Blockchain-Based Transaction Manager for Ontology Databases

Knez, Timotej; Gašperlin, Domen; Bajec, Marko; Žitnik, Slavko

doi:10.15388/22-INFOR490

Informatica

Blockchain-Based Transaction Manager for Ontology Databases

Volume 33, Issue 2 (2022), pp. 343–364

Timotej Knez

Domen Gašperlin Marko Bajec Slavko Žitnik

https://doi.org/10.15388/22-INFOR490

Pub. online: 16 June 2022 Type: Research Article

Open Access

Received
1 January 2022

Accepted
1 June 2022

Published
16 June 2022

Abstract

Knowledge graphs are commonly represented by ontology-based databases. Tracking the provenance of ontological changes and ensuring ontology consistency is important. In this work, we propose a transaction manager for ontology-based database manipulation that combines blockchain and Semantic Web technologies. The latter is used for the efficient querying and modification of data, whereas the blockchain is used for the secure storage and tracking of changes. The blockchain enables a decentralized setup and data restoration. We evaluate our solution by measuring cost and time. Our solution introduces some overhead for updates whereas querying works at the same speed as the underlying ontology database.

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Keywords

Semantic Web blockchain ontologies databases IPFS Ethereum

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