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Transformer DPUs

Abstract

Transformer DPUs

Transformers contain the core processing logics to transform the input data to the output data in desired data structure, schema and format. Extractors and loaders covered in the previous sections, only deal with data input and output most of the time.

They can accept one or more input data from extractors or transformers and produce one or more output data for transformers or loaders.

23898884.pngTransformation is a rather abstract concept. Any operation applied to data can be considered a transformation and wrapped into a transformer DPU, which does not necessarily modify the data.

It can be compressing and decompressing data, subsetting data, enriching data with external services, mapping data to a different model, and more. Data can be processed by one transformer supporting all required functionalities, or by several transformers in a chain to achieve a complicated goal.

PoolParty UnifiedViews provides DPUs to work with files, structured, semi-structured and unstructured data.

Please refer to the respective topics for detailed descriptions:

Excel to CSV

Abstract

Excel to CSV

DescriptionExcel to CSV (uv-t-excelToCSV):

This DPU transforms Excel files (.XLS, .XLSX) into a CSV file. It is possible to indicate which sheet(s) should be extracted and transformed. Each sheet is extracted to a separate CSV file.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Sheet names

Sheet names separated by colon that will be transformed to CSV file. Sheet names are case insensitive. If no sheet names are specified, all sheets are transformed to CSV.

Table1:Table2:Table3

CSV file name pattern

Pattern used to create the name of the generated CSV file. You may use ${excelFileName} for the name of the initial Excel file (without extension) and ${sheetName} for outputting name of the processed sheet. If you are processing more input files/sheets, use ${excelFileName}/${sheetName} placeholders, so that each produced CSV file has a different name.

${excelFileName}_${sheetName}.csv

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

input

input

FilesDataUnit

Input files

(tick)

output

output

FilesDataUnit

Produced CSV files

(tick)
ExamplesDownload an Excel file, Convert it to CSV and Upload it Again

The following image shows a pipeline which downloads an Excel file from a server, converts it to CSV, and uploads it to another server. The excelToCSV DPU receives the downloaded Excel file as input and produces a CSV file as output. The configuration of the DPU can be seen in the image below.

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Rename Files

Abstract

Rename Files

DescriptionRename Files (uv-t-filesRenamer):

This DPU renames files based on a pattern defined in the configuration.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Pattern

Regular expression used to match a string to replace in file name. This value is used as a replace part (second argument) in SPARQL REPLACE.

\\s

Value to substitute

Value to substitute, it can refer to groups that have been matched by the 'Pattern' parameter. This value is used as a substitute part (third argument) in SPARQL REPLACE.

-

Use advanced mode

If checked, the indicated value to substitute is considered an expression instead of a string. This enables the use of SPARQL functions, but the result must be in the form of a string.

struuid()

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

Data Unit

Description

Required

inFilesData

input

FilesDataUnit

File name to be modified

(tick)

outFilesData

output

FilesDataUnit

File name after modification

(tick)
NotesList of Useful Commands with Advanced Mode Unchecked

Action

Pattern

Value to substitute

Add a suffix ".gml"

^(.+)$

$1.gml

Rename file to "abc"

^.+$

abc

Substitute white spaces

\\s

_

ExamplesDownload File, Rename it, Upload it Again

The following image shows a pipeline which downloads a file from a server, renames it, and uploads it again. The Rename Files DPU takes the downloaded file as input and produces the renamed file as output. The configuration of the DPU is shown in the image below.

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Download ZIP-File, Unzip it and Remove White Spaces from the File Names

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads a file, unzips it and then uses the Rename Files DPU to replace white spaces in the file names with "_". The configuration of the DPU is shown in the image below.

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Use the Advanced Mode to Replace the Txt File Extension With a UUID

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads a file and uses the Rename Files DPU with the advanced mode to replace the file name with a UUID. The relevant input and output parameters of this DPU are:

Input filename: file.txt

Regex: .*\\.txt

Replacement: struuid()

Output filename: 4528d703-f330-4f51-a993-e09a9e74ec12

The configuration of the DPU is shown in the image below.

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Use the Advanced Mode to Add a Timestamp to File Names

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads a file and uses the Rename Files DPU with the advanced mode to add a timestamp to the file name. The relevant input and output parameters of this DPU are:

Input filename: file.txt

Regex: (.*)(\\.txt)

Replacement: concat("$1-", str(now()), "$2")

Output filename: file-2018-11-19T09:43:02.590+01:00.txt

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Files to RDF

Abstract

Files to RDF

DescriptionFiles to RDF (uv-t-filesToRdf):

This DPU extracts RDF data from input files of any RDF file format and produces RDF graphs as the output.

