Apache Software Foundation Releases Linked Data Platform Marmotta

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) has officially released Apache Marmotta, an open-source platform designed for Linked Data technologies. The project originated from the EU-funded KiWi project, initiated by researchers at Salzburg Research in 2008. It entered the Apache Incubator in December 2012 and graduated to a Top-Level Project in November 2013.

Marmotta aims to provide an open-source implementation of the Linked Data Platform (LDP). This addresses a market need for organizations seeking to integrate data across the web, a process historically complicated by the need to assemble disparate software components. The platform is offered under a permissive open-source license.

Key features of Apache Marmotta include robust read-write capabilities for Linked Data with basic security, pluggable RDF triple stores, query languages like SPARQL and LDPath, and a caching system. Its components include the Marmotta Platform (a JavaEE web application), KiWi (a Sesame-based triple store), LDPath, LDClient for retrieving external resources, and LDCache.

Existing implementations of Apache Marmotta power systems such as Salzburger Nachrichten's search and archive, Enel's Open Data portal, and Redlink's cloud infrastructure. The latest release, version 3.1.0-incubating, was published in October 2012. The project is preparing for its first official release as an Apache Top-Level Project.