What's New

Virtuoso 5.0, introduces a new approach to enterprise information and data-integration, leveraging recent advances in Semantic Web technology such as SPARQL and the best practices of HTTP-based Linked Data across heterogeneous data sources. The new release provides a platform for declaratively developing and deploying conceptual views of disparate enterprise data sources such as SQL databases, XML and RDF data sources, and SOA based Web services.

Virtuoso enables end users, systems architects, systems integrators, and developers to interact with data at the conceptual as opposed to the traditional logical level. Data about customers, suppliers, invoices, and orders, stored in existing ODBC- or JDBC-accessible database systems such as Oracle, Informix, Ingres, SQL Server, Sybase, Progress, and MySQL, can be presented in RDF form for use in Semantic Web applications.

Industry standards supported by Virtuoso include SQL, ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET, OLEDB, RDF, SPARQL, GData, XML, XQuery, XPath, XSLT, XML/A, WebDAV, HTTP, OpenID, NNTP, ATOM-Publishing and more.

New Features

• Meta Schema language for exposing SQL, XML, and Web Service data as RDF Linked Data
• On-the-fly transformation of Web Services into RDF Linked Data
• SPARQL Query Language support, facilitating powerful holistic views and traversal of enterprise data relationships
• Transparent integration of SPARQL and SQL, such that SPARQL is executable from SQL via ODBC, JDBC, OLE DB, or ADO.NET
• Data-referencing across database instance, machine, and network boundaries
• Use of HTTP/1.1 transparent content-negotiation for unobtrusive injection of RDF-based Linked Data, projecting existing infrastructure into the broader Semantic Web without disrupting ongoing activities.

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Database Core

RDF Triple Storage Engine

• Virtuoso 5.0 introduces a new RDF (Resource Description Framework) Triple Storage Engine based on a graph data model. RDF triples are persisted, and can be indexed and queried like any Virtuoso object.

SPARQL

• Virtuoso 5.0 supports the SPARQL Query Language, Transport Protocol and Turtle as well as the RDF XML serialization formats. SPARQL queries can be used inside SQL queries and procedures or as top-level SQL queries via any supported SQL client. SPARQL is automatically translated into SQL queries against special tables storing RDF triples. The database engine and SQL compiler provide native support for RDF, for example there is a special IRI data type and special cast semantics and SQL optimizations for SPARQL queries.

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Object-Relational Database Engine

• SQL Cost Model - Virtuoso 5.0 includes substantial improvement to the SQL cost model, yielding dramatically better SQL optimization choices in certain cases.
• SQL Inverse Function - Virtuoso introduces an SQL extension for creating functions that are inverses of each other which include mapping data and foreign Key Relations: Example dollar_to_euro and euro_to_dollar would be examples of inverse functions.
• Information Schema Views - The INFORMATION_SCHEMA Views are system views that provide some information about the system meta-data making it easier to query Virtuoso system tables. Virtuoso includes a number information schema vies based on the ISO SQL92 standard to allow users more flexibility when developing SQL queries across database engines and guarantee consistent results when using these views instead of directly querying system tables which may change from release to release.
• SQL Compiler Optimizations
  • Improved support for indirect grants in SYS_ROLE_GRANTS
  • Improved handling the sub expression matches in regular expressions
  • Improved handling of negations in the where clause of select Union statements

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XML Database

• XML Parser - Optimization and better error reporting in XML Parser.
• XQuery Functions Updates - Support for XQuery Function fn:collection and check our latest tutorial

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Web Server Platform

BPEL4WS

BPEL offers the promise of reducing the cost and complexity associated with process integration of proprietary EAI and BPM solutions, which are expensive to develop, maintain, and extend across diverse, heterogeneous environments. Virtuoso supports BPEL for Web Services (BPEL4WS) and provides the deployment and execution of business processes defined in BPEL 1.1 through the OpenLink BPEL Process Manager. Virtuosos BPEL implementation offers a seamless addition to Virtuoso's database federation, XML and web services features. It builds on the strength of having a local high performance relational data store for process persistency and does not require any third party application server infrastructure or databases.

