# Shape Expressions with Inheritance

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.24299 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.24299/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 2 of its 15 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 31 Mar 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [PG-Schema: Schemas for Property Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.10962/) (2022)
- [SHACL: A Description Logic in Disguise](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.06096/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We formally introduce an inheritance mechanism for the Shape Expressions language (ShEx). It is inspired by inheritance in object-oriented programming languages, and provides similar advantages such as reuse, modularity, and more flexible data modelling. Using an example, we explain the main features of the inheritance mechanism. We present its syntax and formal semantics. The semantics is an extension of the semantics of ShEx 2.1. It also directly yields a validation algorithm as an extension of the previous ShEx validation algorithms, while maintaining the same algorithmic complexity.