Edge-Labelled Graphs and Property Graphs - To the User, More Similar Than Different

Abstract

The two dominant paradigms for graph databases, edge-labelled graphs and property graphs, may appear quite different. Yet, to the user, they have strong similarities. A usability study, comparing RDF-star/SPARQL-star and Cypher, found evidence for only limited differences in preferences between the modelling paradigms. This suggests the possibility of a convergence of the two paradigms; indeed in one case (Stardog) this is already happening. We also found little difference between the paradigms in users’ ability to detect valid and non-valid queries. In one specific case, the use of a reverse arrow in Cypher was interpreted significantly more accurately than the ^ symbol in the SPARQL query language; this argues, where possible, for the more intuitive Cypher notation.