Query Language Design

Geode implements the Graph Query Language (GQL) as standardized in ISO/IEC 39075:2024, providing a powerful, declarative language for querying graph databases. GQL builds on decades of query language evolution, combining the best aspects of SQL’s familiarity with specialized graph traversal capabilities. <h3 id="what-is-gql" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> What is GQL? <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="what-is-gql" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: What is GQL?"> Share link </button> </h3><div id="headingShareModal" class="heading-share-modal" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-labelledby="headingShareTitle" hidden> <div class="hsm-dialog" role="document"> <div class="hsm-header"> <h2 id="headingShareTitle" class="h6 mb-0 fw-bold">Share this section</h2> <button type="button" class="hsm-close" aria-label="Close"> </button> </div> <div class="hsm-body"> <label for="headingShareInput" class="form-label small text-muted mb-1 text-uppercase fw-bold" style="font-size: 0.7rem; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Permalink</label> <div class="input-group mb-4 hsm-url-group"> <input id="headingShareInput" type="text" class="form-control font-monospace" readonly aria-readonly="true" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" /> <button class="btn btn-primary hsm-copy" type="button" aria-label="Copy" title="Copy"> </button> </div> <div class="small fw-bold mb-2 text-muted text-uppercase" style="font-size: 0.7rem; 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const input = modal.querySelector('#headingShareInput'); const copyBtn = modal.querySelector('.hsm-copy'); const twitter = modal.querySelector('#share-twitter'); const linkedin = modal.querySelector('#share-linkedin'); const facebook = modal.querySelector('#share-facebook'); const closeBtn = modal.querySelector('.hsm-close'); let lastFocus=null; let trapBound=false; function buildUrl(id){ return window.location.origin + window.location.pathname + '#' + id; } function isOpen(){ return !modal.hasAttribute('hidden'); } function hydrate(id){ const url=buildUrl(id); input.value=url; const enc=encodeURIComponent(url); const text=encodeURIComponent(document.title); if(twitter) twitter.href=`https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=${enc}&text=${text}`; if(linkedin) linkedin.href=`https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=${enc}`; if(facebook) facebook.href=`https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=${enc}`; } function openModal(id){ lastFocus=document.activeElement; hydrate(id); if(!isOpen()){ modal.removeAttribute('hidden'); } requestAnimationFrame(()=>{ input.focus(); }); trapFocus(); } function closeModal(){ if(!isOpen()) return; modal.setAttribute('hidden',''); if(lastFocus && typeof lastFocus.focus==='function') lastFocus.focus(); } function copyCurrent(){ try{ navigator.clipboard.writeText(input.value).then(()=>feedback(true),()=>fallback()); } catch(e){ fallback(); } } function fallback(){ input.select(); try{ document.execCommand('copy'); feedback(true);}catch(e){ feedback(false);} } function feedback(ok){ if(!copyBtn) return; const icon=copyBtn.querySelector('i'); if(!icon) return; const prev=copyBtn.getAttribute('data-prev')||icon.className; if(!copyBtn.getAttribute('data-prev')) copyBtn.setAttribute('data-prev',prev); icon.className= ok ? 'fa-duotone fa-clipboard-check':'fa-duotone fa-circle-exclamation'; setTimeout(()=>{ icon.className=prev; },1800); } function handleShareClick(e){ e.preventDefault(); const btn=e.currentTarget; const id=btn.getAttribute('data-share-target'); if(id) openModal(id); } function bindShareButtons(){ document.querySelectorAll('.h-share').forEach(btn=>{ if(!btn.dataset.hShareBound){ btn.addEventListener('click', handleShareClick); btn.dataset.hShareBound='1'; } }); } bindShareButtons(); if(document.readyState==='loading'){ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', bindShareButtons); } else { requestAnimationFrame(bindShareButtons); } document.addEventListener('click', function(e){ const shareBtn=e.target.closest && e.target.closest('.h-share'); if(shareBtn && !shareBtn.dataset.hShareBound){ handleShareClick.call(shareBtn, e); } }, true); document.addEventListener('click', e=>{ if(e.target===modal) closeModal(); if(e.target.closest && e.target.closest('.hsm-close')){ e.preventDefault(); closeModal(); } if(copyBtn && (e.target===copyBtn || (e.target.closest && e.target.closest('.hsm-copy')))) { e.preventDefault(); copyCurrent(); } }); document.addEventListener('keydown', e=>{ if(e.key==='Escape' && isOpen()) closeModal(); }); function trapFocus(){ if(trapBound) return; trapBound=true; modal.addEventListener('keydown', f=>{ if(f.key==='Tab' && isOpen()){ const focusable=[...modal.querySelectorAll('a[href],button,input,textarea,select,[tabindex]:not([tabindex="-1"])')].filter(el=>!el.hasAttribute('disabled')); if(!focusable.length) return; const first=focusable[0]; const last=focusable[focusable.length-1]; if(f.shiftKey && document.activeElement===first){ f.preventDefault(); last.focus(); } else if(!f.shiftKey && document.activeElement===last){ f.preventDefault(); first.focus(); } } }); } if(closeBtn) closeBtn.addEventListener('click', e=>{ e.preventDefault(); closeModal(); }); })(); </script>GQL (Graph Query Language) is an international standard for querying property