Schema Design

Schema design in Geode defines the structure, constraints, and indexes that govern your graph data. While Geode supports schema-optional modeling, explicit schema definitions improve data quality, query performance, and application reliability. <h3 id="schema-optional-vs-schema-required" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Schema-Optional vs. Schema-Required <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="schema-optional-vs-schema-required" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Schema-Optional vs. Schema-Required"> 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; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Share via</div> <div class="hsm-share-grid"> <a id="share-twitter" class="btn btn-outline-secondary w-100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Twitter </a> <a id="share-linkedin" class="btn btn-outline-secondary w-100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> LinkedIn </a> <a id="share-facebook" class="btn btn-outline-secondary w-100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Facebook </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <style> .heading-share-modal { position: fixed; inset: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); z-index: 1050; padding: 1rem; backdrop-filter: blur(4px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(4px); } .heading-share-modal[hidden] { display: none !important; } .hsm-dialog { max-width: 420px; width: 100%; background: var(--bs-body-bg, #fff); color: var(--bs-body-color, #212529); border: 1px solid var(--bs-border-color, rgba(0,0,0,0.1)); border-radius: 1rem; box-shadow: 0 25px 50px -12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25); overflow: hidden; animation: hsm-fade-in 0.2s ease-out; } @keyframes hsm-fade-in { from { opacity: 0; transform: scale(0.95); } to { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1); } } [data-bs-theme="dark"] .hsm-dialog { background: #1e293b; border-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.1); color: #f8f9fa; } .hsm-header { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; padding: 1rem 1.5rem; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--bs-border-color, rgba(0,0,0,0.1)); background: rgba(0,0,0,0.02); } [data-bs-theme="dark"] .hsm-header { background: rgba(255,255,255,0.02); border-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.1); } .hsm-close { background: transparent; border: none; color: inherit; opacity: 0.5; padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem; border-radius: 0.25rem; font-size: 1.2rem; line-height: 1; transition: opacity 0.2s; } .hsm-close:hover { opacity: 1; } .hsm-body { padding: 1.5rem; } .hsm-url-group { display: flex !important; align-items: stretch; } .hsm-url-group .form-control { flex: 1; min-width: 0; margin: 0; background: var(--bs-secondary-bg, #f8f9fa); border-color: var(--bs-border-color, #dee2e6); border-top-right-radius: 0; border-bottom-right-radius: 0; height: 42px; } .hsm-url-group .btn { flex: 0 0 auto; margin: 0; margin-left: -1px; border-top-left-radius: 0; border-bottom-left-radius: 0; height: 42px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; padding: 0 1.25rem; z-index: 2; } [data-bs-theme="dark"] .hsm-url-group .form-control { background: #0f172a; border-color: #334155; color: #e2e8f0; } .hsm-share-grid { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.5rem; } .hsm-share-grid .btn { display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; font-size: 0.9rem; padding: 0.6rem; border-color: var(--bs-border-color); width: 100%; } [data-bs-theme="dark"] .hsm-share-grid .btn { color: #e2e8f0; border-color: #475569; } [data-bs-theme="dark"] .hsm-share-grid .btn:hover { background: #334155; border-color: #cbd5e1; } </style> <script> (function(){ const modal = document.getElementById('headingShareModal'); if(!modal) return; 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> <h4 id="flexible-schema" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Flexible Schema <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="flexible-schema" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Flexible Schema"> Share link </button> </h4>Geode allows schema-free development for rapid prototyping: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// No predefined schema required INSERT (u:User { user_id: 'user_123', name: 'Alice', email: 'alice@example.com', age: 30 }); // Add new properties dynamically MATCH (u:User {user_id: 'user_123'}) SET u.verified = true, u.premium_tier = 'gold'; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="explicit-schema-constraints" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Explicit Schema Constraints <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="explicit-schema-constraints" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Explicit Schema Constraints"> Share link </button> </h4>Define constraints for data integrity: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Unique constraint on user_id CREATE CONSTRAINT unique_user_id ON (u:User) ASSERT u.user_id IS UNIQUE; // Property existence constraint CREATE CONSTRAINT user_must_have_email ON (u:User) ASSERT EXISTS(u.email); // Type constraint CREATE CONSTRAINT user_age_is_integer ON (u:User) ASSERT u.age IS :: INTEGER; // Range constraint CREATE CONSTRAINT user_age_valid ON (u:User) ASSERT u.age >= 0 AND u.age <= 150; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="label-design" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Label Design <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="label-design" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Label Design"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="single-vs-multiple-labels" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Single vs. Multiple 