NITELIGHT: A Graphical Editor for SPARQL Queries

Query formulation is a key aspect of information retrieval, contributing to both the efficiency and usability of many semantic applications. A number of query languages, such as SPARQL, have been developed for the Semantic Web; however, there are, as yet, few tools to support end users with respect to the creation and editing of semantic queries. In this paper we present NITELIGHT, a graphical tool for semantic query design. NITELIGHT uses a Visual Query Language (VQL), called vSPARQL, which provides graphical formalisms for SPARQL query specification. NITELIGHT is a highly reusable Web-based component, and it can be easily embedded in a variety of different Web applications. This paper provides an overview of the NITELIGHT tool and the vSPARQL specification.