graphs, officially published as ISO/IEC 39075:2024. It provides: <ul> <li>Declarative Syntax: Describe what data you want, not how to retrieve it</li> <li>Pattern Matching: Express complex graph patterns intuitively</li> <li>Property Graph Model: Native support for labeled nodes and relationships with properties</li> <li>SQL Compatibility: Familiar syntax and semantics where applicable</li> <li>Composability: Build complex queries from simple building blocks</li> </ul> Geode follows the 100% GQL compliance; see the conformance profile for scope and diagnostics. <h3 id="query-structure" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Query Structure <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="query-structure" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Query Structure"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="basic-query-anatomy" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Basic Query Anatomy <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="basic-query-anatomy" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Basic Query Anatomy"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Simple query structure MATCH (u:User {verified: true}) WHERE u.age >= 18 RETURN u.name, u.email ORDER BY u.name LIMIT 10 </code></pre></div>Every GQL query consists of clauses that form a pipeline: <ol> <li>MATCH: Find patterns in the graph</li> <li>WHERE: Filter matched results</li> <li>RETURN: Project output columns</li> <li>ORDER BY: Sort results</li> <li>LIMIT/OFFSET: Paginate results</li> </ol> <h4 id="reading-clauses" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Reading Clauses <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="reading-clauses" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Reading Clauses"> Share link </button> </h4> <h5 id="match---pattern-matching" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> MATCH - Pattern Matching <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="match---pattern-matching" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: MATCH - Pattern Matching"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Node patterns MATCH (n) // Any node MATCH (u:User) // Nodes with User label MATCH (p:Product {active: true}) // Nodes with label and property // Relationship patterns MATCH (a)-[r]->(b) // Any directed relationship MATCH (a)-[:FOLLOWS]->(b) // Specific relationship type MATCH (a)<-[r:CREATED]-(b) // Reverse direction MATCH (a)-[r]-(b) // Undirected (either direction) // Multi-hop patterns MATCH (a)-[:KNOWS*1..3]->(b) // Variable-length path (1 to 3 hops) MATCH (a)-[:KNOWS*]->(b) // Unlimited hops MATCH (a)-[:KNOWS*..5]->(b) // Up to 5 hops // Complex patterns MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post)<-[:LIKED]-(f:User) WHERE u <> f RETURN u.name AS author, COUNT(DISTINCT f) AS unique_likes </code></pre></div> <h5 id="optional-match---left-outer-join" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> OPTIONAL MATCH - Left Outer Join <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="optional-match---left-outer-join" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: OPTIONAL MATCH - Left Outer Join"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Return users even if they have no posts MATCH (u:User) OPTIONAL MATCH (u)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) RETURN u.name, COUNT(p) AS post_count </code></pre></div> <h5 id="where---filtering" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> WHERE - Filtering <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="where---filtering" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: WHERE - Filtering"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Property conditions MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.age >= 18 AND u.verified = true AND u.status IN ['active', 'premium'] RETURN u // Pattern predicates MATCH (u:User) WHERE (u)-[:POSTED]->(:Post) // Users who posted AND NOT (u)-[:BANNED]->() // Not banned RETURN u // String matching MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.name STARTS WITH 'Pro' OR p.name ENDS WITH 'Edition' OR p.name CONTAINS 'Premium' RETURN p // Regular expressions MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email =~ '.*@example\\.com$' RETURN u // Null checks MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.phone IS NOT NULL AND u.email_verified IS NULL RETURN u // Collection predicates MATCH (u:User) WHERE 'python' IN u.skills AND ALL(tag IN u.tags WHERE LENGTH(tag) > 2) AND ANY(score IN u.scores WHERE score > 90) RETURN u </code></pre></div> <h4 id="writing-clauses" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Writing Clauses <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="writing-clauses" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Writing Clauses"> Share link </button> </h4> <h5 id="create---insert-data" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> CREATE - Insert Data <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="create---insert-data" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: CREATE - Insert Data"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Create single node CREATE (u:User { name: 'Alice', email: 'alice@example.com', created_at: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP }) RETURN u // Create multiple nodes CREATE (u1:User {name: 'Alice'}), (u2:User {name: 'Bob'}), (u3:User {name: 'Charlie'}) // Create