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Stardog Explorer

This chapter discusses Stardog Explorer - an intuitive web browser tool for anyone to browse the connections in their data fabric.

Page Contents
  1. Overview
  2. Searching in Explorer
    1. Text-based Searches
    2. Query Builder
      1. Saving queries
    3. Visualize your model
    4. Filter searches
  3. Examine details
  4. Navigating the graph view
    1. Path queries
  5. Settings
  6. Sharing data
  7. Additional notes
    1. Model criteria
  8. Getting Support
  9. Learning More

Overview

Stardog Explorer is the search and visualization tool for anyone to explore complex data fabrics easily, without code or queries. For the best experience in Stardog Explorer, use Stardog version 7.6.3 or above.

Searching in Explorer

Explorer supports two search experiences — text-based searches and Query Builder. Text-based searches require a keyword entry to find results with the entered keyword. Query Builder queries enable users to search along paths of relationships in their data model and filter classes by attributes to ask specific questions.

Text-based Searches

Text searches in Explorer are easy. Simply enter any text-based search term you are interested in. If you want to enter a more complex search, the search bar supports using the * character as a wildcard to match any character(s).

Explorer will use full-text search when it is enabled for a database. When full-text search is not enabled, Explorer searches based on starts with, ends with, and contains patterns. When any virtual graphs are in scope, Explorer only searches based on starts with and ends with patterns regardless of full-text search being enabled.

Additionally, Explorer text-based searches are limited to the following properties:

  • http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#comment
  • http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#label
  • http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#definition
  • http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#prefLabel

Query Builder

Stardog Explorer’s Query Builder enables users to visually define queries and review expanded results in the list or graph view. To execute a query, click on the Query Builder button next to the search bar. Enter the search criteria you are looking for. Explorer leverages your model to show the relevant relationships and attributes for each class. See the Model Criteria section to learn more about these requirements.

By default, your results will be displayed with all of the relationships and additional classes used to build your query. The example below queries for claims reports of customers that own red cars. By default, it includes claim reports, customers, and the cars owned by each customer in the graph results.

If you want to see a limited set of class type variable in your results, select the variable(s) to be shown in the results. When the selected variables are connected by relationships in the query, those relationships connections are also shown, otherwise the returned results will be disjoint.

Saving queries

Stardog Explorer supports saving queries built using the Query Builder. Saving a query is an easy way to save your work or common searches you have run, as well as collaborate with other users. To save a query, instead of selecting Run, select Save. If you are editing an existing saved query, you have two options – Save and Save As. Save will save your changes to the existing saved query. Save As will create a new saved query with your changes. To all saved queries, you may optionally add a description and set the query to Private. By setting a query to Private, only you will be able to see, edit, and run your query.

Saved queries in Explorer are saved to your server as stored queries. Please see valid permissions for more details on permissions for stored queries. Stored queries created outside of Explorer are not available in Explorer. Additionally, saved queries edited outside of Explorer will cease to be available in Explorer.

Visualize your model

To quickly visualize your model, select the Visualize button without entering any search criteria.

Filter searches

To narrow search contexts down to specific classes, use the class filter to the left of the search bar.

Examine details

Explorer has detailed views of each class in your database. From this detailed view, see up to 10 instances of each connected property. Additionally, these properties are linked so you can continue exploring.

The graph visualization in Explorer is configured to help you explore your data and customize your view of your data fabric. The key capabilities of the visualization view within Explorer are outlined below.

  • Select specific nodes and edges to highlight them in the graph. Pressing SHIFT enables multi-selection. You can also drag-select to select multiple objects in the graph at once.
  • The legend on the right-hand side of the screen summarizes the class types shown in the visualization.
    • To filter to a specific class, click on the class type in the legend.
    • The legend can be collapsed by sliding it to the right.
  • Stardog Explorer groups any two or more nodes of the same class type with the same ingoing and outgoing relationships. Grouping facilitates Explorer’s ability to showcase more of your connected data.
    • To remove a node from group, simply select the node and drag it out of the group.
    • To break apart a group, double click the group node.
  • To expand a node or set of nodes by their relationships, right-click on a selected set of nodes. The Expand by menu includes all incoming and outgoing relationships tied to the set of nodes selected.
    • Double-click on a node to expand all of its relationships.
    • A warning is provided when an action expands to more than 500 nodes.
  • The gear button as part of the graph view in Explorer allows users to customize their graph experience.
    • Change the layout format from force directed to tree layouts.
    • Toggle model concepts (data model classes) on or off.
    • Toggle full node text for classes and instances on or off. This option will show the full text of the node instead of truncating the text to fit within the node.
    • Toggle relationship labels on or off. This option will remove all relationships labels from graph view.

