Platform for Integrating and Testing Tools which Transform Natural Language Queries into SPARQL Queries

Abstract

In the paper we discuss how to support the process of creating tools which transform natural language (NL) queries into SPARQL queries (hereinafter referred to as a transformation tool). In the introduction, we describe the relevance of the task of understanding natural language queries by information systems, as well as the advantages of using ontologies as a means of representing knowledge for solving this problem. This ontology-based data access approach can be also used in systems which provide natural language interface to databases. Based on the analysis of problems related to the integration and testing of existing transformation tools, as well as to support the creation and testing own transformation modules, the concept of a software platform that simplifies these tasks is proposed. The platform architecture satisfies the requirements for ease of connecting third party transformation tools, reusing individual modules, as well as integrating the resulting transformation tools into other systems, including testing systems. The building blocks of the created transformation systems are the individual transformation modules packaged in Docker containers. Program access to each module is carried out using gRPC. Modules loaded into the platform can be built into the transformation pipeline automatically or manually using the built-in third party SciVi data flow diagram editor. Compatibility of individual modules is controlled by automatic analysis of application programming interfaces. The resulting pipeline is combined according to specified data flow into a single multi-container application that can be integrated into other systems, as well as tested on extendable test suites. The expected and actual results of the query transformation are available for viewing in graphical form in the visualization tool developed earlier.