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A graph database is a type of NoSQL database that stores data in collections of nodes and edges instead of a series of columns and rows. Each node represents a data point and each edge defines a relationship between two nodes.
Graph databases use graph theory models to illustrate how data points are related. This type of database is useful for storing data that has complex, indirect relationships and querying the shortest path between two data points.
A graph database may also be referred to as a knowledge graph or graph-oriented database. Popular graph database platforms include Neo4j, Tigergraph and Amazon Neptune.
Techopedia Explains Graph Database
A graph database uses graph theory to store, map and query relationships. It is essentially a collection of edges and nodes, with each node representing an entity such as a person or an organization and each edge represents a connection or relationship between two nodes.
A node is defined by a unique identifier and has several edges attached to it, whether incoming or outgoing, and it has a set of properties that are expressed as key-value pairs. An edge is also defined by a unique identifier, and it has a start and an end node, as well as a set of properties.
A graph database is useful for the analysis of relationships and interconnections between data; hence, it is seeing wide use in data mining of social media data, for data with dynamic schemas, such as in supply chain management, as well as in sales, where it is used to determine the interconnections between a customer’s online actions.
