SPARQLGraph: A web-based platform for graphically querying biological Semantic Web databases

Abstract

Background: Semantic Web has established itself as a framework for using and sharing data across applications and database boundaries. Here, we present a web-based platform for querying biological Semantic Web databases in a graphical way. Results: SPARQLGraph offers an intuitive drag & drop query builder, which converts the visual graph into a query and executes it on a public endpoint. The tool integrates several publicly available Semantic Web databases, including the databases of the just recently released EBI RDF platform. Furthermore, it provides several predefined template queries for answering biological questions. Users can easily create and save new query graphs, which can also be shared with other researchers. Conclusions: This new graphical way of creating queries for biological Semantic Web databases considerably facilitates usability as it removes the requirement of knowing specific query languages and database structures. The system is freely available at http://sparqlgraph.i-med.ac.at.