MarkLogic 9 Product Documentation

Semantics Developer's Guide — Chapter 7

Pre-Defined Rulesets

Some pre-defined, standards-based rulesets (RDFS, RDFS-Plus, and OWL Horst) for inference are included with MarkLogic semantics. The rulesets are written in a language specific to MarkLogic that has the same syntax as the SPARQL CONSTRUCT query. Each ruleset has two versions; the full ruleset (xxx-full.rules) and the optimized version (xxx.rules).

The components of each of these rulesets are available separately so that you can do fine-grained inference with queries. You can also create your own rulesets by importing some of those rulesets and/or writing your own rules. See Creating a New Ruleset for more information.

To see these pre-defined rulesets (in Linux), go to the Config directory under your MarkLogic install directory (/MarkLogic_install_dir/Config/*.rules). For example:

/opt/MarkLogic/Config/*.rules

You will see a set of files with the .rules extension. Each of these .rules files is a ruleset. For a Windows installation, these files are usually located in C:\Program Files\MarkLogic\Config).

Here is an example of the rule domain.rules:

PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema/>

tbox {
  ?p rdfs:domain ?c .
}

RULE "domain axioms" construct {
  rdfs:domain rdfs:domain rdf:Property .
  rdfs:domain rdfs:range rdfs:Class .
} {}

RULE "domain rdfs2" CONSTRUCT {
  ?x a ?c
} {
  ?x ?p ?y .
  ?p rdfs:domain ?c
}

In this example, a means type of (rdf:type or rdfs:type). The domain rdfs2 rule states that if all the things in the second set of braces are true (p has domain c; that is, for every triple that has the predicate p, the object must be in the domain c), then construct the triple in the first set of braces (if you see x p y, then x is a c).

If you open a rule in a text editor, you will see that some of the rulesets are componentized; they are defined in small component rulesets, then built up into larger rulesets. For example, rdfs.rules imports four other rules to create the optimized set of rdfs rules:

# RDFS 1.1 optimized rules
prefix rdf:     <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
prefix rdfs:    <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>

import "domain.rules"
import "range.rules"
import "subPropertyOf.rules"
import "subClassOf.rules"

RULE "rdf classes" construct {
...
...

By using a building block approach to using (and creating) rulesets, you can enable only the rules you really need, so that your query can be as efficient as possible. The syntax for rulesets is similar to the syntax for SPARQL CONSTRUCT.

Specifying Rulesets for Queries

You can choose which rulesets to use for your SPARQL query by using sem:ruleset-store. The ruleset is specified as part of the function. The sem:ruleset-store function returns a set of triples that result from the application of the ruleset to the triples defined by the sem:store function provided in $store (for example, all of the triples that can be inferred from this rule).

This statement specifies the rdfs.rules ruleset as part of sem:ruleset-store:

let $rdfs-store := sem:ruleset-store("rdfs.rules",sem:store() )

So this says, let $rdfs-store contain triples derived by inference using the rdfs.rules against the sem:store. If no value is provided for sem:store, the query uses the triples in the current database's triple index. The built-in functions sem:store and sem:ruleset-store are used to define the triples over which to query and the rulesets (if any) to use with the query. The $store definition includes a ruleset, as well as other ways of restricting a query's domain, such as a cts:query.

This example uses the pre-defined rdfs.rules ruleset:

import module namespace sem = "http://marklogic.com/semantics" 
  at "/MarkLogic/semantics.xqy";
let $sup :=
'PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>

INSERT DATA
{ <someMedicalCondition> rdf:type <osteoarthritis> .
  <osteoarthritis> rdfs:subClassOf <bonedisease> . }'
return sem:sparql-update($sup)
; (: transaction separator :)

let $sq := 
'PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
PREFIX d: <http://diagnoses#>
PREFIX foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/>
SELECT ?diagnosis
WHERE { ?diagnosis rdf:type <bonedisease>. } '
  
(: rdfs.rules is a predefined ruleset :)
let $rs := sem:ruleset-store("rdfs.rules", sem:store())  
return sem:sparql($sq, (), (), $rs)  
(: the rules specify that query for <bonedisease> will return the subclass <osteoarthritis> :)

If graph URIs are included as part of a SPARQL query that includes sem:store or sem:ruleset-store, the query will include triples that are in the store and also in these graphs.