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="single-vs-multiple-labels" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Single vs. Multiple Labels"> Share link </button> </h4>Nodes can have one or more labels for classification: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Single label INSERT (p:Product {product_id: 'prod_123', name: 'Laptop'}); // Multiple labels for role-based classification INSERT (u:User:Premium:Admin { user_id: 'admin_123', name: 'Bob', tier: 'premium', permissions: ['read', 'write', 'admin'] }); // Query by label combination MATCH (admin:User:Admin) RETURN admin.name; MATCH (premium:Premium) WHERE premium:User // Check for specific label RETURN premium.name, premium.tier; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="label-hierarchies" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Label Hierarchies <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="label-hierarchies" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Label Hierarchies"> Share link </button> </h4>Model inheritance with multiple labels: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Person is base label, Employee and Customer are specializations INSERT (e:Person:Employee { person_id: 'emp_123', name: 'Alice', employee_id: 'emp_001', department: 'Engineering' }); INSERT (c:Person:Customer { person_id: 'cust_456', name: 'Charlie', customer_id: 'cust_789', loyalty_points: 1500 }); // Query all persons MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name, labels(p); // Query only employees MATCH (e:Employee) RETURN e.name, e.department; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="property-schemas" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Property Schemas <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="property-schemas" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Property Schemas"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="property-types" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Property Types <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="property-types" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Property Types"> Share link </button> </h4>Define expected types for properties: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// String properties CREATE CONSTRAINT name_is_string ON (u:User) ASSERT u.name IS :: STRING; // Numeric properties CREATE CONSTRAINT price_is_decimal ON (p:Product) ASSERT p.price IS :: DECIMAL; // Boolean properties CREATE CONSTRAINT verified_is_boolean ON (u:User) ASSERT u.verified IS :: BOOLEAN; // Datetime properties CREATE CONSTRAINT created_is_datetime ON (n:Node) ASSERT n.created_at IS :: DATETIME; // Array properties CREATE CONSTRAINT tags_is_array ON (p:Product) ASSERT p.tags IS :: ARRAY; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="required-properties" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Required 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="required-properties" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Required Properties"> Share link </button> </h4>Enforce presence of critical properties: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// User must have user_id and email CREATE CONSTRAINT user_required_props ON (u:User) ASSERT EXISTS(u.user_id) AND EXISTS(u.email) AND u.user_id IS NOT NULL AND u.email IS NOT NULL; // Product must have product_id, name, and price CREATE CONSTRAINT product_required_props ON (p:Product) ASSERT EXISTS(p.product_id) AND EXISTS(p.name) AND EXISTS(p.price); </code></pre></div> <h4 id="property-value-constraints" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Property Value Constraints <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="property-value-constraints" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Property Value Constraints"> Share link </button> </h4>Validate property values: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Email format validation (regex) CREATE CONSTRAINT valid_email ON (u:User) ASSERT u.email =~ '^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$'; // Price must be positive CREATE CONSTRAINT positive_price ON (p:Product) ASSERT p.price > 0; // Status must be from allowed set CREATE CONSTRAINT valid_status ON (o:Order) ASSERT o.status IN ['pending', 'processing', 'shipped', 'delivered', 'cancelled']; // Rating must be between 1 and 5 CREATE CONSTRAINT valid_rating ON (r:Review) ASSERT r.rating >= 1 AND r.rating <= 5; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="index-strategies" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Index Strategies <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="index-strategies" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Index Strategies"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="b-tree-indexes" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> B-Tree 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="b-tree-indexes" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: B-Tree Indexes"> Share link </button> </h4>Create indexes for fast property lookups: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Single-property index CREATE INDEX user_email_idx ON :User(email); CREATE INDEX product_category_idx ON :Product(category); CREATE INDEX order_date_idx ON :Order(order_date); // Composite index for combined lookups CREATE INDEX product_category_price_idx ON :Product(category, price); CREATE INDEX user_country_city_idx ON :User(country, city); // Query uses index MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email = 'alice@example.com' RETURN u; // Composite index for range queries MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.category = 'Electronics' AND p.price BETWEEN 100 AND 500 RETURN p.name, p.price; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="full-text-indexes" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Full-Text 