A WSGI-enabled toolkit for creating RDF-driven web apps.
Project description
Oort is a toolkit for creating RDF-driven WSGI-compliant web applications.
The purpose of this is to make it easy to create web views of RDF Graphs by using some declarative python programming.
Oort uses RDFLib, Paste and Genshi for the heaving lifting. Initial support for Template Plugins alá Buffet and TurboGears is included (but ain’t 100% full-proof yet).
Overview
These are the main packages:
- oort.sitebase
Contains classes used for declarative definitions of displays, used for matching resources and rendering a particular output (html, json etc.). By defining aspects, the type (or super-type) of a selected resource is mapped to a particular RdfQuery and an associated template.
One or more displays are put in the context of a resource viewer, which becomes a WSGI application ready to mount in your WSGI environment.
- oort.rdfview
Contains classes and functions used for defining RDF queries and selectors, i.e. declarations used to pick properties and associated sub-queries from a chosen resource (similar to how many ORM-toolkits work).
How?
A couple of RdfQuerys:
from oort.rdfview import * from myapp.ns import SITE # your own.. class Node(RdfQuery): title = localized(DC) class SiteNode(Node): altTitle = localized(DC.alternative) relations = collection(SITE) >> Node nodeContent = localized_xml(SITE) class Person(RdfQuery): name = one(FOAF) knows = each(FOAF) >> THIS_QUERY
And a web application:
from oort.sitebase import * from myapp import queries from myapp.ns import SITE class ExampleViewer(ResourceViewer): resourceBase = "http://example.org/oort/" langOrder = 'en', 'sv' class PlainWebDisplay(Display): name = "main" default = True outputMethod = 'xhtml' outputEncoding = 'iso-8859-1' templateBase = "view/mainweb" globalQueries = {'languages': queries.sitelabels } aspects = [ Aspect(SITE.SiteNode, "sitenode.xhtml", {'node': queries.SiteNode}) , Aspect(FOAF.Person, "person.xhtml", {'person': queries.Person}) , Aspect(RDFS.Resource, "not_found.xhtml") ] class JsonDisplay(Display): name = "json" contentType = 'application/x-javascript' aspects = [ JsonAspect(SITE.SiteNode, {'node': queries.SiteNode}) ]
But wait, there’s more..
Paste!
Makes WSGI go down smoothly. ResourceViewers take RDFLib Graph instances in their constructors and become callables adhering to the spec.
To get started quickly, run:
$ paster create -t oort_app ... fill in desired values in the dialogue $ cd myapp/ $ vim # edit and test.. $ chmod u+x webapp.ini $ ./webapp.ini
Why?
Because RDF is a formidable technology that could revolutionize the way information is treated and shared. Python and WSGI are exemplary technologies to use when building applications dealing with such data.
Why Oort?
The Oort Cloud is a fascinating, alien phenomenon in a region less travelled..
Imagine all the BNodes in that cloud just waiting for an URI on the Web..
“Output-Oriented RDF Toolkit”!
a Dutch surname, so the way may be obvious to Oort..
Copyright (c) 2006 Niklas Lindström
License: BSD-style <http://opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license>
Project details
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