This example is a SPARQL query against the data in $triples, using the rulesets rdfs:subClassOf and rdfs:subPropertyOf:

xquery version "1.0-ml";
import module namespace sem = "http://marklogic.com/semantics" 
  at "/MarkLogic/semantics.xqy";

let $triples := sem:store((), cts:word-query("henley"))
return
sem:sparql("
PREFIX skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#Concept/>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
SELECT * { ?c a skos:Concept; rdfs:label ?l }",(),(),
sem:ruleset-store(("subClassOf.rules","subPropertyOf.rules"),
  ($triples))
)

You can manage the default rulesets for a database using the Admin UI, the REST Mangement API, or XQuery Admin API. See Using the Admin UI to Specify a Default Ruleset for a Database for information about specifying rulesets with the Admin UI. See the default-ruleset property in PUT /manage/v2/databases/{id|name}/properties for REST Management API details. See admin:database-add-default-ruleset for Admin API details.

Using the Admin UI to Specify a Default Ruleset for a Database

You can use the Admin UI to set the default ruleset to be used for queries against a specific database (for example, when using this database, use this ruleset for queries).

To specify the ruleset or rulesets for a database:

1. Click the Databases in left tree menu of the Admin UI.
2. Click the database name to expand the list and scroll to Default Rulesets.

   

3. Click Default Rulesets to see the rulesets currently associated with the Documents database.

   

4. To add your own ruleset, click Add to enter the name and location of the ruleset.

   

5. Your custom rulesets will be located in the schemas database.

   The rulesets supplied by MarkLogic are located in the Config directory under your MarkLogic installation directory (/MarkLogic_install_dir/Config/*.rules).

6. Click more items to associate additional rulesets with this database.

   Security for rulesets is managed the same way that security is handled for MarkLogic schemas.

You can use Query Console to find out what default rulesets are currently associated with a database using the admin:database-get-default-rulesets function.

This example will return the name and location of the default rulesets for the Documents database:

xquery version "1.0-ml";
import module namespace admin = "http://marklogic.com/xdmp/admin" 
  at "/MarkLogic/admin.xqy";

let $config := admin:get-configuration()
let $dbid := admin:database-get-id($config, "Documents")
return admin:database-get-default-rulesets($config, $dbid)

=>

<default-ruleset xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
  xmlns="http://marklogic.com/xdmp/database">
    <location>/rules/livesin.rules</location>
</default-ruleset>

If you have a default ruleset associated with a database and you specify a ruleset as part of your query, both rulesets will be used. Rulesets are additive. Use the no-default-ruleset option in sem:store to ignore the default ruleset.

Overriding the Default Ruleset

You can turn off or ignore a ruleset set as the default on a database. In this example, a SPARQL query is executed against the database, ignoring the default rulesets and using the rdfs:subClassOf inference ruleset for the query:

xquery version "1.0-ml";
import module namespace sem = "http://marklogic.com/semantics" 
  at "/MarkLogic/semantics.xqy";

sem:sparql("
PREFIX skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#Concept/>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
SELECT * { 
  ?c a skos:Concept; 
  rdfs:label ?l }",(),(),
sem:ruleset-store("subClassOf.rules",sem:store("no-default-rulesets"))
)

You can also turn off or ignore a ruleset as part of a query, through the Admin UI, or by using XQuery or JavaScript to specify the ruleset.

You can also change the default ruleset for a database in the Admin UI by deleting the default ruleset from that database. In the Admin UI, select the database name from the left navigation panel, click the database name. Click Default Rulesets.

