Inductive representations of RDF graphs

•We propose a purely functional representation of RDF graphs.•We present two implementations in Haskell and Scala.•We outline an algebra of RDF graphs with common operations like mapping, folding, or merging.•We demonstrate the potential advantages of an inductive representation of RDF graphs.•We outline some possible applications such as parallel programming among others.

RDF forms the basis of the semantic web technology stack. It is based on a directed graph model where nodes and edges are identified by URIs. Occasionally, such graphs contain literals or blank nodes. The existential nature of blank nodes complicates the graph representation.In this paper we propose a purely functional representation of RDF graphs using a special form of inductive graphs called inductive triple graphs. We employ logical variables to represent blank nodes. This approach can be implemented in any functional programming language such as Haskell and Scala.