Path queries

Stardog Explorer supports path queries across two classes or two instance nodes. To run a path expansion query, select the classes or instances of interest (using SHIFT to multi-select), right click one of the selected items, and select the Shortest Path option.

Settings

There are three settings within Stardog Explorer that allow you to customize your experience.

Explorer Settings

  • The Graph setting will filter your results down to a specific graph. When no option is selected, Explorer will query all local Stardog graphs - that is, the default graph and all named graphs in the database.
    • To include all virtual sources, ensure your database has virtual transparency enabled. Select the special named graph all to include all virtual and local data in Stardog or virtual to include all and only virtual data. To learn more about virtual transparency, check out the documentation.
    • To select multiple graphs, hold SHIFT while selecting options in the drop down.

  • The Model setting is limited to your Stardog Server’s reasoning schemas and allows you to specify a specific reasoning schema. By default, Explorer uses the default reasoning schema.

  • The Reasoning toggle enables reasoning throughout Explorer. To learn more about reasoning and Stardog’s Inference Engine, check out the documentation.

  • The Case-insensitive search toggle enables all text matching in Explorer to be case-insensitive when toggled on.

Sharing data

  • The share button allows a user to share the same view of the graph with another user through a link. Note that the user with the shared link will see the graph from their permission set, not the original sharer’s. A user must be a user to the Stardog endpoint and be given at least read permissions to the database the Explorer share URL was generated from.

  • Share links can also be used to bookmark a specific Explorer view for later use.

  • The download button allows a user to download instance and relationship data in tabular format to view or use with another system.

Additional notes

  • Explorer text-based search results are limited to the top 50 instances.

  • Explorer Query Builder results are limited to the 100 instances of each class type variable.

  • Explorer visualizations are limited to approximately 5000 individual objects. A group counts as only 1 object.

  • To improve performance of queries created with Query Builder that reference specific data instances, we recommend using the in property option and selecting your instance(s) from the suggestions or specifying the IRI of the instance(s), using backticks (`) to encase each instance.

  • To authenticate using Kerberos, both the Stardog server and your browser must be correctly configured. Check out the documentation on how.

  • Enabling virtual transparency is required to set the Graph scope to the special named graphs all or virtual.

  • Shortest path expansions are limited to within 20 hops.

  • Shortest path expansions are targeted to the data model when classes are selected and are targeted to non-data model classes when instances are selected.

  • Shortest path expansions do not include virtual graphs. When paths are expanded, the path is sourced from the current graph selection minus any virtual graphs.

Model criteria

  • Classes must be defined as: http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#Class, http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class, or http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#Concept.
    • Semantic relations for class hierarchies are respected based on http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#subClassOf.
  • Relationships must be defined as: http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#ObjectProperty.
    • Relationships are shown for all classes that are defined as the domain using http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#domain, http://schema.org/domainIncludes, or https://schema.org/domainIncludes.
    • Relationships are shown for all classes that are defined as the range using http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#range, http://schema.org/rangeIncludes, or https://schema.org/rangeIncludes.
  • Attributes must be defined as: http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#DatatypeProperty.
    • Attributes are shown for all classes that are defined as the domain for an attribute using http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#domain, http://schema.org/domainIncludes, or https://schema.org/domainIncludes.
    • Attribute datatype ranges are used within Explorer’s Advanced Query to inform the modifier type, such as an attribute being greater than a numerical value or containing a text string. The datatype ranges are defined using http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#range, http://schema.org/rangeIncludes, or https://schema.org/rangeIncludes.
  • Display labels must be defined using: http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#label or http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#prefLabel.
    • When no label is defined, the local name of the IRI is used as the display label.

Getting Support

For questions, comments, or feature requests, please post in the Explorer section of the Stardog Community.

Learning More

The Stardog blog includes posts about new Explorer functionality. All of those posts are available under the Explorer Tag.