On the Database: Documents panel, select the default ruleset you want to remove, and click delete. Click ok when you are done. The ruleset is no longer the default ruleset for this database.

This action does not delete the ruleset, only removes it as the default ruleset.

You can also use admin:database-delete-default-ruleset with XQuery to change a database's default ruleset. This example removes subClassOf.rules as the default ruleset for the Documents database.

xquery version "1.0-ml"; 
import module namespace admin = "http://marklogic.com/xdmp/admin" 
  at "/MarkLogic/admin.xqy";

let $config := admin:get-configuration()
let $dbid := admin:database-get-id($config, "Documents")
let $rules := admin:database-ruleset("subClassOf.rules")
let $c := admin:database-delete-default-ruleset($config, $dbid, $rules)

return admin:save-configuration($c)

Creating a New Ruleset

You can create your own rulesets to use for inference in MarkLogic. MarkLogic rulesets are written in a language specific to MarkLogic, based on the SPARQL CONSTRUCT query.

One way to think of inference rules is as a way to construct some inferred triples, then search over the new data set (one that includes the portion of the database defined by the sem:store plus the inferred triples).

The MarkLogic-supplied rulesets are located in the install directory:

/MarkLogic_install_dir/Config/*.rules

When you create a custom ruleset, insert it into the schemas database and refer to it as a URI in the schemas database. A ruleset location is either a URI for the database you are using in the schemas database, or a filename in MarkLogic_Install_Directory/Config.

MarkLogic will search first for the MarkLogic-provided rulesets in /Config and then in the schemas database for any other rulesets.

Ruleset Grammar

MarkLogic rulesets are written in a language specific to MarkLogic. The language is based on the SPARQL 1.1 grammar. The syntax of an inference rule is similar to the grammar for SPARQL CONSTRUCT, with the WHERE clause restricted to a combination of only triple patterns, joins, and filters. The ruleset must have a unique name.

The following grammar specifies the MarkLogic Ruleset Language.

Rules ::= RulePrologue Rule*
Rule ::= 'RULE' RuleName 'CONSTRUCT' ConstructTemplate 'WHERE'? 
    RuleGroupGraphPattern
RuleName ::= String
RuleGroupGraphPattern ::= '{' TriplesBlock? ( ( Filter 
    RuleGroupGraphPattern ) '.'? TriplesBlock? )* '}'
RulePrologue ::= ( BaseDecl | PrefixDecl | RuleImportDecl )*
RuleImportDecl ::= 'IMPORT' RuleImportLocation
RuleImportLocation ::= String

The String for RuleImportLocation must be a URI for the location of the rule to be imported. Non-terminals that are not defined here (like BaseDecl) are references to productions in the SPARQL 1.1 grammar.

• The grammar restricts the contents of a rule's WHERE clause, and it is further restricted during static analysis to a combination of only triple patterns, joins, and filters.
• Comments are allowed using standard SPARQL comment syntax (comments in the form of #, outside an IRI or string, and continuing to the end of line).
• A MarkLogic ruleset uses the extension .rules and has a mimetype of application/vnd.marklogic-ruleset.
• Some kinds of property path operators (/, ^, for instance) can be used as part of ruleset. However, you cannot use these operators as part of a property path in a ruleset: |, ?, *, or +.

The import statement in the prolog includes all rules from the ruleset found at the location given, and all other rulesets imported transitively. If a ruleset at a given location is imported more than once, the effect of the import will be as if it had only been imported once. If a ruleset is imported more than once from different locations, MarkLogic will assume that they are different rulesets and raise an error because of the duplicate rule names they contain (XDMP-DUPRULE).

