Text Processing & String Operations

Text processing is fundamental to database applications, from simple string manipulation to complex pattern matching and natural language operations. Geode provides comprehensive text processing capabilities through its GQL implementation, offering a rich set of string functions, pattern matching operators, Unicode support, and text normalization features that enable sophisticated text manipulation in graph queries. As an ISO/IEC 39075:2024 GQL-compliant graph database, Geode treats text as a first-class data type with full Unicode support, locale-aware collation, and efficient string operations. Whether you’re building search interfaces, data cleaning pipelines, or natural language processing workflows, Geode’s text processing capabilities provide the tools you need. <h3 id="string-data-type" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> String Data Type <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="string-data-type" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: String Data Type"> 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>Geode stores text using UTF-8 encoding, supporting the full Unicode character set: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Create nodes with text properties CREATE (u:User { name: 'Alice Johnson', email: 'alice@example.com', bio: 'Software engineer passionate about graph databases', nickname: 'AJ' }); -- Unicode characters are fully supported CREATE (u:User { name: 'José García', greeting: 'こんにちは', -- Japanese emoji: '👋🌍' }); </code></pre></div>String Literals: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Single quotes 'Hello, World!' -- Double quotes (GQL standard) "Hello, World!" -- Escape sequences 'It\'s a string with a quote' "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3" "Tab\tseparated\tvalues" -- Unicode escapes "\u0048\u0065\u006C\u006C\u006F" -- "Hello" </code></pre></div> <h3 id="basic-string-functions" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Basic String Functions <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-string-functions" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Basic String Functions"> Share link </button> </h3>Length and Size: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- String length (character count) MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, LENGTH(u.name) AS name_length; -- Byte size MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.bio, OCTET_LENGTH(u.bio) AS byte_size; -- Character count (Unicode-aware) MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.greeting, CHAR_LENGTH(u.greeting) AS char_count; </code></pre></div>Case Conversion: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Convert to uppercase MATCH (u:User) RETURN UPPER(u.name) AS uppercase_name; -- Convert to lowercase MATCH (u:User) RETURN LOWER(u.email) AS lowercase_email; -- Title case (capitalize first letter of each word) MATCH (u:User) RETURN INITCAP(u.name) AS title_case; </code></pre></div>Trimming and Padding: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Remove leading and trailing whitespace MATCH (u:User) RETURN TRIM(u.name) AS trimmed_name; -- Remove leading whitespace MATCH (u:User) RETURN LTRIM(u.name) AS left_trimmed; -- Remove trailing whitespace MATCH (u:User) RETURN RTRIM(u.name) AS right_trimmed; -- Pad string to specified length MATCH (p:Product) RETURN LPAD(p.sku, 10, '0') AS padded_sku; -- Left pad with zeros MATCH (p:Product) RETURN RPAD(p.name, 20, '.') AS padded_name; -- Right pad with dots </code></pre></div> <h3 id="substring-and-extraction" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Substring and Extraction <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="substring-and-extraction" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Substring and Extraction"> Share link </button> </h3>Substring Operations: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Extract substring by position and length MATCH (u:User) RETURN SUBSTRING(u.email, 1, 5) AS first_five; -- Extract from position to end MATCH (u:User) RETURN SUBSTRING(u.name FROM 6) AS last_name_approx; -- Extract using position and length MATCH (u:User) RETURN SUBSTRING(u.bio, 1, 50) AS preview; </code></pre></div>String Splitting: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Split string into array MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, SPLIT(u.name, ' ') AS name_parts; -- Extract first element MATCH (u:User) WITH SPLIT(u.name, ' ') AS parts RETURN parts[0] AS first_name; -- Process split results MATCH (t:Tag) UNWIND SPLIT(t.keywords, ',') AS keyword RETURN TRIM(keyword) AS cleaned_keyword; </code></pre></div>Pattern Extraction: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Extract using regular expressions MATCH (u:User) RETURN REGEXP_EXTRACT(u.email, '^([^@]+)') AS username; -- Extract all matches MATCH (p:Post) RETURN REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL(p.content, '#(\w+)') AS hashtags; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="string-concatenation-and-formatting" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> String Concatenation and Formatting <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="string-concatenation-and-formatting" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: String Concatenation and Formatting"> Share link </button> </h3>Concatenation: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Concatenate strings MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.first_name + ' ' + u.last_name AS full_name; -- Concatenate with separator MATCH (u:User) RETURN CONCAT(u.first_name, ' ', u.last_name) AS full_name; -- Concatenate with null handling MATCH (u:User) RETURN CONCAT_WS(' ', u.first_name, u.middle_name, u.last_name) AS full_name; </code></pre></div>String Formatting: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Format string with placeholders MATCH (u:User) RETURN FORMAT('User: %s (ID: %d)', u.name, u.user_id) AS formatted; -- Formatted output MATCH (p:Product) RETURN FORMAT('$%.2f', p.price) AS formatted_price; </code></pre></div>String Aggregation: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Aggregate strings with separator MATCH (u:User)-[:MEMBER_OF]->(team:Team) RETURN team.name, STRING_AGG(u.name, ', ') AS members GROUP BY team.name; -- Aggregate with ordering MATCH (u:User)-[:PURCHASED]->(p:Product) RETURN u.name, STRING_AGG(p.name ORDER BY p.purchased_at, ', ') AS purchase_history GROUP BY u.name; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="pattern-matching" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Pattern Matching <button type="button" class="h-share btn btn-link p-0 text-decoration-none link-secondary opacity-50 hover-opacity-100 transition-all ms-1" data-share-target="pattern-matching" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Pattern Matching"> Share link </button> </h3>LIKE Operator: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Wildcard matching MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email LIKE '%@example.com' RETURN u.name, u.email; -- Pattern matching with wildcards MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.sku LIKE 'PROD-2024-%' RETURN p.name, p.sku; -- Case-insensitive matching MATCH (u:User) WHERE LOWER(u.name) LIKE '%smith%' RETURN u.name; </code></pre></div>Regular Expressions: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Regex matching MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email =~ '^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$' RETURN u.email; -- Case-insensitive regex MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.name =~ '(?i)laptop' RETURN p.name; -- Extract with regex MATCH (p:Post) WHERE p.content =~ '#(\w+)' RETURN REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL(p.content, '#(\w+)') AS hashtags; </code></pre></div>STARTS WITH, ENDS WITH, CONTAINS: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Prefix matching MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.sku STARTS WITH 'PROD-' RETURN p.name, p.sku; -- Suffix matching MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email ENDS WITH '@company.com' RETURN u.name, u.email; -- Substring matching MATCH (p:Post) WHERE p.content CONTAINS 'graph database' RETURN p.title, p.content; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="text-replacement-and-transformation" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Text Replacement and Transformation <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="text-replacement-and-transformation" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Text Replacement and Transformation"> Share link </button> </h3>Replace Operations: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Simple replacement MATCH (u:User) RETURN REPLACE(u.phone, '-', '') AS phone_no_dashes; -- Regular expression replacement MATCH (p:Post) RETURN REGEXP_REPLACE(p.content, '#(\w+)', '[$1]') AS processed_content; -- Multiple replacements MATCH (t:Text) RETURN REPLACE(REPLACE(t.content, '\n', ' '), '\t', ' ') AS cleaned; </code></pre></div>Character Translation: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Translate characters MATCH (u:User) RETURN TRANSLATE(u.name, 'aeiou', 'AEIOU') AS vowels_upper; -- Remove specific characters MATCH (p:Product) RETURN TRANSLATE(p.sku, '-_', '') AS sku_alphanumeric; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="string-comparison-and-sorting" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> String Comparison and Sorting <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="string-comparison-and-sorting" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: String Comparison and Sorting"> Share link </button> </h3>Collation-Aware Comparison: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Case-insensitive comparison MATCH (u:User) WHERE LOWER(u.name) = LOWER('alice johnson') RETURN u; -- Locale-aware sorting MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name ORDER BY u.name COLLATE 'en_US'; -- Natural sorting (numbers sorted numerically) MATCH (p:Product) RETURN p.name ORDER BY NATURAL_SORT(p.name); </code></pre></div>Similarity Functions: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Levenshtein distance MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name, LEVENSHTEIN(u.name, 'Alice Johnson') AS distance ORDER BY distance LIMIT 5; -- Soundex (phonetic matching) MATCH (u:User) WHERE SOUNDEX(u.last_name) = SOUNDEX('Smith') RETURN u.name; -- Similarity ratio MATCH (p:Product) RETURN p.name, SIMILARITY(p.name, 'laptop') AS similarity WHERE similarity > 0.5 ORDER BY similarity DESC; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="unicode-and-normalization" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Unicode and Normalization <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="unicode-and-normalization" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Unicode and Normalization"> Share link </button> </h3>Unicode Operations: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Get Unicode code point MATCH (u:User) RETURN