Façade-X turns 4 in September. What about standardization?

[enridaga]

The Façade-X method was originally proposed at the SEMANTICS conference in 2021 [1]. After four years and a v1.0.0 release last month, it is time to move forward and work for the long-term stability of the SPARQL Anything project.

In this discussion, I'd like to collect opinions on pathways to standardisation. An obvious choice would be to open a W3C community group, as well as getting in touch with others (the SPARQL 1.2 WG first, but also SHAPES, KGC, ...).

Goals of the WG could be:

• Standardise Façade-X
• Standardise Façade-X mappings to formats (profiles?)
• Establish a standard, monitored process to add new formats to the standard
• Build connections to other W3C WGs
• Foster collaborations, especially with developers, businesses, adopters, etc...

So, let us know your ideas, would you like to join and support a W3C WG on façades?

[1] Daga, E., Asprino, L., Mulholland, P. and Gangemi, A., 2021. Facade-X: an opinionated approach to SPARQL anything. In Further with Knowledge Graphs (pp. 58-73). IOS Press.

[kvistgaard]

Hi Enrico,

That's a great initiative. I believe there is great potential in decoupling Façade-X (homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources) from the concrete implementation (SPARQL Anything). Decoupling might go even further: Façade-X -- Query language (SPARQL, GraphQL etc) -- implementation.

Most importantly, having Façade-X as an interoperable standard, maintained by W3C, will make it more reliable for the users, will open up innovation opportunities, further enhancing the reliability of Façade-X since it won't depend on the fate of a single project.

[enridaga]

Absolutely, SPARQL Anything can be our ref implementation but we should support and encourage others (e.g. graph database vendors) to provide their own implementation.

[enridaga]

We should also consider a SHACL implementation (that we could build on the side of this project).

[kvistgaard]

Yes, SHACL implementation would be welcome since it will give that change to manage CONSTRUCT queries as sh:SPARQLrules in a SHACL shapes graph.

[luigi-asprino]

Actually, I agree. We could also develop an ad hoc language for querying Facade-X views.
According to our framework, everything can be seen as a collection of containers.
One idea could be to design a language for such a data source that offers some benefits.

[luigi-asprino]

That's a great initiative! Although I have never participated in a standardisation process before, I would certainly like to contribute.

I also think that the SPARQL dialect adopted by SPARQL Anything should be standardised as well.
Even though we tried to keep SPARQL as pure as possible, conventions were adopted for configuration purposes.
I am referring to the SERVICE IRI or the BGP, etc.
Furthermore, SPARQL Anything reuses Basil's naming conventions for writing SPARQL templates.
I'm not sure if these have already been standardised elsewhere.
Finally, we need to provide a reference description of the functions and magic properties implemented by SA.

[1] https://github.com/SPARQL-Anything/sparql.anything?tab=readme-overview#configuration

[enridaga]

Good point about standardising the SPARQL part and basil variables as part of the WG goals

[luigi-asprino]

What are the next steps to kick-start the standardisation process?

[enridaga]

1. Prepare the charter description
2. Submitting the WG proposal to the WG CG portal
3. Contact people that may be intersted and asking for support

Then, once the WG is approved, we can plan the first meeting :)

[luigi-asprino]

OK, do you have a template for the charter description, or an example from which you can take inspiration?

[enridaga]

I've see a few from existing WGs. To submit, we need GROUP NAME, Description (I am preparing a draft), and SHORTNAME. Then press the button...

[enridaga]

Name

RDF Façades Community Group

Shortname

FX

Description

The group's primary goal is to foster the long-term stability and broader adoption of Façade-X by decoupling it from its original implementation in the SPARQL Anything project. This would involve creating a vendor-neutral, interoperable standard that can be implemented by various developers and organizations, including graph database vendors.
The key activities of the Community Group include:

• Standardizing the Façade-X Method: Defining the core principles and specifications of Façade-X as a "homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources."
• Creating Standard Mappings (Profiles): Developing and standardizing mappings for Façade-X to various data formats.
• Establishing a Process for New Formats: Creating a transparent and monitored process to add new data formats to the standard over time.
• Standardizing the SPARQL Dialect: Addressing the specific conventions and functions used by SPARQL Anything to make them part of the official standard, including SERVICE IRIs, BGPs, and magic properties.
• Collaborating with Other W3C Groups: Building connections and working with other relevant W3C Working Groups, such as the SPARQL 1.2 WG, SHAPES, and KGC, to ensure consistency and integration within the broader web standards ecosystem.
• Fostering Community and Business Engagement: Encouraging collaboration among developers, businesses, and adopters to gather ideas, feedback, and support for the standard.
• Support the Development of Implementations: While SPARQL Anything could keep existing as a reference implementation, the group would encourage and support implementations for other platforms/vendors, and expanding the Façade-X approach to other languages such as SHACL.

