Search Help
Our site can be used like traditional Web search site by just typing a few keywords
describing the information you are trying to find.
However if this produces a large number of irrelavant results you can then harness the real
power of the Semantic Web. Our search engine allows you to use the vocabularies of the Semantic Web to
narrow your search by the specific type or properties of the resource (person, place, or thing) you want to
locate.
The table below highlights the basic search stragegy you should use on Semantic Web Search.
Basic Search Strategy
- each step increasingly narrows the search
1. Enter the keywords that best describe what you are looking for.
<![CDATA[web browser]]>
2. Select the type of resource you are looking for from the drop list.
<![CDATA[RSS Item]]>
3. Enter one or more property values of the resource.
<![CDATA[[rss:title]~web browser]]>
The table below describes the various conditions that can be applied to a Semantic Web Search. Combine more conditions
to narrow your search. Only resources that match all of your specified conditions are returned in the search results.
Find a resource with...
1. Any property value containing the term(s)
A. If no other conditions are present simply list the terms:
<![CDATA[web browser]]>
B. Otherwise match any property using the special
symbol (o) with the fuzzy match operator (~):
<![CDATA[o~web browser]]>
2. A specific type
A. Just select one of the types from the drop down list
B. Or you can specify a type by matching the RDF Type property of the resource:
<![CDATA[[rdf:type]=[rss:item]]]>
3. A specific URI
A. If no other conditions are present simply specify the URI of the resource:
<![CDATA[[http://www.semanticwebsearch.com]]]>
B. Otherwise match the resource URI using the special symbol (s)
along with the equality operator (=):
<![CDATA[s=[http://www.semanticwebsearch.com]]]>
4. A property equal to a value
Specify the property by name or URI along with the equality operator (=)
A. Match a literal string:
<![CDATA[[foaf:name]="Bill Clinton"]]>
B. Match a resource:
<![CDATA[[foaf:mbox]=[mailto:billclinton@whitehouse.gov]]]>
C. Match any value:
<![CDATA[[foaf:image]=]]>
5. A property value containing the term(s)
Specify the property by name or URI along with the fuzzy match operator (~) followed by one or more terms:
<![CDATA[[rss:description]~computer software windows]]>
6.An anonymous node with a property value
The anonymous node operator (.) can be specified after any property name to indicate the next property is
a on the anonymous node contained by the previous property.
A. Match a property on the anonymous node contained in the
the dc:creator property of the resource:
<![CDATA[[dc:creator].[foaf:name]="Bill Clinton"]]>
<![CDATA[[dc:creator].[foaf:name]~Bill Clinton]]>
<![CDATA[[dc:creator].[foaf:name]=]]>
<![CDATA[[dc:creator].[foaf:mbox]=[mailto:president-42@whitehouse.gov]]]>
Notes
1.
All resources, both property names and values, must be enclosed in square braces ( [foaf:name] ).
2.
Resources can be specified as a full URI (
[http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/name] ) or
a
qname (
[foaf:name] ) using one of the
namespaces supported by Semantic Web Search.
3.
Properties can optionally be specified by enclosing their name (label) in sqaure braces ( [Title] ). This method
of specifying a property is convenient but can sometimes be ambiguous therefore it is best to use the full
URI ( [http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title] ) or qname ( [dc:title] ) of the property.
4.
A literal value that contains spaces must be enclosed in double quotes ( "Semantic Web Search" ).
5.
The equal to operator (=) requires an exact match of the property value. A literal value will only match an identical
literal value and likewise a resource value will only match an identical resource value. All comparision are case sensitive.
For a broader match of a property value use the fuzzy match operator (~).
Example Searches
The links listed below provide some examples of common types of Semantic Web searches. You can try them out and
modify them to find the information you need.
General
Find any resource that has a property that contains the terms 'web' and 'browser'
FOAF
Find all FOAF Persons that contain the term 'Bill Clinton'
Find all FOAF Persons that with the name 'Bill Clinton'
Find all FOAF Persons that knows a person named 'Bill Clinton'
RSS
Find all RSS items that contain the terms 'web' and 'browser'
Find all RSS items that contain the terms 'web' and 'browser' in the title
Find all RSS items that contain the terms 'web' and 'browser' and have 'software' in their subject
On-line Search Agent
Click here to try our on-line search argent that will help you construct a search
to find the information
you need on Semantic Web.
