Databases & Data Storage
Graph Database
Definition
A graph database is a type of NoSQL database that uses graph structures for semantic queries with nodes, edges, and properties to represent and store data. The relationships between data are treated as first-class citizens.
Why It Matters
Graph databases are purpose-built to handle highly connected data. They are extremely efficient at traversing and querying complex relationships, which is very difficult and slow to do in a relational database.
Contextual Example
A social network could use a graph database like Neo4j. People are nodes, and the "friend" relationship is an edge. The database can then quickly answer complex queries like "Find all the friends of my friends who live in London and like jazz music."
Common Misunderstandings
- If your data model looks like a whiteboard diagram with lots of boxes and arrows, a graph database might be a good fit.
- They are ideal for fraud detection, recommendation engines, and social networking applications.