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Analysis of Existing Platforms

We analysed free and open source tools as well as commercial tools. The free tools we considered were WebProtégé, VocBench and Wikidata. Additionally we considered commercial solutions including PoolParty, Stardog, Metaphactory and TopBraid Composer. We detail their adequacy based on the requirements bellow. The identified gaps are summarized in the following.

Main gaps across the free tools:

  • Visual Editors require training for non-technical users, limited personalization.
  • Lack of granular access control.
  • Restrictive visualization and analysis tools.
  • Limited graphical representation capabilities.
  • Training and Support might not be as extensive due to missing commercial incentive.

Main gaps across commercial tools:

  • Visual Editors require training for non-technical users, limited personalization.
  • Visualization and analysis tools are mostly general purpose, lack customization capabilities and are less good than specialized tools.
  • Graphical representation may be overwhelming for end-users.
  • Missing staging area for all considered tools.
  • No public issue board and closed code.

Protégé/WebProtégé​

Protégé is an open-source ontology editor developed at Stanford University. It supports the creation, visualization, and editing of ontologies in OWL. WebProtégé, its web-based counterpart, offers collaborative features and version control.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Visual editor requires Semantic Web expertise.
  • WebProtégé supports basic multi-user editing with roles and permissions.
  • Offers real-time collaboration features, including comments and notifications.
  • Provides search functionalities, but they might not be as advanced as needed for large-scale or complex ontologies.
  • No advanced analysis capabilities.
  • Graphical interfaces via plugins to explore relationships within an ontology, not at the ABox/instance level (Knwoledge Graph level).
  • Documentation and tutorials might not be as extensive or personalized as some users require.
  • Supports multiple languages.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Supports OWL, no SKOS support (SKOS concepts transformed into OWL individuals).
    • Suitable for small to medium-sized ontologies.
  • Import/export capabilities.
  • Provides basic versioning and change tracking.
  • No staging area feature.
  • SPARQL support.
  • No Linked Data deployment capabilities.
  • No data integration tools.
  • Possibility to link external reasoners.
  • Provides an API.
  • Supports plugins for the desktop version (Protégé).
  • Available on-premises.
  • Free and open-source.
  • Active user community and forums.
  • Open for pull requests.

VocBench​

VocBench is a web-based platform for the management of thesauri and ontologies. It is designed to support multi-user environments and provides robust collaboration tools.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Visual Editor comparable to Protégé
  • Multi-user support with role-based access and custom role definition.
  • Offers real-time collaboration features like multi-user editing and notifications.
  • Provides advanced search capabilities, including full-text search.
  • No advanced analysis capabilities.
  • No graphical representation at the interface level, possible via GraphDB.
  • Good documentation and community support.
  • Extensive multilingual support.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Support for SKOS and OWL.
    • Handles moderately large datasets.
  • Import/export capabilities.
  • Provides versioning and change tracking with a Time Machine support.
  • Provides a staging area with staged changes in the form of triples to be validated.
  • SPARQL support.
  • No Linked Data deployment.
  • Basic data integration tools.
  • Integrity constraint validation tool and basic reasoning capabilities.
  • API access.
  • Available on-premises.
  • Open-source and free.
  • Regular updates and public issue board.
  • Open for pull requests.

Wikidata​

Wikidata is a free, collaboratively edited knowledge base hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. It acts as a central repository of structured data for Wikimedia projects and beyond. The open-source software Wikibase can be used for the collaborative editing of knowledge graphs.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Offers a user-friendly interface for knowledge graphs editing but not specifically designed for ontology creation.
  • Multi-user collaboration with open contribution model.
  • Offers basic search functionalities.
  • Basic visualization tools (e.g. Wikidata Query Service).
  • Extensive community support, documentation, and tutorials.
  • Strong support for multiple languages.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Supports RDF editing with limited support for OWL.
    • Highly scalable, supports a vast amount of data and high query volume.
  • Limited support for import and export.
  • Versioning and comprehensive change tracking.
  • Lacks a dedicated staging area feature.
  • SPARQL support.
  • Supports Linked Data deployment.
  • No data integration tools.
  • No reasoning capabilities.
  • Provides an API.
  • Large and active community of contributors.
  • Free and open-source, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Open-source with community support.