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="full-text-indexes" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Full-Text Indexes"> Share link </button> </h4>Enable text search on string properties: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Full-text index on product names and descriptions CREATE FULLTEXT INDEX product_text_idx ON :Product(name, description) WITH (analyzer = 'english', stopwords = ['the', 'a', 'an']); // Full-text search query MATCH (p:Product) WHERE FULLTEXT(p, 'wireless headphones bluetooth') RETURN p.name, p.description ORDER BY SCORE(p) DESC LIMIT 10; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="vector-indexes" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Vector 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="vector-indexes" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Vector Indexes"> Share link </button> </h4>Index embeddings for similarity search: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// HNSW vector index for product embeddings CREATE VECTOR INDEX product_embedding_idx ON :Product(embedding) USING HNSW WITH ( dimensions = 384, metric = 'cosine', m = 16, ef_construction = 200 ); // Similarity search MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.embedding IS NOT NULL WITH p, vector.similarity(p.embedding, $query_embedding, 'cosine') AS score WHERE score > 0.7 ORDER BY score DESC LIMIT 10 RETURN p.product_id, p.name, score; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="relationship-schemas" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Relationship Schemas <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="relationship-schemas" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Relationship Schemas"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="relationship-type-constraints" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Relationship Type Constraints <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="relationship-type-constraints" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Relationship Type Constraints"> Share link </button> </h4>Define valid relationship types between labels: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// User can PURCHASE Product CREATE CONSTRAINT purchase_relationship ON ()-[r:PURCHASED]->() ASSERT startNode(r):User AND endNode(r):Product; // Employee WORKS_FOR Organization CREATE CONSTRAINT works_for_relationship ON ()-[r:WORKS_FOR]->() ASSERT startNode(r):Employee AND endNode(r):Organization; // Product IN_CATEGORY Category CREATE CONSTRAINT category_relationship ON ()-[r:IN_CATEGORY]->() ASSERT startNode(r):Product AND endNode(r):Category; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="relationship-property-constraints" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Relationship Property Constraints <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="relationship-property-constraints" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Relationship Property Constraints"> Share link </button> </h4>Validate relationship properties: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Purchase must have timestamp and amount CREATE CONSTRAINT purchase_required_props ON ()-[r:PURCHASED]->() ASSERT EXISTS(r.timestamp) AND EXISTS(r.amount) AND r.amount > 0; // Rating must have score between 1 and 5 CREATE CONSTRAINT rating_score_range ON ()-[r:RATED]->() ASSERT EXISTS(r.score) AND r.score >= 1 AND r.score <= 5; // Friendship must have bidirectional constraint CREATE CONSTRAINT mutual_friendship ON ()-[r:FRIENDS_WITH]->() ASSERT EXISTS(reverse(r)); </code></pre></div> <h3 id="schema-patterns" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Schema 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="schema-patterns" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Schema Patterns"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="enforcing-cardinality" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Enforcing Cardinality <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="enforcing-cardinality" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Enforcing Cardinality"> Share link </button> </h4>Limit relationship counts: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// User can have at most one ShoppingCart CREATE CONSTRAINT one_cart_per_user ON (u:User) ASSERT COUNT((u)-[:HAS_CART]->(:ShoppingCart)) <= 1; // Product must be in exactly one Category CREATE CONSTRAINT product_single_category ON (p:Product) ASSERT COUNT((p)-[:IN_CATEGORY]->(:Category)) = 1; // User must have at least one Email CREATE CONSTRAINT user_has_email ON (u:User) ASSERT COUNT((u)-[:HAS_EMAIL]->(:Email)) >= 1; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="temporal-validity" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Temporal Validity <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="temporal-validity" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Temporal Validity"> Share link </button> </h4>Ensure valid time ranges: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Employment period must be valid CREATE CONSTRAINT valid_employment_period ON ()-[e:EMPLOYED_BY]->() ASSERT e.start_date IS NOT NULL AND (e.end_date IS NULL OR e.end_date >= e.start_date); // Subscription must not overlap CREATE CONSTRAINT no_overlapping_subscriptions ON (u:User) ASSERT NOT EXISTS { MATCH (u)-[s1:HAS_SUBSCRIPTION]->(service:Service) MATCH (u)-[s2:HAS_SUBSCRIPTION]->(service) WHERE s1 <> s2 AND s1.start_date <= s2.end_date AND s2.start_date <= s1.end_date }; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="schema-evolution" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Schema Evolution <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="schema-evolution" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Schema Evolution"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="adding-properties" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Adding 