Submission request to W3C (W3C Team Comment)
We, W3C members National Research Council of Canada, Network Inference, and Stanford University hereby submit to the Consortium the following specification, comprising the following document(s) attached hereto:
which collectively are referred to as "the submission". We request the submission be known as the SWRL submission.
This document contains a proposal for a Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) based on a combination of the OWL DL and OWL Lite sublanguages of the OWL Web Ontology Language with the Unary/Binary Datalog RuleML sublanguages of the Rule Markup Language. SWRL includes a high-level abstract syntax for Horn-like rules in both the OWL DL and OWL Lite sublanguages of OWL. A model-theoretic semantics is given to provide the formal meaning for OWL ontologies including rules written in this abstract syntax. An XML syntax based on RuleML and the OWL XML Presentation Syntax as well as an RDF concrete syntax based on the OWL RDF/XML exchange syntax are also given, along with several examples.
The authors expect to continue evolution of SWRL until such time as a W3C rules working group is formed. After that time, we would expect future versions to be produced by W3C process.
The below statements concerning Copyrights, Trade and Service Marks, and Patents, have been made by the following people on behalf of themselves and their affiliated organizations:
Each organization, respectively, hereby grants to the W3C, a perpetual, nonexclusive, royalty-free, world-wide right and license under any of its copyrights in this contribution to copy, publish and distribute the contribution under the W3C document licenses.
Additionally, should the Submission be used as a contribution towards a W3C Activity, each organization grants a right and license of the same scope to any derivative works prepared by the W3C and based on, or incorporating all or part of, the contribution. Each organization further agrees that any derivative works of this contribution prepared by the W3C shall be solely owned by the W3C.
We agree that the trade and service marks that are associated with and identify this specific submission (Semantic Web Rule Language and SWRL) will be governed by the W3C Trademark and Servicemark License.
National Research Council of Canada, Network Inference, Stanford University, Macgregor, Inc, and BBN Technologies agree to offer licenses according to the W3C Royalty-Free licensing requirements described in section 5 of the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy for any portion of the Submission that is subsequently incorporated in a W3C Recommendation.
Lucent Technologies and Massachusetts Institute of Technology do not agree to offer licenses according to the W3C Royalty-Free licensing requirements described in section 5 of the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy for any portion of the Submission that is subsequently incorporated in a W3C Recommendation.
Additionally, all co-authors claim to have no personal knowledge of any IPR claims help by their respective organizations regarding SWRL.
We suggest that the Consortium consider this as a starting point for work in a new rules working group within the Semantic Web Activity.
To help with this work, the National Research Council of Canada, Network Inference, and Stanford University each expect, but do not commit, to be able to provide one member of the working group. Other of the creators also expect to be able to serve on the working group.
Inquiries from the public or press about this submission should be directed to the authors.
this 5th day of May, 2004,
Glen Newton, National Research Council of Canada
Jeff Pollock, Network Inference
Deborah L. McGuinness, Stanford University