Mapping Workbench (MWB)

A collaborative platform for mapping XML schemas to OWL ontologies.

Mapping Workbench (MWB) is a collaborative platform designed to map XML schemas to OWL ontologies, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of large semantic mapping projects. It centralises all necessary resources within an integrated environment, facilitating agile execution of tasks throughout the mapping development lifecycle.

MWB bridges the gap between conceptual understanding and technical implementation by involving domain experts early, aligning domain interpretations with technical requirements and reducing the need for costly reiterations. It handles the complexities of evolving XML schemas and ensures high-quality mapping rules through robust validation mechanisms. The platform supports a collaborative workflow where domain experts and semantic engineers work closely from the initial stages, with role-based access controls ensuring effective contribution while maintaining data security.

Learn more at meaningfy.ws/mapping-workbench.

How it works

MWB follows a four-stage mapping development methodology:

1. Conceptual Mapping — concepts in the source data are identified with XPath expressions and linked to ontology fragments (SPARQL property paths and class paths) that dictate their realisation in graph form.
2. Technical Mapping — the conceptual mappings inform the implementation of technical mappings, articulated using the RML language.
3. Validation — SHACL shapes, SPARQL assertions, and XPath coverage calculations measure quality and verify the accuracy, coverage, and validity of the mappings.
4. Dissemination — the mapping package is released for deployment in data transformation pipelines.

This structure gives a clear distinction between conceptual and technical mappings, automated quality reports, and an integrated environment that supports agile development — reducing mapping time and cost, cutting errors, and improving stakeholder satisfaction.

Roadmap

MWB is evolving into a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), one-stop collaborative platform for domain experts and semantic engineers, with planned enhancements including advanced RML editing capabilities, support for mapping JSON schemas, and continuous improvements to the user experience.

Getting started

Local development setup

Initialize local development environment variables, networking, and start the database (MongoDB):

make dev-dotenv-file
make start-traefik
make start-mongo-dev

Finally build and start the app:

make build-backend-dev 
make build-frontend-dev 

Troubleshooting

Go to https://mongo.mw.dev.localhost (check Traefik monitor for the right URL)

• Get credentials from .env
  • ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD
  • ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME
• Click on database mapping_workbench

  • Click on users collection (create if not existing)

  • Import or add New Document

    {
        "email": "admin@mw.com",
        "hashed_password": "$2b$12$W61JFqnRPjAZueI.JpyUYuClbIo0vTyJLryWUWQqdXV4nZDtWuL9W",
        "is_active": true,
        "is_superuser": false,
        "is_verified": true,
        "oauth_accounts": [],
        "settings": {
            "app": {
                "settings": {
                    "colorPreset": "purple",
                    "contrast": "high",
                    "direction": "ltr",
                    "layout": "vertical",
                    "navColor": "evident",
                    "paletteMode": "light",
                    "responsiveFontSizes": true,
                    "stretch": false
                }
            },
            "session": {
                "project": {
                    "$oid": "6506daf5ae66ab7e0d6a87fb"
                }
            }
        },
        "name": null
    }

  • Failing that, register a user w/ the app

    • Change "is_verified" to true

Citation

If you use Mapping Workbench in your research, please cite one or more of the following papers:

• E. Costetchi, J. Ahmad, C. I. Nyulas, R. Rahman, D. Prijilevschi, "Mapping Workbench: A Collaborative Platform for Mapping Complex XML Data to RDF," in Joint Proceedings of Posters, Demos, Workshops, and Tutorials of the 20th International Conference on Semantic Systems (SEMANTiCS 2024), CEUR Workshop Proceedings, vol. 3759, 2024. PDF
• E. Costetchi, A. Vassiliades, C. I. Nyulas, "A Mapping Lifecycle for Public Procurement Data," in Posters and Demo Track of the 19th International Conference on Semantic Systems (SEMANTiCS 2023), CEUR Workshop Proceedings, vol. 3526, 2023. PDF
• E. Costetchi, A. Vassiliades, C. I. Nyulas, "Towards a Mapping Framework for the Tenders Electronic Daily Standard Forms," in Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Knowledge Graph Construction (KGC 2023), CEUR Workshop Proceedings, vol. 3471, 2023. PDF

BibTeX

@inproceedings{costetchi2024mappingworkbench,
  title     = {Mapping Workbench: A Collaborative Platform for Mapping Complex XML Data to RDF},
  author    = {Costetchi, Eugeniu and Ahmad, Jana and Nyulas, Csongor I. and Rahman, Rashif and Prijilevschi, Dumitru},
  booktitle = {Joint Proceedings of Posters, Demos, Workshops, and Tutorials of the 20th International Conference on Semantic Systems (SEMANTiCS 2024)},
  series    = {CEUR Workshop Proceedings},
  volume    = {3759},
  year      = {2024},
  url       = {https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3759/paper23.pdf}
}

@inproceedings{costetchi2023lifecycle,
  title     = {A Mapping Lifecycle for Public Procurement Data},
  author    = {Costetchi, Eugeniu and Vassiliades, Alexandros and Nyulas, Csongor I.},
  booktitle = {Posters and Demo Track of the 19th International Conference on Semantic Systems (SEMANTiCS 2023)},
  series    = {CEUR Workshop Proceedings},
  volume    = {3526},
  year      = {2023},
  url       = {https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3526/paper-02.pdf}
}

@inproceedings{costetchi2023mappingframework,
  title     = {Towards a Mapping Framework for the Tenders Electronic Daily Standard Forms},
  author    = {Costetchi, Eugeniu and Vassiliades, Alexandros and Nyulas, Csongor I.},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Knowledge Graph Construction (KGC 2023)},
  series    = {CEUR Workshop Proceedings},
  volume    = {3471},
  year      = {2023},
  url       = {https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3471/paper5.pdf}
}

License

Mapping Workbench is available under the AGPL-3.0 licence (LICENSE). A commercial licence is also available — see LICENSE-NOTICE.md for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md and the Contributor License Agreement.

Contact

hi@meaningfy.ws