Type-Safe Programming with OWL in Semantics4J

Abstract

Programming with OWL is error-prone due to the lack of type-safe integration into programming languages. While generic types such as Resource can represent anything the data can model, they make it impossible to error-check programs. Mapping ontological concepts into types of the programming language on the other hand often cannot capture the ontology completely and duplicates knowledge that a semantic reasoner already has. Semantics4J, an extended Java compiler, allows for type-safe programming with OWL by integrating DL expressions as types and values into the programming language. This paper presentsa prototype that supports our theoretical concept ${\lambda_{DL}}$ by relying on an extended type-checking process building upon a reasoner as well as class expression queries that are being used as types themselves.

Publication
Proceedings of the ISWC 2017 Posters & Demonstrations and Industry Tracks, co-located with 16th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC)