Skip to content

SWRL cookbook

Author and validate SWRL rules in OntoCode / OntoCore (v0.23+). Interactive path: Rule Browser / Rule Editor in VS Code. Script path: patch ops + LSP validate/parse.

Rules are stored as ontology annotations (ontocore:swrlRule JSON). DL/Auto classify may materialize DLSafe rules via Ontologos when present. See What ships today and patch reference.

Patch: add a simple rule

[
  {
    "op": "add_swrl_rule",
    "ontology_iri": "http://example.org/people",
    "rule_json": "{\"id\":\"person-is-human\",\"body\":[{\"kind\":\"class\",\"class\":\"http://example.org/people#Person\",\"arg\":{\"variable\":\"x\"}}],\"head\":[{\"kind\":\"class\",\"class\":\"http://example.org/people#Human\",\"arg\":{\"variable\":\"x\"}}],\"enabled\":true}"
  }
]

ontocore patch ./example.ttl patches-swrl.json --preview
ontocore patch ./example.ttl patches-swrl.json

Download: patches-swrl.json

remove_swrl_rule / replace_swrl_rule use the same rule_json shape (exact JSON string match for remove/replace).

Validate via LSP

Custom methods (see LSP API):

Method Purpose
ontocore/listSwrlRules List rules in the indexed workspace
ontocore/validateSwrlRule Validate rule JSON (builtins / DLSafe diagnostics)
ontocore/parseSwrlRule Parse rule JSON into the OntoCore SWRL IR

There is no dedicated ontocore swrl CLI subcommand — use patch for write-back and the LSP methods (or Rule Editor) for validate/list.

Classify with rules present

ontocore classify ./ontologies --profile dl --format json

When SWRL rules are present, DL/Auto classify may materialize them before taxonomy. Prefer dual-tool checks when you need Protégé/HermiT-identical rule entailments.