By default, the RDF format of the input files is estimated automatically based on the extensions of the input file names. The user can also manually specify the RDF format of the input files in the configuration to make sure the correct RDF format is applied.

Based on the selected policy for creation of the output RDF graphs, the output RDF data unit contains either

  • one output RDF graph for each processed input file (by default) OR

  • one single output RDF graph for all processed input files.

In the case of one output graph for each processed input file, the symbolic names for output RDF graphs are created based on the symbolic names of input files. When only one single output graph is generated, the symbolic name of the single output RDF graph may be specified in the configuration.

This DPU supports RDF Validation extension.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

RDF format of the input files

RDF format of the data in the input files. AUTO = automatic selection of the RDF format of the input files (default)

What to do if the RDF extraction from certain file fails

Stop execution (default) OR Skip that file and continue

Policy for creation of the output RDF graphs

One output RDF graph for each processed input file (default) OR Single output RDF graph for all processed input files

Symbolic name of the single output RDF graph

The desired symbolic name of the single output RDF graph may be specified here. This is only applicable when the policy for the creation of output RDF graphs is set to 'Single output RDF graph'.

graph3

Use file entry name as virtual graph

When checked, the DPU also automatically generates Virtual Graph metadata, which are set to be equal to the symbolic name of the file (it is expected that symbolic name is e.g. HTTP URL).

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

filesInput

input

FilesDataUnit

Input file containing RDF data

(tick)

rdfOutput

output

RDFDataUnit

Extracted RDF data

(tick)
NotesRDF Format

The following RDF formats are available in this DPU:

  • N-Triples

  • RDF/XML

  • Turtle

  • N3

  • RDF/JSON

  • TriG

  • N-Quads

  • BinaryRDF

  • TriX

  • JSON-LD

ExamplesDownload a File Containing RDF Triples, Convert It to RDF and Use It as Source for a SPARQL Construct Query

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads a TriG file, converts the file to RDF and then uses the output as basis for a SPARQL Construct query. The image below shows the configuration of the DPU.

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Graph Merger

Abstract

Graph Merger

DescriptionGraph Merger (uv-t-rdfGraphMerger):

This DPU merges RDF input graphs into a single new RDF output graph. This means that all triples from the input graphs are put into a single new output graph.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Output graph name

Name (URI) of the graph on output. This name is used in other DPUs, e.g. when loading the RDF graph to an external triple store as a destination graph name.

http://schema.org/

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

Data Unit

Description

Required

input

input

RDFDataUnit

Input graphs which are to be merged

(tick)

output

output

RDFDataUnit

RDF graph which contains all triples from the input graphs

(error)
ExamplesLoad RDF Data From Two Different Sources and Merge Them Into One Graph, Then Perform a SPARQL Construct on Them

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which

  • downloads an Excel file and converts it to RDF;

  • makes a HTTP Request to a triple store and gets RDF data.

It then proceeds to merge both input graphs to one single output graph. This graph is then processed in a SPARQL Construct query. The configuration of the GraphMerger DPU is shown in the image below.

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JSON to XML

Abstract

JSON to XML

DescriptionJSON to XML (uv-t-jsonToXml):

Converts JSON data (e.g. responses to REST services) to XML, so that it can be further processed, e.g., by XSLT.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

URL Prefix

Param which automatically replaces the defined URL with a whitespace

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

input

i

FilesDataUnit

Input JSON files

(tick)

output

o

FilesDataUnit

Produced XML data

(tick)
ExamplesPerform an API Request to PoolParty and Transform the JSON Response Into XML

The following image shows a pipeline which performs an API request to PoolParty, transforms the JSON response to XML, and converts this XML into RDF/XML.

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The configuration of the DPU can be seen in the image below.

Json-2-xml.png

The URL Prefix allows you to automatically replace a part of text/URL with a whitespace. This is useful when you work with custom attributes URLs as when these are converted to XML format the first slash from http:/ will then break in the text causing an output of unwanted XML data.

e.g.

JSON Response

{
 "uri": "http://vocabulary.server.org/cocktails/0bbdca98-077b-48d1-99d6-47eca59c442c",
 "prefLabel": "Aviation",
 "http://vocabulary.server.org semantic-web.at/cocktail-ontology/image": [
     "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Aviation_Cocktail.jpg"
 ]
}

Unwanted XML Output

<root>
  <http:>https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Aviation_Cocktail.jpg</http:>
</root>

This is unwanted and is difficult to further transform due to the nature of needing to encode character breaks to handle this cause.

