Compiling SHACL Into SQL

Abstract

Constraints on graph data expressed in the Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL) can be quite complex. This brings the challenge of efficient validation of complex SHACL constraints on graph data. This challenge is remarkably similar to the processing of analytical queries, investigated intensively in the database community. Motivated by this observation, we have devised an efficient compilation technique from SHACL into SQL, under a natural relational representation of RDF graphs. Our conclusion is that the powerful processing and optimization techniques, already offered by modern SQL engines, are more than up to the challenge.