Querying Graph-Relational Data

TL;DR

This paper introduces the graph-relational database model to bridge the gap between relational data structures and nested application data, providing a formal framework, query semantics, and an implementation in EdgeQL and Gel for efficient object-shaped data manipulation.

Contribution

It formally defines the graph-relational database model, introduces EdgeQL and Gel for practical implementation, and addresses the object-relational mismatch with a flexible, strongly-typed approach.

Findings

Formal definition of the graph-relational database model

Development of EdgeQL query language and Gel system

Efficient manipulation of object-shaped data in relational databases

Abstract

For applications that store structured data in relational databases, there is an impedance mismatch between the flat representations encouraged by relational data models and the deeply nested information that applications expect to receive. In this work, we present the graph-relational database model, which provides a flexible, compositional, and strongly-typed solution to this "object-relational mismatch." We formally define the graph-relational database model and present a static and dynamic semantics for queries. In addition, we discuss the realization of the graph-relational database model in EdgeQL, a general-purpose SQL-style query language, and the Gel system, which compiles EdgeQL schemas and queries into PostgreSQL queries. Gel facilitates the kind of object-shaped data manipulation that is frequently provided inefficiently by object-relational mapping (ORM) technologies, while achieving most of the efficiency that comes from writing complex PostgreSQL queries directly.