What is SPARQL?

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SPARQL, pronounced “sparkle”, is a technology that allows for querying and manipulating data stored in RDF format. SPARQL, or Simple Protocol and RDF (Resource Description Framework) Query Language, was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and is recognised as one of the key technologies of the semantic web. It allows for effective data extraction from heterogeneous datasets and works well with Linked Open Data on the web.

SPARQL has been designed to query a great variety of data and efficiently extract information hidden in non-uniform data stored in various formats and sources. SPARQL queries can work with more than one database, as federated queries can access multiple endpoints. This function is possible because SPARQL is also an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), where any SPARQL endpoints can be accessed via a standardised transport layer. RDF results can be returned in several data-interchange formats, and RDF entities are identified by Universal Resource Identifiers (URIs).

SPARQL can be used in various ways, for example, for Retrieving Data, Filtering Data, Aggregating Data, Joining Data, Ordering Data, Limiting Data, Grouping Data, Using Optional Data, Using Union Data, and Subqueries.

Please see the following link to documentation on the use of SPARQL by the European Union Publications Office: About SPARQL | data.europa.eu