Abstract
Application architecture has always been a rich source of design patterns. Much of the design pattern literature covers useful architectural and code design patterns that can lead to the creation of more maintainable and evolvable software.
We are still at the early stages of exploring how best to create Linked Data applications. Indeed there is still much debate about what constitutes a Linked Data application at all. Is it any application that uses RDF, perhaps entirely based on a local triple store? Or must it be an application that is capable of continually discovering new information from across the web of data?
We still have much to learn about how to create applications that are truly flexible enough to process and display a wide variety of different data types. This covers everything from software architecture, design and user experience. Over time we might expect to see more research and development of Linked Data browsers. Or, perhaps web browsers will simply become more data aware and develop ways to help users make more of the data that is increasingly embedded in or linked from web pages.
Regardless of the type of applications we are constructing, there are a number of ways that specific features of RDF, SPARQL, or HTTP accessible Linked Data can be exploited to create flexible software architecture or simply useful behaviour. This chapter captures a variety of design patterns that relate to a number of different aspects of application development.
The existing patterns literature is at our disposal for helping to create Linked Data applications, but which features of semantic web technology can help us to better solve problems or meet requirements?