BocaUsersGuide
From IBM Semantic Layered Research Platform
Contents |
Introduction
Boca is a scalable multi-user RDF repository being developed by the IBM Adtech group in Cambridge. Boca is designed to make it possible to build RDF applications requiring features not commonly found in other RDF repositories, including:
- Named Graphs: Partitioning of data into sets of statements that can be named with a URI and later be accessed using that named graph's URI
- Replication: RDF from the server may be selectively cached on client machines and data can be persisted for offline access
- Security: Named graphs are secured using a role based access control system
- Revision history: All changes to named graphs are tracked and are available via API calls
- Notification: The client receives updates through a JMS Notification subsystem about changes to relevant triples and named graphs
At the center of a Boca system is a server capable of storing millions of RDF triples in a DB2 database. Client machines can then query and update the RDF on the server from across the web using the Boca client stack. The client stack provides various modes of operation including embedding a Boca server within the client, running all operations against a remote server, or running against locally persisted data. These various modes of operation will be describe in much more detail within tutorials and example code.
The Boca client stack maintains a fair amount of compatibility with HP's Jena API, which is a popular API for accessing RDF from Java. Developers planning to use Boca should be familiar with the Jena APIs and SPARQL, the RDF query language.
Boca Documentation
The Boca Users Guide contains several sections broken down into two main categories. The QuickStart Tutorials will provide step-by-step instructions on how to install, configure, startup and program against Boca. These documents will make reference to several new technical concepts that we describe in detail in the Technical Specifications sections. The tutorials aught to be enough for the developer to get a basic Semantic Web client or Web application running against Boca. However, as the application grows more complex, a better understanding of the underlying concepts will be required. Thus, the more detailed sections should be consulted. These sections contain additional code samples as well.
QuickStart Tutorials
BocaSetup - Describes the fastest path to Boca installation and startup.
BocaProgrammingModel - Surveys the major components of the Boca API using several code samples.
Boca concepts, semantics, and technical details
BocaArchitecture - Boca model web Service, embedded mode, JMS architecture, local persistence
BocaConcepts - Dataset service, remote and local models, trackers, replication and transactions.
BocaNotification - Describes the semantics and mechanics of the Boca JMS notification system
BocaLocalPersistence - Explains how the Boca client persistance works and demonstrates its use.
BocaQuery - Explains the Boca query subsystem
BocaTextIndexing - Explains how Boca text indexing features function
BocaSecurity - Describes the Boca security model.
BocaConfiguration - Describes in detail, the various configuration files and properties for the two main Boca usage scenarios.
BocaAdvancedAdmin - Administration of Boca servers and networks, including JMX Java Management Framework
