Core Linked Data Specifications
There are a couple of specifications (specs) around that are relevant to the Linked Data Web. This site aims to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date listing of the relevant specs. [more...]
The Linked Data principles as well as the follow-up articles on Read-Write Linked Data and Social Aware Cloud Storage, which provide the basis for Linked Data, list a set of core specifications. This can be understood as the Linked Data core stack:
RFC 2616 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1
Defines HTTP, a generic and stateless application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems.
RFC 3986 Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax
Defines a generic URI syntax and a process for resolving URI references that might be in relative form, along with guidelines and security considerations for the use of URIs on the Internet.
RDF Concepts and Abstract Syntax
Defines the RDF graph data model and key concepts.
SPARQL Query Language for RDF
Defines defines the syntax and semantics of the SPARQL query language for RDF.
Supplementary Linked Data Specifications
A good starting point for finding supplementary Linked Data specifications is the Semantic Web Activity Publications page. However, there are other specifications relevant to Linked Data, not covered by this page:
- HTTP-level specs: CORS | Web Links
- URI-level specs: well-known URIs | URI Template
- Representation-level specs: JSON-LD
- Schema-level specs: voiD | Change Set
Note that in the following the colour code of the core specs is used to guide you through the supplementary specs. Additionally we try to provide information how a supplementary spec contributes to respective core specs.
1 HTTP-level Specifications
CORS Cross-Origin Resource Sharing
Defines a mechanism to enable client-side cross-origin requests.
RFC 5988 Web Linking
Specifies relation types for Web links, and defines a registry for them. It also defines the use of such links in HTTP headers with the Link header field.
2 URI-level Specifications
RFC 5785 Defining Well-Known URIs
Defines a path prefix for "well-known locations",
/.well-known/, in selected Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) schemes.
Defines the URI Template syntax and the process for expanding a URI Template into a URI, along with guidelines for the use of URI Templates on the Internet.
3 Representation-level Specifications
JSON-LD Linked Data Expression in JSON
Outlines a common JSON representation format for Linked Data that can be used to represent objects specified via RDFa, Microformats and Microdata.
4 Schema-level Specifications
voiD Vocabulary of Interlinked Datasets
Defines a vocabulary and a set of instructions that enables the discovery and usage of Linked Datasets.
CS Change Set Vocabulary
Defines a set of terms for describing changes to resource descriptions.
