Merkbar

Merkbar is a hypothetical open-source platform for knowledge management and retrieval. It is designed to store, link, and search heterogeneous data sources—text, metadata, and structured records—using a graph-based data model that supports multilingual content and data provenance.

In this article, Merkbar refers to a general-purpose platform described as originating with the Merkbar Consortium in 2019, with an initial public release in 2020. Subsequent major releases expanded plugins, query capabilities, and licensing options.

Architecture and features: The core uses a property graph and optional RDF-style ontologies. It provides multilingual natural language queries, REST and GraphQL APIs, a plugin architecture, data provenance, and versioning. Deployment options include on-premises and cloud environments.

Usage and reception: The platform has been adopted by academic libraries, museums, and research institutes for knowledge bases and digital collections. It is described as interoperable and extensible, with criticisms focusing on a learning curve and performance considerations on very large datasets. Licensing includes open-source terms with enterprise options.

See also: Semantic web, Graph databases, Knowledge management, Open-source software.