With the usage of the URL Prefix field we are able to have a better generated XML tag.

e.g.

Wanted XML Output

<root>
  <image>https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Aviation_Cocktail.jpg</image>
</root>

Execute SPARQL Construct Query

Abstract

Execute SPARQL Construct Query

DescriptionExecute SPARQL Construct Query (uv-t-sparqlConstruct):

This DPU transforms input using the SPARQL Construct query provided. The result of the SPARQL Construct - the created triples - is stored to the output.

Note: Internally, the query is translated to SPARQL Update query before it is executed.

It supports RDF Validation extension.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Per-graph execution

If checked query is executed per-graph

true

SPARQL construct query

SPARQL construct query

CONSTRUCT {?s ?p ?o} WHERE {?s ?p ?o}

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

Data Unit

Description

Mandatory

input

input

RDFDataUnit

RDF input

(tick)

output

output

RDFDataUnit

transformed RDF output

(tick)
ExamplesGenerate UUIDs with SPARQL Construct

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads an Excel file from the server and transforms it into RDF. With a SPARQL Construct we add a skos:prefLabel and convert the URI generated by the Tabular Transformer into a UUID. The DPU configuration is illustrated in the image below.

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Download an Excel File Containing Download Links, Convert It to RDF and Write a SPARQL Construct to Configure Another Files Download DPU

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads an Excel file from the tmp folder of the UnifiedViews server. The data of the Excel file is subsequently converted to RDF and serves as input for the SPARQL Construct Query. The purpose of this query is to construct the configuration file of the second Files Download DPU. The query creates triples containing the download URI and the file name of the files that are to be downloaded. With this configuration file the Files Download DPU downloads the indicated files. After the files are downloaded they are uploaded to the tmp folder of the UnifiedViews server using the Files Upload DPU. The DPU configuration is illustrated in the image below.

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SPARQL Select

Abstract

SPARQL Select

DescriptionSPARQL Select (uv-t-sparqlSelect):

Transforms SPARQL SELECT query results to CSV. It does not validate query.

Configuration parameters

Name

Description

Example

Target path*

path and target CSV file name

/tmp/out.csv

SPARQL query

text area dedicated for SPARQL SELECT query

SELECT ?s ?p ?o WHERE { ?s ?p ?o }

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

input

i

RDFDataUnit

RDF graph

(tick)

output

o

FilesDataUnit

CSV file containing SPARQL SELECT query result

(tick)
ExampleSelect a Subset of RDF Data and Load Into a Relational Database

The following image shows a pipeline which loads all data from a SPARQL Endpoint, selects a subset of the data using the SPARQL Select Query, transforms the CSV response to relational data and loads that into a relational database

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SPARQL Update

Abstract

SPARQL Update

DescriptionSPARQL Update (uv-t-sparqlUpdate):

This DPU transforms input RDF using a single SPARQL Update query.

It supports RDF Validation extension.

It does not support quads - it is always executed either on top of all input graphs, or, if per-graph execution is checked, successively on each graph.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Per-graph execution

If checked query is executed per-graph - the query is executed separately on each input graph

SPARQL update query

SPARQL update query

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

input

i

RDFDataUnit

RDF input

(tick)

output

o

RDFDataUnit

RDF output (transformed)

(tick)
ExamplesBatch and Incremental Processing

In this pipeline below we are extracting data via a SPARQL Endpoint, then we split the pipeline into two processes to Update and Construct data using the SPARQL Update and SPARQL Construct DPUs. WIth the SPARQL Update Query we

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Tabular File To RDF

Abstract

Tabular File To RDF

DescriptionTabular File To RDF (uv-t-tabular):

This DPU converts tabular data into RDF data. As an input it takes CSV, DBF and XLS files.

It supports RDF Validation Extension.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Resource URI base

This value is used as base URI for automatic column property generation and also to create absolute URI if relative URI is provided in 'Property URI' column.

http://localhost/

Key column

Name of the column that will be appended to 'Resource URI base' and used as subject for rows.

