XLWrap – Querying and Integrating Arbitrary Spreadsheets with SPARQL

In this paper a novel approach is presented for generating RDF graphs of arbitrary complexity from various spreadsheet layouts. Currently, none of the available spreadsheet-to-RDF wrappers supports cross tables and tables where data is not aligned in rows. Similar to RDF123, XLWrap is based on template graphs where fragments of triples can be mapped to specific cells of a spreadsheet. Additionally, it features a full expression algebra based on the syntax of OpenOffice Calc and various shift operations, which can be used to repeat similar mappings in order to wrap cross tables including multiple sheets and spreadsheet files. The set of available expression functions includes most of the native functions of OpenOffice Calc and can be easily extended by users of XLWrap.

Additionally, XLWrap is able to execute SPARQL queries, and since it is possible to define multiple virtual class extents in a mapping specification, it can be used to integrate information from multiple spreadsheets. XLWrap supports a special identity concept which allows to link anonymous resources (blank nodes) – which may originate from different spreadsheets – in the target graph.