SPARQL: Query Language for RDF

Resources

Specs

• W3C SPARQL 1.1 Query Language - The formal spec.
• W3C SPARQL 1.1 Update - The write side: INSERT, DELETE, LOAD, CLEAR.

In Semantic Web

• SPARQL is to RDF what Cypher is to property graphs. For the comparison, see The Graph Space.
• SPARQL queries pattern-match on triples, while Cypher pattern-matches on nodes and relationships. Structurally similar, but SPARQL has built-in support for reasoning (if the triple store supports inference).

Live Playgrounds

• Wikidata Query Service - Run SPARQL queries against Wikidata’s RDF graph in the browser.
• DBpedia SPARQL Endpoint - Query Wikipedia’s structured data as RDF.

Tutorials

• Apache Jena SPARQL Tutorial - Fast, practical course. Covers SELECT, FILTER, OPTIONAL, UNION with runnable examples.
• SPARQL.dev - Cheat sheet / quick reference. Good for looking up syntax while writing queries.
• Wikidata SPARQL Tutorial - Learn by querying real data (Wikidata). The most motivating way to learn.