ViziQuer/DSS Tool for Visual Exploration and Queries over Large RDF Data Sets

Graphically construct and execute rich data analysis queries. Explore and query DBPedia, wikidata and other RDF Data Sets.

Supports both data instance level and aggregate queries

DBPedia and wikidata environments based on actual data schemas (e.g., 480K classes and 50K properties for DBPedia)




Query environment Open viziquer.app.
Google Chrome browser is recommended (may work also in other browsers).

Register (sign up) as a new user (email checking not done, any e-mail-like string is accepted), then log in.

Create a new project (give at least the name for the project), you can choose to initialize your project by some predefined configuration (e.g., 'Initialise by DBPedia sample project'; projects over wikidata, Europeana and a mini-University sample dataset available, as well). If an empty project is created, its contents can be uploaded (button 'Upload Project') later from a sample project file or URL (cf. Sample Projects section).

Create a new diagram, click on the diagram pane. The tabs for classes, properties and individuals shall be to the right. Double-click an item in a list to seed a query from it.

A short notation and tool explanation with examples in the DBPedia context is available.
A user manual for the classic version explains the query notation and environment concepts.
The query notation presentation over hospital data contains a wealth of query examples.

Highlights Experience with Visual SPARQL Queries over DBPedia (Presentation and paper at VOILA!'2022)

Towards Visual Queries over Wikidata (Demo at ESWC'2022)

Visual Queries over Distributed Knowledge Graphs (Research project, supported by Latvian Science Council)

Sample Projects The example projects with configurations over Europeana, DBPedia and wikidata can be uploaded from the following locations (other sample projects are offered during the project initialization, as well):
  • Europeana sample project.
  • DBPedia sample project.
  • Wikidata sample project.

  • Classic version

    The classic ViziQuer/web version (with in-memory data schema storage) is available here.

    Contacts Contact viziquer@lumii.lv for support, inquiries and any other ViziQuer-related matter. Team leader e-mail karlis.cerans@lumii.lv

    Open source code Check out the branch dss-based-schemata from Viziquer repository in GitHub for the visual tool version that works with the data shape (schema) server (needed for large data schema support).

    The data shape server (serving the names for auto-completion) is in its own repository on GitHub (the actual schema data are currently stored in Postgres databases).

    The data shape retrieval services contain:
    - the open source code used for populating the DBPedia and wikidata schema databases from their respective SPARQL endpoints, and
    - a utility for importing JSON-formatted schemas obtained from the generic data schema retrieval (cf. Data schema retrieval section).

    Data schema retrieval The visual query tool is designed to work with user-specified SPARQL endpoints. The Schema Extractor allows for obtaining a JSON-structured schema for a data set.
    NB! Use "version 2" within the schema extractor UI.
    To use the created schema with ViziQuer/DSS tool, load it into the tool backend database by the data shape import service tool.
    Alternatively, the schema can be loaded into classic ViziQuer/web.

    Data schemas The dumps of PostgreSQL databases for data endpoint schema information storing (including, where possible, the class-property and property-property relations):
  • Europeana, a sample moderate size schema: PostgreSQL database for Europeana
  • Empty schema (can be used to populate with user data): Empty PostgreSQL database
  • DBPedia (large, 188 MB): PostgreSQL database for DBPedia (v0)

  • Research projects Visual Queries in Distributed Knowledge Graphs. Research project lzp-2021/1-0389, financed by Latvian Science Council. January 2022 - December 2024

    Core team
  • Prof. Kārlis Čerāns (current team leader)
  • Dr. Lelde Lāce
  • Jūlija Ovčiņņikova
  • Mikus Grasmanis
  • Dr. Agris Šostaks
  • Dr. Arturs Sproģis
  • Dr. Uldis Bojārs
  • Prof. Guntis Bārzdiņš (early ViziQuer notation supervisor)
  • Dr. Mārtiņš Zviedris (early ViziQuer notation founder)
  • We work at Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia

    Earlier versions Earlier ViziQuer tool versions (Windows desktop) are available for download and experiments, as well (no support available).

    Current Research
  • K.Cerans, L.Lace, M.Grasmanis, J.Ovcinnikova. A UML-style Visual Query Environment over DBPedia. In Proc. of MTSR'2021, Springer Verlag CCIS Series
    Download the author manuscript
  • K.Cerans, J.Ovcinnikova, M.Grasmanis, L.Lace and A.Romane. Visual Presentation of SPARQL Queries in ViziQuer In Voila!2021, CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol.3023
  • Čerāns, K., Ovčiņņikova, J., Bojārs, U., Grasmanis, M., Lāce, L. and Romāne, A., Schema-Backed Visual Queries over Europeana and Other Linked Data Resources. ESWC 2021 Satellite Events. Springer LNCS, Vol.12739, pp.82-87. Download the author manuscript
  • K.Cerans, A.Sostaks, U.Bojars, J.Ovcinnikova, L.Lace, M.Grasmanis, A.Romane, A.Sprogis and J.Barzdins. ViziQuer: a Visual Notation for RDF Data Analysis Queries. In Proc. of MTSR'2018, in Springer Verlag CCIS Series
    Download the author manuscript
  • K.Cerans, A.Sostaks, U.Bojars, J.Ovcinnikova, L.Lace, M.Grasmanis, A.Romane, A.Sprogis and J.Barzdins. ViziQuer: a Web-based Tool for Visual Diagrammatic Queries over RDF Data In The Semantic Web: ESWC 2018 Satellite Events, Springer Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol.11155, pp.158-163.
    Download the author manuscript
  • K.Cerans, J.Barzdins, A.Sostaks, J.Ovcinnikova, L.Lace, M.Grasmanis and A.Sprogis. Extended UML Class Diagram Constructs for Visual SPARQL Queries in ViziQuer/web In Voila!2017, CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol.1947
  • Earlier Research
  • K.Cerans, J.Ovcinnikova. ViziQuer: Notation and Tool for Data Analysis SPARQL Queries. In Voila!2016, CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol.1704
  • K.Cerans, J.Ovcinnikova, M. Zviedris. SPARQL Aggregate Queries made easy with Diagrammatic Query Language ViziQuer. In ISWC 2015 Posters & Demonstrations Track, CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol.1486
  • K.Cerans, J.Ovcinnikova, M. Zviedris. Towards Graphical Query Notation for Semantic Databases. In BIR 2015, Springer LNBIP.
  • G. Barzdins, S.Rikacovs, M. Zviedris. Graphical Query Language as SPARQL Frontend. In Local Proceedings of 13th East-European Conference (ADBIS 2009), pp. 93-107. Riga Technical University, Riga. (2009)
  • G.Barzdins, E.Liepins, M.Veilande, M.Zviedris, "Ontology Enabled Graphical Database Query Tool for End-Users", Selected papers from DBIS'2008, Hele-Mai Haav (Eds.), Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applicatons series, IOS Press, 2009. 187:105-116