Example Rulesets

This ruleset (subClassOf.rules) from the /MarkLogic_Install/Config directory includes prefixes, and has rule names and a CONSTRUCT clause. The subClassOf rdfs9 rule is the one doing the work:

PREFIX rdf:     <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
PREFIX rdfs:    <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>

tbox {
  ?c1 rdfs:subClassOf ?c2 .
}

RULE "subClassOf axioms" CONSTRUCT {
  rdfs:subClassOf rdfs:domain rdfs:Class .
  rdfs:subClassOf rdfs:range rdfs:Class .
} {}

RULE "subClassOf rdfs9" CONSTRUCT {
  ?x a ?c2
} {
  ?x a ?c1 .
  ?c1 rdfs:subClassOf ?c2 .
  FILTER(?c1!=?c2)
}

Note that the subClassOf rdfs9 rule also includes a FILTER clause.

This ruleset from same directory (rdfs.rules) imports smaller rulesets to make a ruleset approximating the full RDFS ruleset:

# RDFS 1.1 optimized rules
PREFIX rdf:     <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
PREFIX rdfs:    <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>

import "domain.rules"
import "range.rules"
import "subPropertyOf.rules"
import "subClassOf.rules"

RULE "rdf classes" CONSTRUCT {
  rdf:type a rdf:Property .
  rdf:subject a rdf:Property .
  rdf:predicate a rdf:Property .
  rdf:object a rdf:Property .
  rdf:first a rdf:Property .
  rdf:rest a rdf:Property .
  rdf:value a rdf:Property .
  rdf:nil a rdf:List .
} {}

RULE "rdfs properties" CONSTRUCT {
  rdf:type rdfs:range rdfs:Class .

  rdf:subject rdfs:domain rdf:Statement .
  rdf:predicate rdfs:domain rdf:Statement .
  rdf:object rdfs:domain rdf:Statement .

  rdf:first rdfs:domain rdf:List .
  rdf:rest rdfs:domain rdf:List .
  rdf:rest rdfs:range rdf:List .

  rdfs:isDefinedBy rdfs:subPropertyOf rdfs:seeAlso .
} {}

RULE "rdfs classes" CONSTRUCT {
  rdf:Alt rdfs:subClassOf rdfs:Container .
  rdf:Bag rdfs:subClassOf rdfs:Container .
  rdf:Seq rdfs:subClassOf rdfs:Container .
  rdfs:ContainerMembershipProperty rdfs:subClassOf rdf:Property .
} {}

RULE "datatypes" CONSTRUCT {
  rdf:XMLLiteral a rdfs:Datatype .
  rdf:HTML a rdfs:Datatype .
  rdf:langString a rdfs:Datatype .
} {}

RULE "rdfs12" CONSTRUCT {
  ?p rdfs:subPropertyOf rdfs:member
} {
  ?p a rdfs:ContainerMembershipProperty
}

This is the custom rule shown earlier that you could create and use to infer information about geographic locations:

# geographic rules for inference
PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema/>
PREFIX ex: <http://example.com/>
PREFIX gn: <http://www.geonames.org/ontology/>

RULE "lives in" CONSTRUCT {
  ?person ex:livesIn ?place2
} {
  ?person ex:livesIn ?place1 .
  ?place1 gn:parentFeature ?place2
}

Add the livesIn rule to the schemas database using xdmp:document-insert and Query Console. Make sure the schemas database is selected as the Content Source before you run the code:

xquery version "1.0-ml";

xdmp:document-insert(
'/rules/livesin.rules',
text{'
# geographic rules for inference
PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns>
PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema/>
PREFIX ex: <http://example.com/>
PREFIX gn: <http://www.geonames.org/ontology/>

RULE "lives in" CONSTRUCT {
  ?person ex:livesIn ?place2
} {
  ?person ex:livesIn ?place1 .
  ?place1 gn:parentFeature ?place2
  }'
})

The example stores the livesin.rule in the schemas database, in the rules directory (/rules/livesin.rules). You can include your ruleset as part of inference in the same way you can include the supplied rulesets. MarkLogic will check the location for rules in the schemas database and then the location for the supplied rulesets.