• WS Interop - WS-RM and WS-Security and BPEL4WS have gone through an extensive interoperability by testing other vendor's implementations and through active participation of WS-Interop forums.

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Ruby Hosting

• New to 5.0 - Ruby Hosting. Support for Ruby, an object-oriented scripting language.

Web Application Server

• HTTP Server Settings
• New function for controlling the lifetime of http threads, allowing on-going processing from clients provided through the HTTP Server HTTP_IGNORE_DISCONNECT that when set will cause it not to rollback the transaction on a disconnect.

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Documentation

• Document Search - Advanced search functionality has been added to Virtuoso documentation and provides RSS gems (including Open Search API extensions) as well as options for HTML or XML formatted results using Free Text, XPath, and XQuery and search results including excerpts summaries of document content.

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Data Access

• XMLA - Enhanced support for ODBC and JDBC accessible data sources via Virtual Database engine
• OpenLink Explorer - Virtuoso 5.0 introduces a new plug-in for Visual Studio .NET allows development of Virtuoso-specific features within the familiar Visual Studio environment providing users with ease of use and accelerated development cycles.
  • Virtuoso tables and connections can easily be dragged and dropped into MS Studio Projects, which makes Virtuoso an convenient data source for Web or GUI target Microsoft .Net development.
  • Through OpenLink Explorer any heterogeneous data sources linked to Virtuoso via its Virtual Database capability are presented as if they were stored on a local Microsoft SQL Server.
• Mac OS X Client Connectivity Kit - Improved bundling and deployment for ODBC, JDBC, and NET providers
• Virtuoso ODBC Driver - Improved error messages and conformance with the ODBC error messages specifications.

Server Administration Interface

Screenshot of Virtuoso 5.0 Conductor Image - Click to enlarge

The "Virtuoso Conductor" - is a HTML based Administration interface for managing all server side functionality. It includes interfaces for managing SQL and XML Data Management, Data Virtualization, Enterprise Information Integrations, Enterprise Service Bus, BPEL Process Management, and Business Collaboration.

The additional screenshots that follow enable you to view aspects on the Conductor by Virtuoso functionality realm:

Enterprise Data Management

Screenshot of Virtuoso ISQL Image - Click to enlarge

Screenshot of WebDAV Image - Click to enlarge

Database Administration

• Schema Objects Editor: Built-in Schema Object Viewer (Tables, Views, and Stored Procedures) Create new objects, enabling/disabling of foreign keys, constraints, and export Schema DDL.
• ISQL Query Editor : Execute and develop SQL queries. ISQL features provide syntax highlighting, execution plans and a SQL builder which provides a Wizard to build statements on the fly from database schemas. Using this interface you can edit query results and save them to a local file or Virtuoso WebDAV repository.

XML Data Management

• XQuery Editor - XQuery Editor provides a graphical user interface for writing, testing and viewing XQuery queries. Develop and store XQuery queries for reuse, saving time and cost as well as storied results for reporting and transformation.

Web Content Management

• WebDAV and HTTP Administration - WebDAV Object Filtering and Searching: Filter database objects by name or text-search stored procedures and triggers for terms contained in their definition.

Enterprise Information Integration

Screenshot of Linking External Data Sources? Image Click to enlarge

Screenshot of SQL-XML Image Click to enlarge

Virtual Database Management

• External Data Sources user interface provides real-time information integration across disparate data sources and create a virtual database to make it simple for business users to access, integration and transform information in from multiple Data Sources

SQLX and SQL-XML Transformation

• SQL-XML - Execute and define an XML template based on a SQL, SQL-XML or XPath Query or apply a XQuery Mapping Schema. Through this interface you can specify root elements that contain the resulting XML tree, a file name and location of the XML Template. Options include saving the query to WebDAV or provide an XSLT style sheet. Behind the scenes when you provide a style sheet, it is used as the default transformation for the XML and the template saved is executed directly from WebDAV.

