Improving Developer Experience in Linked Data Applications

The development of Linked Data applications entails numerous challenges that are inherent to the complexity of Linked Data standards and technologies, presenting a signif- icant barrier to entry for new developers. In this dissertation, we investigate the developer experience (DX) of building Linked Data applications, with particular focus on available RDF tooling and abstractions. The research introduces LDkit, a novel RDF data access library inspired by modern Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) design principles, which simplifies RDF data querying, transformation, and integration. LDkit significantly im- proves usability and efficiency, bridging the gap between the flexibility of Linked Data and the practical needs of web application developers. Finally, the dissertation demonstrates how externalizing the application model and adopting ontology-driven development can further improve the developer experience by fostering interoperability and collaboration in enterprise-scale environments.