Demystifying SHACL — Guide to Semantic Data Validation (Part 2)

Lokesh Sharma
8 min readMar 10, 2024

Missed Part 1? Well, go catch up — it’s not like we’re going anywhere.

If you’re a newbie — consider reading introduction to Semantic Web! 🌐. It is like SHACL for your brain — structured, validated and ready to roll. To keep the overall agenda clear, in part 2 we have the following highlights:

- Part 1: Linked data and semantic validation
- Part 2: Evolution of SHACL and Key Concepts
- Part 3: Syntax of Core and SPARQL-based Constraints
- Part 4: Hands-on validation with pySHACL

Ready to stretch those brain muscles? because this section is about to hit you with some heavy-duty theory. Yeah, I know, it’s not exactly the stuff I fancy, but hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right? We will dive into the pre-SHACL era, decode some basic terminologies💡, then more concepts within shapes and constraints.

“The Old Ways” — Pre-SHACL Validation Methods

Let’s take a trip down memory lane into the Wild West of the semantic web 🤠. A glimpse in the history of semantic validation exposes that the pioneers did define constraints to validate RDF, but it wasn’t straight forward and primarily did things like:

  1. Custom Validation Scripts: Developers would roll up their sleeves and manually craft rules as validation scripts to check data against a set of predefined criteria…

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Lokesh Sharma
Lokesh Sharma

Written by Lokesh Sharma

Curious minds are exploring the potential of knowledge graphs in GIS technologies. If topography and graphs interest you too, join me in this journey!