RDF dataset. By definition, the dataset has no schema. The lack of schema makes the dataset in linked data portal impractical for integrating and analyzing data. To address this issue, we propose an approach for generating automatically schemas for RDF graphs populated by R2RML mappings. More precisely, we represent the schema using ShEx, which is a language for validating and describing RDF. Our approach allows to generate ShEx schemas as well as RDF datasets from R2RML mappings. Our ShEx schema can provide benefits for both data providers and ordinary users. Data providers can verify and guarantee the structural integrity of the dataset against the schema. Users can write SPARQL queries efficiently by referring to the schema. In this paper, we describe data structures and algorithms of the system to derive ShEx documents from R2RML documents and presents a brief demonstration regarding its proper use.