with relationships CREATE (u:User {name: 'Alice'})-[:FOLLOWS]->(f:User {name: 'Bob'}) // Create from matched patterns MATCH (u:User {name: 'Alice'}) CREATE (u)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post { title: 'Hello World', content: 'My first post', created_at: NOW() }) RETURN p </code></pre></div> <h5 id="merge---upsert-pattern" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> MERGE - Upsert Pattern <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="merge---upsert-pattern" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: MERGE - Upsert Pattern"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Create if not exists MERGE (u:User {email: 'alice@example.com'}) ON CREATE SET u.created_at = NOW() ON MATCH SET u.last_seen = NOW() RETURN u // Merge relationships MATCH (u1:User {name: 'Alice'}), (u2:User {name: 'Bob'}) MERGE (u1)-[f:FOLLOWS]->(u2) ON CREATE SET f.since = NOW() RETURN f // Complex merge MERGE (u:User {email: 'alice@example.com'}) ON CREATE SET u.created_at = NOW(), u.verified = false, u.login_count = 1 ON MATCH SET u.last_login = NOW(), u.login_count = u.login_count + 1 RETURN u </code></pre></div> <h5 id="set---update-properties" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> SET - Update Properties <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="set---update-properties" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: SET - Update Properties"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Set single property MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) SET u.verified = true RETURN u // Set multiple properties MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) SET u.name = 'Alice Smith', u.updated_at = NOW() RETURN u // Set from map MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) SET u += {verified: true, role: 'admin'} RETURN u // Set labels MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) SET u:Premium:Verified RETURN u // Conditional updates MATCH (p:Post) WHERE p.likes > 100 SET p.featured = true, p.featured_at = NOW() RETURN COUNT(p) AS featured_count </code></pre></div> <h5 id="delete---remove-data" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> DELETE - Remove Data <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="delete---remove-data" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: DELETE - Remove Data"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Delete nodes (must have no relationships) MATCH (u:User {deleted: true}) DELETE u // Delete relationships MATCH (u1:User)-[f:FOLLOWS]->(u2:User) WHERE u1.id = 123 DELETE f // Delete nodes and relationships MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) DETACH DELETE u // Deletes node and all its relationships // Conditional delete MATCH (p:Post) WHERE p.created_at < DATE() - DURATION('P1Y') AND p.archived = true DETACH DELETE p </code></pre></div> <h5 id="remove---remove-propertieslabels" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> REMOVE - Remove Properties/Labels <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="remove---remove-propertieslabels" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: REMOVE - Remove Properties/Labels"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Remove property MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) REMOVE u.deprecated_field RETURN u // Remove label MATCH (u:User {id: 123}) REMOVE u:Premium RETURN u // Remove multiple properties MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.migrated = true REMOVE u.old_field1, u.old_field2, u.migration_flag </code></pre></div> <h4 id="query-composition" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Query Composition <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="query-composition" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Query Composition"> Share link </button> </h4> <h5 id="with---pipeline-chaining" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> WITH - Pipeline Chaining <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="with---pipeline-chaining" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: WITH - Pipeline Chaining"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Aggregate then filter MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) WITH u, COUNT(p) AS post_count WHERE post_count > 10 RETURN u.name, post_count ORDER BY post_count DESC // Multiple aggregations MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) WITH u, COUNT(p) AS posts, AVG(p.likes) AS avg_likes WHERE posts > 5 AND avg_likes > 10 RETURN u.name, posts, avg_likes // Subquery pattern MATCH (u:User) WITH u, [(u)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) | p.likes] AS post_likes RETURN u.name, SUM(post_likes) AS total_likes </code></pre></div> <h5 id="union---combine-results" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> UNION - Combine Results <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="union---combine-results" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: UNION - Combine Results"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Union all (includes duplicates) MATCH (u:User {verified: true}) RETURN u.name AS name UNION ALL MATCH (a:Admin) RETURN a.name AS name // Union distinct (removes duplicates) MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.role = 'author' RETURN u.id, u.name UNION MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) RETURN u.id, u.name </code></pre></div> <h5 id="unwind---expand-collections" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> UNWIND - Expand Collections <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="unwind---expand-collections" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: UNWIND - Expand Collections"> Share link </button> </h5><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Expand list to rows UNWIND [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] AS number RETURN number, number * number AS square // Process collection property MATCH (u:User) UNWIND u.tags AS tag RETURN tag, COUNT(u) AS user_count ORDER BY user_count DESC // Create from list WITH [{name: 'Alice', age: 30}, {name: 'Bob', age: 25}] AS users UNWIND users AS user_data CREATE (u:User) SET u = user_data RETURN u </code></pre></div> <h3 id="advanced-query-patterns" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Advanced Query Patterns <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="advanced-query-patterns" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Advanced Query Patterns"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="aggregation" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Aggregation <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="aggregation" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Aggregation"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Basic aggregates MATCH (u:User) RETURN COUNT(u) AS total_users, AVG(u.age) AS avg_age, MIN(u.created_at) AS first_user, MAX(u.created_at) AS latest_user // Group by MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) RETURN u.name, COUNT(p) AS posts, SUM(p.likes) AS total_likes, AVG(p.likes) AS avg_likes ORDER BY total_likes DESC // Collect aggregation MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) RETURN u.name, COLLECT(p.title) AS post_titles // Distinct aggregation MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post)-[:HAS_TAG]->(t:Tag) RETURN u.name, COUNT(DISTINCT t) AS unique_tags </code></pre></div> <h4 id="path-queries" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Path Queries <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="path-queries" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Path Queries"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Shortest path MATCH path = SHORTEST_PATH((a:User {name: 'Alice'})-[:KNOWS*]-(b:User {name: 'Bob'})) RETURN path, LENGTH(path) AS hops // All paths with length constraint MATCH path = (a:User {name: 'Alice'})-[:KNOWS*1..4]-(b:User {name: 'Bob'}) RETURN path, LENGTH(path) AS hops ORDER BY hops // Path with conditions MATCH path = (a:User)-[:KNOWS*]-(b:User) WHERE ALL(node IN NODES(path) WHERE node.active = true) AND LENGTH(path) <= 5 RETURN path </code></pre></div> <h4 id="subqueries" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Subqueries <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="subqueries" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Subqueries"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Correlated subquery (EXISTS) MATCH (u:User) WHERE EXISTS { MATCH (u)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) WHERE p.likes > 100 } RETURN u // Scalar subquery MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, (SELECT COUNT(p) FROM (u)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post)) AS post_count // List subquery MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, [(u)-[:FOLLOWS]->(f:User) | f.name] AS following_names </code></pre></div> <h4 id="conditional-logic" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Conditional Logic <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="conditional-logic" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Conditional Logic"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// CASE expressions MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, CASE WHEN u.posts > 100 THEN 'power_user' WHEN u.posts > 10 THEN 'regular_user' ELSE 'new_user' END AS user_tier // CASE with searched conditions MATCH (p:Post) RETURN p.title, CASE WHEN p.likes > 1000 AND p.shares > 100 THEN 'viral' WHEN p.likes > 100 THEN 'popular' WHEN p.likes > 10 THEN 'normal' ELSE 'new' END AS status // Simple CASE MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, CASE u.role WHEN 'admin' THEN 'Administrator' WHEN 'moderator' THEN 'Moderator' ELSE 'User' END AS role_label </code></pre></div> <h3 id="query-optimization" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Query Optimization <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="query-optimization" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Query Optimization"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="use-indexes" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Use Indexes <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="use-indexes" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Use Indexes"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Create indexes for frequently queried properties CREATE INDEX FOR (u:User) ON (u.email) CREATE INDEX FOR (p:Post) ON (p.created_at) CREATE INDEX FOR (t:Tag) ON (t.name) // Composite index CREATE INDEX FOR (u:User) ON (u.status, u.role) </code></pre></div> <h4 id="filter-early" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Filter Early <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="filter-early" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Filter