Capturing Quantified Constraints in FOL, Through Interaction with a Relationship Graph

As new semantic web standards evolve to allow quantified rules in FOL, we need new ways to capture them from end users. We show how to do this against a graphic view of entities and their relationships (not just their subclasses). Some of these relationships can be derived from data values by algebraic expressions. For example scientists may use ad hoc lists of numbers instead of SQL key-matching conventions, as we show in the case of molecular pathway data. The derived relationships can also be included in captured constraints, which express domain semantics better. The constraints are captured as FOL and transmitted in RDFS(XML) format. However the user unfamiliar with FOL is made to see them as simple nested loops. This device even allows inclusion of existential quantifiers in readable fashion. The captured constraint can be tested by generating queries to search for violations in stored data. The constraint can then be automatically revised to exclude specific cases picked out by the user, who is spared worries about proper syntax and boolean connectives.