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="adding-properties" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Adding Properties"> Share link </button> </h4>Safely add new properties to existing nodes: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Add optional property to all users MATCH (u:User) WHERE NOT EXISTS(u.verified) SET u.verified = false; // Add property with default value MATCH (p:Product) WHERE NOT EXISTS(p.in_stock) SET p.in_stock = true, p.stock_quantity = 0; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="migrating-labels" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Migrating 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="migrating-labels" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Migrating Labels"> Share link </button> </h4>Rename or refactor labels: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Migrate from old label to new label MATCH (n:OldLabel) SET n:NewLabel REMOVE n:OldLabel; // Split label into multiple labels MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.role = 'admin' SET u:Admin; MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.tier = 'premium' SET u:Premium; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="schema-versioning" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Schema Versioning <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="schema-versioning" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Schema Versioning"> Share link </button> </h4>Track schema versions: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Create schema version node INSERT (v:SchemaVersion { version: '2.0.0', applied_at: datetime(), changes: [ 'Added User.verified property', 'Created unique constraint on Product.product_id', 'Added vector index on Product.embedding' ] }); // Check current schema version MATCH (v:SchemaVersion) RETURN v.version, v.applied_at ORDER BY v.applied_at DESC LIMIT 1; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="schema-introspection" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Schema Introspection <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="schema-introspection" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Schema Introspection"> Share link </button> </h3> <h4 id="list-labels" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> List 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="list-labels" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: List Labels"> Share link </button> </h4>Query existing labels in the database: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Get all labels CALL db.labels() YIELD label RETURN label ORDER BY label; // Count nodes by label CALL db.labels() YIELD label MATCH (n) WHERE label IN labels(n) RETURN label, COUNT(n) AS node_count ORDER BY node_count DESC; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="list-relationship-types" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> List Relationship Types <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="list-relationship-types" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: List Relationship Types"> Share link </button> </h4>Query relationship types: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// Get all relationship types CALL db.relationshipTypes() YIELD relationshipType RETURN relationshipType ORDER BY relationshipType; // Count relationships by type CALL db.relationshipTypes() YIELD relationshipType MATCH ()-[r]->() WHERE type(r) = relationshipType RETURN relationshipType, COUNT(r) AS count ORDER BY count DESC; </code></pre></div> <h4 id="list-constraints-and-indexes" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> List Constraints and 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="list-constraints-and-indexes" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: List Constraints and Indexes"> Share link </button> </h4>View schema definitions: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">// List all constraints SHOW CONSTRAINTS; // List all indexes SHOW INDEXES; // Get index statistics SHOW INDEX product_category_idx STATISTICS; </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>Start Schema-Free: Prototype without constraints, add them as requirements emerge</li> <li>Index Lookup Properties: Create indexes on properties used in WHERE clauses</li> <li>Unique Constraints for IDs: Always constrain unique identifiers</li> <li>Validate Critical Data: Add constraints for business-critical properties</li> <li>Composite Indexes: Use multi-property indexes for common query patterns</li> <li>Document Schema: Maintain documentation of labels, properties, and constraints</li> <li>Version Migrations: Track schema changes with version nodes</li> <li>Test Constraints: Validate constraints with test data before production</li> <li>Monitor Index Usage: Track query plans to ensure indexes are used effectively</li> <li>Evolve Gradually: Add schema constraints incrementally, not all at once</li> </ol> <h3 id="integration-with-geode-features" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Integration with Geode Features <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="integration-with-geode-features" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Integration with Geode Features"> Share link </button> </h3>Schema design leverages: <ul> <li>GQL Compliance: Standard ISO constraint and index syntax</li> <li>MVCC: Schema changes don’t block ongoing queries</li> <li>Indexes: B-tree, full-text, and vector indexes for diverse workloads</li> <li>Constraints: Unique, existence, type, and custom validation rules</li> <li>Introspection: Query schema metadata programmatically</li> </ul> Browse the tagged content below to discover documentation, tutorials, and guides for designing effective schemas in Geode.

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