Encyclopedia of Big Data Technologies

Living Edition
| Editors: Sherif Sakr, Albert Zomaya

Graph Query Languages

Living reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63962-8_75-1
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Definition

A query language is a high-level computer language for the retrieval and modification of data held in databases or files. Query languages usually consist of a collection of operators which can be applied to any valid instances of the data structure types of a data model, in any combination desired.

In the context of graph data management, a graph query language (GQL) defines the way to retrieve or extract data which have been modeled as a graph and whose structure is defined by a graph data model. Therefore, a GQL is designed to support specific graph operations, such as graph pattern matching and shortest path finding.

Overview

Research on graph query languages has at least 30 years of history. Several GQLs were proposed during the 1980s, most of them oriented to study and define the theoretical foundations of the area. During the 1990s, the research on GQLs was overshadowed by the appearance of XML, which was arguably seen as the main alternative to relational databases...

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Universidad de TalcaTalcaChile
  2. 2.Pontificia Universidad Catolica de ChileSantiagoChile
  3. 3.Dresden Database Systems GroupTechnische Universität DresdenDresdenGermany

Section editors and affiliations

  • Hannes Voigt
    • 1
  • George Fletcher
    • 2
  1. 1.Dresden Database Systems GroupTechnische Universität DresdenDresdenGermany
  2. 2.Department of Mathematics and Computer ScienceEindhoven University of Technology