ASCII(SUBSTRING(u.name, 1, 1)) AS first_char_code; -- Character from code point RETURN CHR(65) AS character; -- Returns 'A' -- Unicode normalization MATCH (u:User) RETURN NORMALIZE(u.name, 'NFC') AS normalized_name; </code></pre></div>Locale-Specific Operations: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Locale-aware uppercase MATCH (u:User) RETURN UPPER(u.name COLLATE 'tr_TR') AS turkish_upper; -- Locale-specific comparison MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.name = 'İstanbul' COLLATE 'tr_TR' RETURN u; </code></pre></div> <h3 id="text-encoding-and-hashing" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Text Encoding and Hashing <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="text-encoding-and-hashing" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Text Encoding and Hashing"> Share link </button> </h3>Encoding Functions: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Base64 encoding MATCH (u:User) RETURN BASE64_ENCODE(u.password_hash) AS encoded; -- Base64 decoding MATCH (c:Config) RETURN BASE64_DECODE(c.encoded_value) AS decoded; -- URL encoding MATCH (p:Product) RETURN URL_ENCODE(p.name) AS url_safe_name; </code></pre></div>Hashing Functions: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- MD5 hash MATCH (u:User) RETURN MD5(u.email) AS email_hash; -- SHA256 hash MATCH (u:User) RETURN SHA256(u.email) AS email_sha; -- Password hashing (use proper password hashing in production) CREATE (u:User { email: 'user@example.com', password_hash: SHA256('password' + 'salt') }); </code></pre></div> <h3 id="performance-optimization" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Performance 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="performance-optimization" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Performance Optimization"> Share link </button> </h3>Index Usage for Text: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Create index for prefix searches CREATE INDEX user_email_prefix ON :User(email); -- Efficient prefix query MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email STARTS WITH 'alice' -- Uses index RETURN u; -- Full-text index for content search CREATE FULLTEXT INDEX post_content ON :Post(content); MATCH (p:Post) WHERE p.content MATCHES 'graph database' -- Uses full-text index RETURN p; </code></pre></div>Avoid Inefficient Patterns: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">-- Inefficient: requires full scan MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email LIKE '%@example.com' -- Cannot use index RETURN u; -- Efficient: uses index MATCH (u:User) WHERE u.email ENDS WITH '@example.com' -- Can use suffix index RETURN u; -- Inefficient: case conversion on every row MATCH (u:User) WHERE LOWER(u.name) = 'alice' RETURN u; -- Efficient: store normalized version CREATE INDEX user_name_lower ON :User(LOWER(name)); MATCH (u:User) WHERE LOWER(u.name) = 'alice' -- Uses expression index RETURN u; </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 Appropriate Data Types: Store structured data (emails, URLs, IDs) with validation rather than treating as plain text. </li> <li> Normalize Text Early: Perform case conversion, trimming, and normalization during data ingestion rather than at query time. </li> <li> Index Strategically: Create indexes on frequently filtered string properties, especially for prefix and exact match queries. </li> <li> Leverage Full-Text Search: Use full-text indexes for keyword search rather than <code>LIKE</code> or <code>CONTAINS</code> on large text fields. </li> <li> Validate Input: Use regular expressions and constraints to ensure text data quality. </li> <li> Consider Locale: Use locale-aware collation and normalization for international applications. </li> </ol> <h3 id="common-use-cases" class="position-relative d-flex align-items-center group"> Common Use Cases <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-use-cases" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-label="Share link: Common Use Cases"> Share link </button> </h3>Email Validation: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">CREATE (u:User { email: 'alice@example.com' }) WHERE u.email =~ '^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$'; </code></pre></div>Name Normalization: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">MATCH (u:User) SET u.name_normalized = TRIM(INITCAP(u.name)); </code></pre></div>Tag Extraction: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">MATCH (p:Post) WITH p, REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL(p.content, '#(\w+)') AS tags UNWIND tags AS tag MERGE (t:Tag {name: LOWER(tag)}) MERGE (p)-[:TAGGED_WITH]->(t); </code></pre></div>Search Autocomplete: <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-gql" data-lang="gql">MATCH (p:Product) WHERE p.name STARTS WITH 'lapt' RETURN p.name ORDER BY LENGTH(p.name) LIMIT 10; </code></pre></div> <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>Full-Text Search and Indexing</li> <li>Unicode Support and Internationalization</li> <li>JSON Data Type and Functions</li> <li>Regular Expressions and Pattern Matching</li> <li>Data Validation and Constraints</li> <li>Query Optimization</li> <li>Collation and Sorting</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>String Functions Reference</li> <li>Regular Expression Syntax</li> <li>Unicode Normalization Forms</li> <li>Collation and Locale Configuration</li> <li>Full-Text Search Guide</li> <li>Performance Tuning for Text Queries</li> </ul>

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