[enridaga]

More options for the name:

• Data Façades Community Group
• Web Data Access Façades Community Group
• Web Data Façades Community Group
• Façade-X Community Group
• RDF Façades Community Group

[luigi-asprino]

My favourite is "Web Data Façades Community Group".
I tweaked the description slightly to decouple the method, i.e. accessing web data using data façades, from the model developed in SPARQL Anything for abstracting over a number of formats, i.e. Façade-X. In the previous version both were called Façade-X.

Name

Web Data Access Façades Community Group

Shortname

FX

Description

The group's primary goal is to foster the long-term stability and broader adoption of the approach for accessing heterogenous web data using data façades, by decoupling it from its original implementation in the SPARQL Anything project. This would involve creating a vendor-neutral, interoperable standard that can be implemented by various developers and organisations, including graph database vendors.
The key activities of the Community Group include:

• Standardising the Façade-X Method: Defining the core principles of the method and specifications of Façade-X as a "homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources",
• Creating Standard Mappings (Profiles): Developing and standardising mappings for Façade-X to various data formats.
• Establishing a Process for New Formats: Creating a transparent and monitored process to add new data formats to the standard over time.
• Standardising the SPARQL Dialect: Addressing the specific conventions and functions used by SPARQL Anything to make them part of the official standard, including SERVICE IRIs, BGPs, and magic properties.
• Collaborating with Other W3C Groups: Building connections and working with other relevant W3C Working Groups, such as the SPARQL 1.2 WG, SHAPES, and KGC, to ensure consistency and integration within the broader web standards ecosystem.
• Fostering Community and Business Engagement: Encouraging collaboration among developers, businesses, and adopters to gather ideas, feedback, and support for the standard.
• Support the Development of Implementations: While SPARQL Anything could keep existing as a reference implementation, the group would encourage and support implementations for other platforms/vendors, and expanding the web data façades approach to other languages such as SHACL.

[enridaga]

I would go for "Web Data Façades CG", "web data access .." is too long

[enridaga]

Hi all,

I will submit the CG proposal during the week-end

---

Name

Data Façades Community Group

Shortname

FX

Description

The group's primary goal is to foster the long-term stability and broader adoption of the approach for accessing heterogenous web data using data façades, by decoupling it from its original implementation in the SPARQL Anything project. This would involve creating a vendor-neutral, interoperable standard that can be implemented by various developers and organisations, including graph database vendors.
The key activities of the Community Group include:

Standardising the Façade-X Method: Defining the core principles of the method and specifications of Façade-X as a "homogeneous view over heterogeneous data sources",
Creating Standard Mappings (Profiles): Developing and standardising mappings for Façade-X to various data formats.
Establishing a Process for New Formats: Creating a transparent and monitored process to add new data formats to the standard over time.
Standardising the SPARQL Dialect: Addressing the specific conventions and functions used by SPARQL Anything to make them part of the official standard, including SERVICE IRIs, BGPs, and magic properties.
Collaborating with Other W3C Groups: Building connections with other relevant W3C efforts, such as the RDF & SPARQL and Data Shapes WGs, to ensure consistency and integration within the broader web standards ecosystem.
Fostering Community and Business Engagement: Encouraging collaboration among developers, businesses, and adopters to gather ideas, feedback, and support for the standard.
Support the Development of Implementations: While SPARQL Anything could remain as a reference implementation, the group would encourage and support implementations for other platforms/vendors, and expand the web data façades approach to other languages (e.g. SHACL).

[kvistgaard]

I would even suggest dropping "web".

…

On Fri, 26 Sept 2025, 12:21 Enrico Daga, ***@***.***> wrote: I would go for "Web Data Façades CG", "web data access .." is too long — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#550 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABZYZ4KPZZOATHX7M3TCCL33UUHRLAVCNFSM6AAAAACBUE22AWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTINJSGA3DAOI> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: <SPARQL-Anything/sparql.anything/repo-discussions/550/comments/14520609@ github.com>

[luigi-asprino]

It's true that the approach goes beyond the web, and it's also fairly obvious that a W3C CG is for the web :-)

[enridaga]

I am also inclined to drop the 'web', as it makes the name simpler.

[enridaga]

The proposal was submitted today. As soon as moderation takes place, we will see it appearing among the proposed CGs. Stay tuned :)

[enridaga]

Here we go, please see the announcement page below and support the creation of the CG! Remember, we need at least 5 supporters to start working :)

https://www.w3.org/community/blog/2025/09/28/proposed-group-data-facades-community-group/

[luigi-asprino]

Great! Supported!

[kvistgaard]

Remember, we need at least 5 supporters to start working :)

Didn't take long.

[enridaga]

Discussion continues here: https://www.w3.org/groups/cg/fx/