Graph Definition Language (GDL)

Inspired by the Neo4j Cypher query language, GDL allows the simple definition of property graphs. GDL contains a parser and simple structs that represent the property graph and its elements. The Rust implementation is inspired by my Java implementation.

Property graph data model

A property graph consists of nodes and relationships. Nodes have zero or more labels, relationships have zero or one relationship type. Both, nodes and relationships have properties, organized as key-value-pairs. Relationships are directed, starting at a source node and pointing at a target node.

Quickstart example

use gdl::{CypherValue, Graph};
use std::rc::Rc;

let gdl_string = "(alice:Person { name: 'Alice', age: 23 }),
                  (bob:Person { name: 'Bob', age: 42 }),
                  (alice)-[r:KNOWS { since: 1984 }]->(bob)";

let graph = gdl_string.parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(graph.node_count(), 2);
assert_eq!(graph.relationship_count(), 1);

let alice = graph.get_node("alice").unwrap();
assert_eq!(alice.property_value("age"), Some(&CypherValue::from(23)));
assert_eq!(alice.property_value("name"), Some(&CypherValue::from("Alice")));

let relationship = graph.get_relationship("r").unwrap();
assert_eq!(relationship.rel_type(), Some("KNOWS"));

More GDL language examples

Define a node:

let g = "()".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.node_count(), 1);

Define a node and assign it to variable alice:

let g = "(alice)".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert!(g.get_node("alice").is_some());

Define a node with label User and multiple properties:

let g = "(alice:User { name: 'Alice', age : 23 })".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.get_node("alice").unwrap().labels().collect::<Vec<_>>(), vec!["User"]);
assert!(g.get_node("alice").unwrap().property_value("name").is_some());
assert!(g.get_node("alice").unwrap().property_value("age").is_some());

Define an outgoing relationship:

let g = "(alice)-->()".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.relationship_count(), 1);

Define an incoming relationship:

let g = "(alice)<--()".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.relationship_count(), 1);

Define a relationship with type KNOWS, assign it to variable r1 and add a property:

use std::rc::Rc;

let g = "(alice)-[r1:KNOWS { since : 2014 }]->(bob)".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert!(g.get_relationship("r1").is_some());
assert_eq!(g.get_relationship("r1").unwrap().rel_type(), Some("KNOWS"));

Define multiple outgoing relationships from the same source node (i.e. alice):

let g = "
    (alice)-[r1:KNOWS { since : 2014 }]->(bob)
    (alice)-[r2:KNOWS { since : 2013 }]->(eve)
".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.node_count(), 3);
assert_eq!(g.relationship_count(), 2);

Define paths (four nodes and three relationships are created):

let g = "()-->()<--()-->()".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.node_count(), 4);
assert_eq!(g.relationship_count(), 3);

Paths can be comma separated to express arbitrary complex patterns:

let g = "
    ()-->()<--()-->(),
    ()<--()-->()-->(),
    ()-->()<--()-->()
".parse::<gdl::Graph>().unwrap();

assert_eq!(g.node_count(), 12);
assert_eq!(g.relationship_count(), 9);

License

Apache 2.0 or MIT