Handling Highly Connected Data with the Neo4j Graph Database

Traditional relational databases — ironically — are not that good at the complex relationships some modern applications need. Multiple joins and complex sub-queries can gradually take a toll on performance.

Graph Databases, on the other hand, are all about relationships. In this talk we will look at using the popular Neo4j graph database with PHP to build efficient relational data for OmNomHub: not your average recipe site.

Transcript

1. @michellesanver
   Graph Databases with PHP and Neo4j
   #PHPNW14
   

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2. About: Michelle Sanver
   @michellesanver
   

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3. About: Michelle Sanver
   @michellesanver
   President
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   

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4. About: Michelle Sanver
   @michellesanver
   Code Addict
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   

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5. About: Michelle Sanver
   @michellesanver
   Zürich, Switzerland
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   

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6. About: Michelle Sanver
   @michellesanver
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   Michelle
   is_from
   is_from lives_in
   lived_in
   

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7. Setting expectations.
   @michellesanver
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   

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8. Why graphs?
   @michellesanver
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   

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9. Why graphs?
   @michellesanver
   Graph theory has been studied since Leonard Euler’s
   Bridges 1736
   (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
   

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10. Why graphs?
    @michellesanver
    Graphs are really just connected data… They are
    everywhere
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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11. Why graphs?
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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12. Why graphs?
    @michellesanver
    It’s modern.
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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13. Why graphs?
    @michellesanver
    Facebook open graph
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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14. Why graphs?
    @michellesanver
    A graph is an easy way to visualise connected data.
    Michelle Graphs
    likes
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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15. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Relational question:
    Average age of everyone in this list?
    Graph question:
    Who is likely to be hungover from last nights open bar?
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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16. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Relational databases have tables
    Recipes
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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17. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Tables have relationships
    Recipes Groups
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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18. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Which causes a join table…
    Recipes Groups
    RecipeToGroup
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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19. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    You query via the table
    Recipes Groups
    RecipeToGroup
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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20. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Imagine having *actual* relations
    Pasta group Spaghetti Italian group
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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21. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Recipes Groups
    RecipeToGroup
    Pasta group Spaghetti Italian group
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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22. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    Would you still pick relational?
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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23. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    A big query.
    The EAV model.
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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24. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    SET @entityid = '3';
    SELECT ea.attribute_id,
    ea.attribute_code, eav.value AS 'value',
    'varchar' AS 'type'
    FROM catalog_category_entity e
    JOIN catalog_category_entity_varchar
    eav
    ON e.entity_id = eav.entity_id
    JOIN eav_attribute ea
    ON eav.attribute_id = ea.attribute_id
    WHERE e.entity_id = @entityid
    UNION
    SELECT ea.attribute_id,
    ea.attribute_code, eav.value
    AS 'value', 'int' AS 'type'
    FROM catalog_category_entity
    e
    JOIN
    catalog_category_entity_int
    eav
    ON e.entity_id = eav.entity_id
    JOIN eav_attribute ea
    ON eav.attribute_id =
    ea.attribute_id
    WHERE e.entity_id = @entityid
    UNION
    

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25. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    SELECT ea.attribute_id,
    ea.attribute_code,
    eav.value AS 'value',
    'decimal' AS 'type'
    FROM
    catalog_category_entity e
    JOIN
    catalog_category_entity_
    decimal eav
    ON e.entity_id =
    eav.entity_id
    JOIN eav_attribute ea
    ON eav.attribute_id =
    ea.attribute_id
    WHERE e.entity_id =
    @entityid
    UNION
    SELECT ea.attribute_id, ea.attribute_code,
    eav.value AS 'value', 'datetime' AS 'type'
    FROM catalog_category_entity e
    JOIN catalog_category_entity_datetime eav
    ON e.entity_id = eav.entity_id
    JOIN eav_attribute ea
    ON eav.attribute_id = ea.attribute_id
    WHERE e.entity_id = @entityid
    UNION
    SELECT ea.attribute_id, ea.attribute_code,
    eav.value AS 'value', 'text' AS 'type'
    FROM catalog_category_entity e
    JOIN catalog_category_entity_text eav
    ON e.entity_id = eav.entity_id
    JOIN eav_attribute ea
    ON eav.attribute_id = ea.attribute_id
    WHERE e.entity_id = @entityid
    

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26. Graphs vs. Relational databases
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    Having a flexible schema
    database costs a lot.
    

