RDF

Semantic & Data Protocol

Resource Description Framework — W3C standard data model for representing information as graphs of subject-predicate-object triples. Foundation of the Semantic Web; serves as the underlying graph data model that OWL, SHACL, SPARQL, and most semantic-web tooling operate over. Used by AD4M (Perspectives), NextGraph, Solid, ActivityPub (via JSON-LD), and W3C Verifiable Credentials. Co-designed with related W3C Semantic Web standards.

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Details

License Specification only — RDF is a data model, not a software implementation; many open-source implementations exist (Apache Jena, RDFLib, rdflib.js, Eclipse RDF4J, Oxigraph, etc.) under various open licenses
Dev Status 🏁 Final
Dev Status Detail Released / Mature (W3C Recommendation since 1999; broadly adopted across semantic web and linked data)
Owner W3C (World Wide Web Consortium); RDF Working Group
Owner - List
  • World Wide Web Consortium
Governing Body W3C (Recommendation track — RDF Working Group)
Governing Body - List
  • World Wide Web Consortium
Country International (W3C is a global standards body)
Start Year 1999
Stack Specification (W3C Recommendation); reference implementations across many languages — Apache Jena (Java), RDFLib (Python), rdflib.js (JavaScript), Eclipse RDF4J (Java), Oxigraph (Rust), Comunica (JavaScript)
Funding W3C member organization fees; W3C Working Group volunteer participation
Last Investigated Jul 1, 2026

Topology view

This tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.

Topology view: RDFThis tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.RDFActivityPub (Basis for)ActivityPubAD4M (Basis for, Conforming implementations)AD4MJSON-LD (Basis for, Conforming implementations, Speaks protocol, Stores in)JSON-LDNextGraph (Basis for, Conforming implementations)NextGraphOWL (Basis for, Hosts, Conforming implementations, Conforms to)OWLSHACL (Basis for, Conforming implementations, Conforms to)SHACLSolid (Basis for, Conforming implementations, Protocol spoken by)SolidSPARQL (Basis for, Conforming implementations, Conforms to, Protocol spoken by)SPARQLVCs (Basis for)VCsRIDs (Reference Identifiers) (Bridged from)RIDs(Reference I…GRC-20 (Competes with, Conforming implementations)GRC-20Civic Activity (Conforming implementations)CivicActivity
  • ActivityPub (Tool): Basis for
  • AD4M (Tool): Basis for, Conforming implementations
  • JSON-LD (Tool): Basis for, Conforming implementations, Speaks protocol, Stores in
  • NextGraph (Tool): Basis for, Conforming implementations
  • OWL (Tool): Basis for, Hosts, Conforming implementations, Conforms to
  • SHACL (Tool): Basis for, Conforming implementations, Conforms to
  • Solid (Tool): Basis for, Conforming implementations, Protocol spoken by
  • SPARQL (Tool): Basis for, Conforming implementations, Conforms to, Protocol spoken by
  • VCs (Tool): Basis for
  • RIDs (Reference Identifiers) (Tool): Bridged from
  • GRC-20 (Tool): Competes with, Conforming implementations
  • Civic Activity (Tool): Conforming implementations

8 more related entities are not drawn; see the list below or open the Graph Explorer.

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Use Case Domains

Co-Creation & Knowledge

Affordances

Provenance tracking Interoperable formats

Semantic & Data Protocol Attributes

Owner - List
  • World Wide Web Consortium
Origins Semantic Web / Linked Data (originated as metadata model for Web resources; broadened into general graph data model for cross-system interoperability)
Database Triple stores (Apache Jena, Virtuoso, GraphDB, Stardog, Oxigraph) and quad stores; also embedded as RDF graphs in JSON-LD documents, Turtle files, etc.
Query Language SPARQL (W3C SPARQL Recommendation; primary RDF query language)
Data Formats Turtle (.ttl), N-Triples, N-Quads, TriG, RDF/XML, JSON-LD, RDFa — multiple syntactic serializations of the same abstract triple model
Collaborative Live Editing N/A (data model specification)
Rich Text Editing N/A (data model specification)
Mobile Support Library-level (RDF libraries available across platforms)
Web Support Yes — JSON-LD and RDFa are explicitly Web-oriented serializations; many JavaScript libraries
Native Apps N/A (data model specification; consumed by applications via libraries)
Terms Open standard — W3C Recommendation; implementations under various open-source licenses
Funds N/A (W3C standards process; no direct project funding)
Based On Logic / First-order predicate semantics; Web architecture (URIs for resource identification); influenced by earlier knowledge representation work (frames, semantic networks, conceptual graphs)
Governing Body - List
  • World Wide Web Consortium
Semantic Web Compatibility Native — RDF is the foundational data model of the Semantic Web
Protocol Maturity / Standardization W3C Recommendation (Mature) — RDF 1.0 (1999); RDF 1.1 (2014); RDF 1.2 in development (2025); co-designed with the broader W3C Semantic Web Suite (OWL, SHACL, SPARQL)
Vocabulary / Ontology Type Generic graph data model — supports any RDF Schema (RDFS) vocabulary, OWL ontology, or domain-specific vocabulary built on top; not itself a domain vocabulary but the substrate for them
Usage Pattern Linked data publication on the web; knowledge graphs in enterprise (Wikidata, Wikipedia, EBay, governments); ontology-backed reasoning; W3C VC data model; ActivityPub via JSON-LD; AD4M Perspective triplets; NextGraph commons graph; Solid Pod data

Relationships

How this tool connects to other tools and organizations, from relationships reviewed by the OpenHaven data steward. They describe how projects connect, not how good they are.

Conforms to
Developed by
  • World Wide Web Consortium
Member of suite
  • W3C Semantic Web Suite
Speaks protocol
Stewarded by
  • World Wide Web Consortium
Stores in
Competes with
Basis for
Bridged from
Conforming implementations
Hosts
Inspired
Protocol spoken by