Early"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Good: Filter before expanding pattern MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.verified = true MATCH (u)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) RETURN u, p // Avoid: Late filtering causes unnecessary work MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) WHERE u.verified = true RETURN u, p </code></pre></div> <h4 id="limit-relationship-traversals" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Limit Relationship Traversals <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="limit-relationship-traversals" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Limit Relationship Traversals"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Good: Bounded traversal MATCH (u:User)-[:KNOWS*1..3]->(friend) RETURN friend.name LIMIT 100 // Avoid: Unbounded traversal MATCH (u:User)-[:KNOWS*]->(friend) RETURN friend.name </code></pre></div> <h4 id="use-query-profiling" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Use Query Profiling <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="use-query-profiling" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Use Query Profiling"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Explain query plan EXPLAIN MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) WHERE u.verified = true RETURN u.name, COUNT(p) AS posts // Profile actual execution PROFILE MATCH (u:User)-[:POSTED]->(p:Post) WHERE u.verified = true RETURN u.name, COUNT(p) AS posts </code></pre></div> <h3 id="client-library-integration" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Client Library Integration <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="client-library-integration" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Client Library Integration"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="python" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Python <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="python" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Python"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-python" data-lang="python">from geode_client import Client client = Client(host="localhost", port=3141) async with client.connection() as conn: # Simple query result, _ = await conn.query(""" MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.age >= $min_age RETURN u.name, u.age ORDER BY u.age DESC LIMIT 10 """, {"min_age": 18}) for row in result.rows: print(f"{row['name']}: {row['age']}") # Parameterized write await conn.query(""" CREATE (u:User { name: $name, email: $email, created_at: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP }) """, { "name": "Alice", "email": "[email protected]" }) </code></pre></div> <h4 id="go" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Go <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="go" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Go"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-go" data-lang="go">import "database/sql" import _ "geodedb.com/geode" db, _ := sql.Open("geode", "quic://localhost:3141") defer db.Close() // Query with parameters rows, err := db.Query(` MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.age >= $1 RETURN u.name, u.age ORDER BY u.age DESC LIMIT 10 `, 18) defer rows.Close() for rows.Next() { var name string var age int rows.Scan(&name, &age) fmt.Printf("%s: %d\n", name, age) } // Insert with parameters _, err = db.Exec(` CREATE (u:User { name: $1, email: $2, created_at: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP }) `, "Alice", "[email protected]") </code></pre></div> <h4 id="rust" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Rust <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="rust" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Rust"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-rust" data-lang="rust">use geode_client::Client; let client = Client::connect("localhost:3141").await?; // Query with parameters let result = client.query( r#" MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.age >= $min_age RETURN u.name, u.age ORDER BY u.age DESC LIMIT 10 "#, &[("min_age", &18)], ).await?; for row in result.rows() { println!("{}: {}", row["name"], row["age"]); } // Insert with parameters client.execute( r#" CREATE (u:User { name: $name, email: $email, created_at: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP }) "#, &[ ("name", &"Alice"), ("email", &"[email protected]"), ], ).await?; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="best-practices" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Best Practices <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="best-practices" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Best Practices"> Share link </button> </h3><ol> <li>Use Parameters: Always use parameters ($1, $name, etc.) instead of string concatenation to prevent injection attacks</li> <li>Index Strategically: Create indexes on properties used in WHERE clauses and relationship endpoints</li> <li>Bound Traversals: Always limit variable-length path traversals (use *1..5, not *)</li> <li>Filter Early: Apply WHERE clauses as early as possible in the query pipeline</li> <li>Limit Results: Use LIMIT on queries that might return large result sets</li> <li>Profile Queries: Use EXPLAIN/PROFILE to understand query execution plans</li> <li>Batch Writes: Combine multiple CREATE/MERGE operations in a single