Employee

Encoding

Character encoding of input files. Possible values: UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO-8859-1, windows-1250

UTF-8

Rows limit

Max. count of processed lines

1,000

Class for a row entity

This value is used as a class for each row entity. If no value is specified, the default "Row" class is used.

http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/t-tabular/Row

Full column mapping

A default mapping is generated for every column

true

Ignore blank cells

Blank cells are ignored and no output will be generated for them.

false

Use static row counter

When multiple files are processed those files share the same row counter. The process can be viewed as if files are appended before parsing.

false

Advanced key column

'Key column' is interpreted as template. An example of a template is http://localhost/{type}/content/{id}, where "type" and "id" are names of the columns in the input CSV file.

false

Generate row column

If checked, a triple containing the row number is generated for each row. The triple looks like this: <URI> <http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/odcs/tabular/row> <Row Number>.

true

Generate subject for table

A subject for each table that points to all rows in given table is created. The predicate used is "http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/odcs/tabular/hasRow". With the predicate "http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/odcs/tabular/symbolicName" the symbolic name of the source table is also attached.

false

Auto type as string

All auto types are considered to be strings. This can be useful with full column mapping to enforce the same type over all the columns and get rid of warning messages.

false

Generate table/row class

If checked, a class for the entire table is generated. The triple looks like this: <File URI> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type><http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/t-tabular/Table>. Note: This additional triple is only generated when "Generate subject for table" is also checked.

false

Generate labels

If checked, a label for each column URI is generated. The corresponding value of the header row is used as label. If the file does not contain a header data from the first row is used.It does not generate labels for advanced mapping.

false

Remove trailing spaces

Trailing spaces in cells are removed.

false

Ignore missing columns

If a named column is missing only info level log is used instead of error level log.

false

There are three different types of mapping available:

  • Simple mapping

  • Advanced mapping with templates

  • XLS mapping

The simple mapping tab allows to define how the columns should be mapped to the resulting predicates, including also information about the datatypes. The Advanced mapping tab is equivalent to the Simple mapping tab, but it allows to specify templates for values of the predicates. A sample template is http://localhost/{type}/content/{id}, where "type" and "id" are names of the columns in the input file. The XLS mapping can be used for the static mapping of cells to named cells. Named cells are accessible as extension in every row.

CSV Specific Settings

Name

Description

Example

Quote char

If no quote char is indicated, no quote chars are used. In this case values must not contain separator characters.

"

Delimiter char

Character used to specify the boundary between separate values.

,

Skip n first lines

Number of indicated rows are skipped when processing the file.

10

Has header

If the file has no header the columns are accesible as col0, col1, ....

true

XLS Specific Settings

Name

Description

Example

Sheet name

Specify the name of the sheet that is to be processed.

Table1

Skip n first lines

Number of indicated rows are skipped when processing the file.

10

Has header

If the file has no header the columns are accesible as col0, col1, ....

true

Strip header for nulls

Trailing null values in the header are removed. This can be useful if the header is bigger than data so that no exepton for "diff number of cells in header" is thrown.

false

Use advanced parser for double

In XLS integer, double and date are all represented in the same way. This option enables advanced detection of integers and dates based on value and formatting.

false

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

Data Unit

Description

Required

table

input

FilesDataUnit

Input files containing tabular data

(tick)

triplifiedTable

output

FilesDataUnit

RDF data

(tick)
ExamplesDownload an CSV File, Convert the Table Data to RDF and Load It to Virtuoso

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads a CSV file from the tmp folder of the UnifiedViews server. The data of the file is subsequently converted to RDF and loaded into a Virtuoso triple store. The DPU configuration is illustrated in the image below.

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Download an Excel File Containing Download Links, Convert It to RDF and Use It to Configure Another Files Download DPU

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads an Excel file (.xls) from the tmp folder of the UnifiedViews server. The data of the Excel file is subsequently converted to RDF and serves as input for a SPARQL Construct Query. The purpose of this query is to construct the configuration file of the second Files Download DPU. After the files are downloaded they are uploaded to the tmp folder of the UnifiedViews server using the Files Upload DPU. The DPU configuration is illustrated in the image below.

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The query used in this pipeline creates triples containing the download URI and the file name of the files that are to be downloaded. The query reads as follows:

CONSTRUCT {
<http://localhost/resource/config>  <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/dpu/filesDownload/Config>;
        <http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/dpu/filesDownload/hasFile> <http://localhost/resource/file/0>.

<http://localhost/resource/file/0> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/dpu/filesDownload/File>;
        <http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/dpu/filesDownload/file/uri> ?fileUri; 
        <http://unifiedviews.eu/ontology/dpu/filesDownload/file/fileName> ?fileName.
}
WHERE {
?s <http://localhost/fileuri/fileName> ?fileName.
?s <http://localhost/fileUri> ?fileUri
}
Generate RDF Data From a CSV File With Simple Mapping and Add UUIDs to the RDF Data

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which downloads a CSV file from the server and transforms it into RDF. With a SPARQL Construct we convert the URI generated by the Tabular File To RDF Transformer into a UUID. The DPU configuration is illustrated in the image below.

