Linked Open Data

Glossary

LOD:

Linked Open Data

URI:

Uniform Resource Identifier

Definition

Linked Data is the collective term for data following a paradigm based on four simple rules: (a) using URIs to identify entities, (b) using http-URIs allowing to de-reference and look up entities, (c) providing useful information at these URIs based on standard formats (e.g., RDF, SPARQL), and (d) connecting and interlinking to other entities in order to allow for further exploration (Berners-Lee 2007). For the data to fully qualify as Linked Open Data (LOD), it should additionally be provided publicly, be available on the web, and be under an open license.

Making use of semantic web formats, LOD implements the vision of a web of data. The underlying technologies allow on the one hand for a globally unique identification of entities via URIs as well as clear semantics of the relations modelled by the links between the entities. As a consequence, LOD should be easier to integrate and reuse in multiple contexts...