PoolParty​

PoolParty is a commercial platform for taxonomy, thesaurus, and ontology management. It offers text mining, linked data capabilities, and advanced semantic search features.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Offers a user-friendly interface, allowing users to edit ontologies with minimal technical knowledge but still requiring training for non-technical users.
  • Supports detailed role-based access control with granular rights.
  • Offers real-time editing, comments, and notifications.
  • Includes full-text search.
  • Provides graphs, charts, and other visual formats for data analysis but limited customization capabilities.
  • Strong graphical representation for graph exploration.
  • Offers contextual help, tutorials, and training sessions.
  • Supports multiple languages.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Support for standard ontology and thesaurus formats (OWL and SKOS).
    • Handles large datasets and complex ontologies efficiently.
  • Supports import and export in various formats.
  • Provides versioning and change tracking capabilities.
  • Lacks a dedicated staging area feature.
  • SPARQL support.
  • Supports Linked Data deployment including dereferenciable URIs and content negotiation.
  • Provides data integration tools for transforming and mapping external data.
  • Offers reasoning capabilities.
  • Provides APIs for programmatic interaction.
  • Supports plugins and extensions.
  • Available as an on-premise solution.
  • Proprietary, not free.
  • Provides regular updates, but no public issue board.
  • Not open for pull requests as a proprietary tool.

Stardog​

Stardog is an enterprise knowledge graph platform with advanced capabilities for data unification, AI, and reasoning. It supports large-scale data integration and querying.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Provides user-friendly tools but can be complex for non-technical users.
  • Supports detailed access control and permissions.
  • Includes collaborative tools but may lack advanced real-time editing features.
  • Offers powerful search functionalities, including full-text search.
  • Provides good visualization and analysis tools with limited customization capabilities.
  • Offers graphical representations for data exploration.
  • Includes training resources and support.
  • Supports multiple languages.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Supports RDF, OWL, and SKOS.
    • High scalability for large datasets.
  • Supports import and export.
  • Provides versioning and change tracking.
  • Lacks a staging area.
  • SPARQL support.
  • No Linked Data deployment and content negotiation.
  • Offers comprehensive data integration tools with a personalized mapping language.
  • Provides reasoning capabilities.
  • Provides APIs for integration.
  • Support for plugins and extensions.
  • Available on-premises.
  • Proprietary, not free.
  • Regular updates, no public issue board.
  • Not open for pull requests.

Metaphactory​

Metaphactory is a commercial platform for building and managing knowledge graphs. It is designed to be user-friendly, flexible, and supports linked data and semantic search. Metaphactory provides a complete end-to-end solution from data ingestion to knowledge discovery.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Designed to be user-friendly with a focus on ease of use but some technical knowledge is still required.
  • Supports detailed role-based access and permissions.
  • Provides collaborative features including real-time editing and notifications.
  • Includes full-text search and other advanced search features.
  • Strong visualization and analysis tools but not as good as specialized visualization tools.
  • Good graphical representation tools for exploring data.
  • Comprehensive training and support.
  • Supports multiple languages.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Supports RDF, OWL, and SKOS.
    • Handles large datasets and complex knowledge graphs efficiently.
  • Supports import and export.
  • Provides versioning and change tracking.
  • Lacks a dedicated staging area feature.
  • SPARQL support.
  • Linked Data deployment support.
  • Provides tools for data integration.
  • Offers reasoning capabilities.
  • Support for plugins and extensions
  • Available on-premises.
  • Proprietary, not free.
  • Provides regular updates, no public issue board.
  • Not open for pull requests.

TopBraid Composer​

TopBraid Composer is an enterprise-grade semantic modeling and ontology development tool. It supports advanced features like data integration, reasoning, and governance, making it suitable for large-scale enterprise applications.

Usability requirements coverage:

  • Offers powerful but complex editors, more suited for users with some technical knowledge.
  • Supports detailed access control and permissions.
  • Includes collaboration tools but with limited real-time editing features.
  • Provides advanced search capabilities.
  • Offers visualization tools, not as user-friendly as other tools.
  • Provides graphical tools for exploring relationships.
  • Offers training and support but the complexity of the tool may require more in-depth resources.
  • Supports multiple languages.

Technical requirements coverage:

  • Supports RDF, OWL, and SKOS.
    • Handles large datasets and complex ontologies efficiently.
  • Supports import and export.
  • Provides versioning and change tracking.
  • Lacks a dedicated staging area feature.
  • SPARQL support.
  • Linked Data deployment support.
  • Provides tools for data integration.
  • Offers reasoning capabilities.
  • Support for plugins and extensions.
  • Available on-premises.
  • Proprietary, not free.
  • Provides regular updates, no public issue board.
  • Not open for pull requests.