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XML to JSON

Abstract

XML to JSON

DescriptionXML to JSON (uv-t-xmlToJson):

This DPU transforms XML documents to equivalent JSON documents. The input and output is of type file.

Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

JSON Pretty Print

Generates JSON documents, outputted in human readable format instead of compact machine readable format

Cast to JSON primitives automatically

Data types of XML elements are automatically detected and casted into corresponding JSON primitive types

XML element path

The path of XML elements that should be parsed as a JSON array

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

filesInput

i

FilesDataUnit

XML documents to be transformed

(tick)

filesOutput

i

FilesDataUnit

JSON documents produced from transformation

(tick)
XML Element to JSON Array

A sequence of XML elements with same element name can be considered as an array. However, there is no array structure in XML similar to JSON array, which means it is not prossible to decide if an element is actually an array with one object when there is only one element. Therefore, StAXON introduces some annotations to explicitly declare the XML elements that should be transformed into JSON arrays. Those annotations can be defined based on a XPath-like syntax path ::= '/'? <localName> ('/' <localName>)*.

For example:

<alice>
        <bob>edgar</bob>
</alice> 

are transformed to:

{
 "alice":{
  "bob":"edgar"
 }
}

By default with an annotation such as /alice/bob the result will become:

{
 "alice":{
  "bob":[
    "edgar"
  ]
 }
}
Reference

The core transformation engine of this plugin attributes to StAXON - JSON via StAX from Odysseus Software . For more information related to XML to JSON transformation, please visit StAXON WiKi.

Particularly, the following chapters are relevant to this plugin:

StAXON WiKi - Converting XML to JSON StAXON WiKi - Mapping Convention StAXON WiKi - Mastering Arrays

XSLT

Abstract

XSLT

DescriptionXSLT (uv-t-xslt):

This DPU performs XSL transformation over input files, using a single static template. The outcome of the transformation will be in file format.

This DPU supports random UUID generation using randomUUID() function in namespace uuid-functions.

Example usage:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 
<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:uuid="uuid-functions" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version="2.0"> 
<xsl:template match="/"> 
<xsl:value-of select="uuid:randomUUID()"/> 
</xsl:template> 
</xsl:stylesheet>
Configuration Parameters

Name

Description

Example

Skip file on error

If selected and the transformation fails, then the file is skipped and the execution continues.

False

File extension

If provided then the file extension in virtual path is set to the given value.

If no virtual path is set then an error message is logged and no virtual path is set.

.xml

Number of extra threads

How many additional workers should be created. One worker thread is always created even if the value is set to zero.

Remember that a higher number of workers may speed up transformation but will also result in greater memory consumption.

This option should work better with files that takes longer to transform.

2

XSLT template

The template used during the transformation.

Inputs and Outputs

Name

Type

DataUnit

Description

Required

files

i

FilesDataUnit

File/s to be transformed

(tick)

files

o

FilesDataUnit

Transformed file of given type

(tick)

config

i

RdfDataUnit

Dynamic DPU configuration, see Advanced configuration

Advanced Configuration

It is also possible to dynamically configure the DPU over its input config using RDF data.

Configuration sample:

<http://localhost/resource/config> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/Config>; 
<http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/fileInfo> <http://localhost/resource/fileInfo/0>;
<http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/outputFileExtension> “.ttl”.


<http://localhost/resource/fileInfo/0> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/FileInfo>;
<http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/param> <http://localhost/resource/param/0>; 
<http://unifiedviews.eu/DataUnit/MetadataDataUnit/symbolicName> “smlouva.ttl”.


<http://localhost/resource/param/0> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/Param>; 
<http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/param/name> “paramName”; 
<http://linked.opendata.cz/ontology/uv/dpu/xslt/param/value> “paramValue”.
ExamplesTransform Downloaded XML Files

The following image shows a fragment of a pipeline which first downloads an XML file, uses XSLT to transform the file into RDF/XML file, followed by transforming this outputted file into RDF Data. The configuration for the XSLT can be seen below.

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Transform XML Data using dynamically configured input config data

Using the above sample config I can construct the input for our next example. Allowing me to use RDF config as my input in place of my file, demonstrated below.

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