Web Services Platform

Screenshot of SOAP Services - Click to enlarge

Screenshot of HTTP directories - Click to enlarge

Web Service Publishing

• SOAP Services - Web Service publishing interface simplifies Publish stored procedures, User Defined Types, Queries and modules as web services. Web Services can be invoked by any external resource or in a Virtuoso SOAP defined Virtual directory by simply clicking on a link.
• WSDL Services - Using the WSDL import interface you can use the description of external web services to publish Web Services. Just provide a URL to a WSDL description, and Virtuoso will automatically provide a wrapper for the services available. The Web Services can be tested through Virtuoso VSMX interface.

Web Application Server

• HTTP Hosts & Directories - Define Virtual HTTP directories, multiple HTTP server listeners in Virtuoso.

Business Process Integration

Screenshot of OpenLink's BPEL Process Manager Image - Click to enlarge

OpenLink's BPEL Process Manager

• Robust BPEL Engine and Deployment Platform: Virtuoso provides a fully featured native BPEL 1.1 engine that supports the invocation and deployment of BPEL scripts as well support for long-running and asynchronous business processes.
• Business Activity Monitoring: Virtuoso BPEL4WS includes a web-based user Interface for testing, debugging, and monitoring deployed business process.
• WS-Reliable Messaging and Security : Enterprises can now deploy business-critical transactions over the Internet using the WS-Reliable Messaging (WS-RM) specification. WS-RM support means that guaranteed (at-most-once, at-least-once, and exactly once) messaging is now possible over HTTP.
• Database, XML and Web Service Integration: Virtuoso's extensive virtual database, XML and web services features provide for intelligent transformation for XML and non-XML applications and data. Virtuoso provides a Universal Data Access layer and Web Services publishing platform for Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA), by automating the creation of Web services from multiple tables in any ODBC, JDBC or ADO. Net-compliant database. BPEL processes can directly invoke locally hosted Java or .Net logic and access SQL data from resident in local and remote tables.
• Import and Execution of any Standards-Based BPEL Business Processes: Virtuoso BPEL4WS supports standards compliant BPEL 1.1 scripts so that industry Standard Compliant BPEL processes can be developed in any of the BPEL modeling tools and deployed on the Virtuoso platform.
• Interoperability: Virtuoso BPEL has gone through an extensive interoperability testing against Microsoft, Oracle, and other vendor’s implementations. Through thorough testing of these processes, it validates the BPEL engine and ensures the rapid orchestration of existing Web services

Web 2.0 Enterprise Collaboration

Screenshot of OpenLink's Web Applications Image - Click to enlarge

Virtuoso-Based Applications

• Virtuoso Web Applications - Provide a Management framework for web-based application developed using Virtuoso technology. This framework allows the customization any number of applications from blogs to email, develop portals, communities and create a point of presence on the web. The WA application management tool allows you to configure applications and perform various administrative tasks related to maintaining your community including adding and removing applications, updating your profile and community memberships.

Discussion, Mail and Proxy Services

• NNTP Services Administration - Access USENET and Newsgroup postings and configure Newsgroups associated with the Virtuoso News Server. Like Virtuoso's virtual database. Through the NNTP interface, Virtuoso can "link" in newsgroups from remote news servers.

New and Improved System Services

Screenshot of Basic Replication Image - Click to enlarge

Screenshot of System Administration Dashboard Image - Click to enlarge

Replication and Synchronization

• Replication - Migrate, replicate content and synchronize database and structures of any Virtuoso or ODBC, JDBC or .Net compliant databases.

System Administration

• Dashboard - Providing a summary of key server details including Database Information Database License information, Locks, Database Size Total/Used/Free Space, Backup / Maintenance Status, Database Files (Logical/Physical) and other key Database Processes
• Simplified User Accounts Manager: Create and map SQL, WebDAV and logins to appropriate users in your databases.
• Event Scheduler: Create Scheduled event quickly and easily with a simplified user interface and receive notifications for failed events.
• Virtuoso Application Deployment - Any Application can be developed with Virtuoso and packaged using Virtuoso Application Packages or VAD for short. VADs encapsulate all of the component necessary to package and deploy a Virtuoso-based application. This includes schema objects, directories, and content. Any VAD can be easily applied through Package interface making software deployment a breeze.
• Database Backup: Schedule and run full and incremental on-line server backups jobs in seconds.