SPARQL
SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language
Situational
Formal standard
W3C
Since 2008
Judgement: Situational
Query RDF; right when your data lives in triples.
The query language for RDF graphs. Pattern-matching syntax that walks graph triples, with federation across endpoints, updates, and a standardised HTTP protocol.
Where SQL is to relational tables, SPARQL is to RDF: the standard way to ask questions of an OSI, DCAT, SKOS, or SHACL-validated graph. Without it, the rest of the W3C semantic stack cannot answer queries portably.
At a glance
- Category
- Query
- Governance
- W3C
- Status
- Stable; SPARQL 1.1 current, 1.2 in progress
- First released
- 2008
Links
Related standards
Other standards in Query.
- SQL — Structured Query Language
- GQL — Graph Query Language
- Substrait
- MDX — Multidimensional Expressions
See SPARQL in context
Open the interactive Data Landscape to compare SPARQL against every other open standard, or grab the raw JSON. Spotted something wrong? Open an issue.