transaction</li> <li>Avoid Cartesian Products: Be careful with multiple MATCH clauses without relationships</li> </ol> <h3 id="common-patterns" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Common Patterns <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="common-patterns" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Common Patterns"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="recommendation-engine" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Recommendation Engine <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="recommendation-engine" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Recommendation Engine"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Find recommended products based on similar users MATCH (u:User {id: $user_id})-[:PURCHASED]->(p:Product) <-[:PURCHASED]-(similar:User)-[:PURCHASED]->(recommendation:Product) WHERE NOT (u)-[:PURCHASED]->(recommendation) AND recommendation.active = true RETURN recommendation.name, COUNT(DISTINCT similar) AS similar_user_count, AVG(recommendation.rating) AS avg_rating ORDER BY similar_user_count DESC, avg_rating DESC LIMIT 10 </code></pre></div> <h4 id="social-graph-analysis" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Social Graph Analysis <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="social-graph-analysis" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Social Graph Analysis"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Find mutual friends MATCH (me:User {id: $my_id})-[:KNOWS]-(mutual)-[:KNOWS]-(friend:User {id: $friend_id}) WHERE mutual <> me AND mutual <> friend RETURN mutual.name, mutual.location ORDER BY mutual.name </code></pre></div> <h4 id="hierarchical-queries" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Hierarchical Queries <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="hierarchical-queries" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Hierarchical Queries"> Share link </button> </h4><div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Organization chart depth-first traversal MATCH path = (root:Employee {id: $manager_id})-[:MANAGES*]->(report:Employee) RETURN report.name, LENGTH(path) AS depth, [node IN NODES(path) | node.name] AS chain ORDER BY depth, report.name </code></pre></div> <h3 id="troubleshooting" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Troubleshooting <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="troubleshooting" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Troubleshooting"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="query-too-slow" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Query Too Slow <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="query-too-slow" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Query Too Slow"> Share link </button> </h4><ol> <li>Check if indexes exist on filtered properties</li> <li>Use PROFILE to identify bottlenecks</li> <li>Ensure relationship traversals are bounded</li> <li>Consider denormalizing frequently accessed data</li> </ol> <h4 id="out-of-memory" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Out of Memory <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="out-of-memory" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Out of Memory"> Share link </button> </h4><ol> <li>Add LIMIT clauses to constrain result sets</li> <li>Use streaming in client libraries</li> <li>Break large operations into batches</li> <li>Consider variable-length path limits</li> </ol> <h4 id="unexpected-results" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Unexpected Results <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="unexpected-results" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Unexpected Results"> Share link </button> </h4><ol> <li>Verify NULL handling (use IS NULL/IS NOT NULL)</li> <li>Check relationship directions</li> <li>Ensure proper use of OPTIONAL MATCH</li> <li>Validate parameter types and values</li> </ol> <h3 id="related-topics" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Related Topics <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="related-topics" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Related Topics"> Share link </button> </h3><ul> <li>Pattern Matching: Deep dive into graph pattern syntax</li> <li>MATCH Clause: Comprehensive MATCH documentation</li> <li>EXPLAIN: Query execution plan analysis</li> <li>Functions: Built-in GQL functions</li> <li>Operators: GQL operators and expressions</li> </ul> <h3 id="further-reading" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Further Reading <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="further-reading" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Further Reading"> Share link </button> </h3><ul> <li><a href="/tags/pattern-matching/" >Pattern Matching</a> - Graph pattern matching techniques</li> <li><a href="/tags/match/" >MATCH Clause</a> - Complete MATCH syntax reference</li> <li><a href="/tags/explain/" >EXPLAIN</a> - Query optimization with EXPLAIN</li> <li><a href="/tags/performance/" >Performance</a> - Query performance tuning</li> <li><a href="/tags/gql-reference/" >GQL Reference</a> - Complete GQL language reference</li> </ul> Geode’s full implementation of ISO/IEC 39075:2024 GQL provides a powerful, standardized query language for all your graph database needs, from simple lookups to complex graph analytics.

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