Modify > Derive property shapes from instances

This feature is available from the Modify Menu of classes and node shapes in an Ontology asset collection. If you have data that contains property values for which no property shapes exist in an ontology, this feature can auto-generate suitable property definitions. Data that will be analyzed must be located in one of the asset collections.

TopBraid will display a dialog where you can:

1. Identify an asset collection containing data

2. Specify the max number of instances to analyze – the default is 1,000

3. Optionally, specify a Property Group for the newly created properties

The algorithm behind this dialog will apply some heuristics to generate property declarations and constraints. For example, if all instances have at most one value for a property then that property will get sh:maxCount 1, and if all values are integers then the property shape will use sh:datatype xsd:integer.

See Also

• Modify > Derive missing classes

Further Reading on SHACL

• Form Generation using SHACL and DASH (External Link)

• SHACL Advanced Features Specification (External Link)

• SHACL W3C Specification (External Link)

Further Reading on Ontologies

• Working with Ontologies

Further Reading on Modify Menu

• Resource Actions

Further Reading on TopBraid

• Introduction to EDG