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27. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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28. Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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29. neo4j.org
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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30. neotechnology.com
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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31. Java Based
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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32. Open Source!
    github.com/neo4j
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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33. Meetups everywhere
    neo4j.meetup.com
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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34. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    Graphs have…
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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35. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    ( Nodes )
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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36. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    (Node) { Properties }
    As many as you want
    Type:
    Person!
    !
    Nick: !
    geekie
    Type: !
    Person!
    !
    Nick: !
    WyriHaximus
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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37. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    (Node) [ Relationships ]
    As many as you want
    Type:
    Person!
    !
    Nick: !
    geekie
    Type: !
    Person!
    !
    Nick: !
    WyriHaximus
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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38. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    [Relationship { properties } ]
    As many as you want
    Nick: !
    geekie
    Nick: !
    WyriHaximus
    knows
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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39. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    Labels
    Type:
    Person!
    !
    Nick: !
    geekie
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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40. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    Indexes for easy lookup
    Type:
    Person!
    !
    Nick: !
    geekie
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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41. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    Common named graphs
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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42. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    Common named graphs
    Local McLaughlin graph
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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43. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    Common named graphs
    Diamond Butterfly Bull
    Franklin Tutte Wagner
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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44. Graphs and Neo4j
    @michellesanver
    You can make art out of your DB.
    (Don’t)
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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45. OmNomHub
    https://github.com/Omnomhub
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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46. OmNomHub
    @michellesanver
    Like GitHub but for recipes!
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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47. OmNomHub
    @michellesanver
    Fork a recipe
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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48. OmNomHub
    @michellesanver
    See all forks
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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49. OmNomHub
    @michellesanver
    Join groups
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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50. OmNomHub
    @michellesanver
    Search similar recipes
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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51. OmNomHub
    @michellesanver
    Have fun! ;-)
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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52. Neo4j Cypher and Browser
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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53. Hang in there
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Kittens) @michellesanver
    

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54. Neo4j Cypher
    @michellesanver
    Cypher: SQL for graph databases.
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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55. Neo4j Cypher
    @michellesanver
    )
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    Parentheses means nodes
    (Or hugs)
    (
    

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56. Neo4j Cypher
    @michellesanver
    }
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    Curly braces means
    properties
    {
    

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57. Neo4j Cypher
    @michellesanver
    ]
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    Square brackets means
    relationships
    [
    

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58. Neo4j Browser
    @michellesanver
    Makes it easy to visualise and
    query the data.
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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59. Neo4j Browser
    @michellesanver
    Let’s learn cypher in the browser!
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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60. DEMO
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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61. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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62. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    As we saw
    There’s a REST interface!
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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63. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    Neo4jPHP
    PHP Wrapper for the Neo4j graph database REST
    interface
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    github.com/jadell/neo4jphp
    

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64. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    require('vendor/autoload.php');
    !
    $client =
    new Everyman\Neo4\Client('localhost', 7474);
    !
    print_r($client->getServerInfo());
    

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65. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    Use $client to do anything!
    

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66. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    Creating a node with the client
    $recipe = $client->makeNode();
    $recipe->setProperty('title', ‘Spaghetti Bolognese')
    ->setProperty('Description', ‘Italian words')
    ->setProperty('Ingredients', ‘A lot')
    ->save();
    $recipe->getId();
    

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67. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    You get the idea, it’s well documented!
    Use $client to do anything, even Cypher queries.
    https://github.com/jadell/neo4jphp/wiki
    

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68. Neo4j in PHP
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    In OmNomHub we’re using Symfony2
    There’s a bundle for that.
    https://github.com/klaussilveira/neo4j-client-bundle
    

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69. OmNomHub: Beyond Pizza
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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70. OmNomHub: Beyond Pizza
    @michellesanver
    Connecting users
    “You both like”
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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71. OmNomHub: Beyond Pizza
    @michellesanver
    Connecting recipes
    “These have similar ingredients and user base”
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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72. OmNomHub: Beyond Pizza
    @michellesanver
    Being smart
    “You might like”
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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73. OmNomHub: Beyond Pizza
    @michellesanver
    Being smart
    Smart recipe collections!
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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74. OmNomHub: Beyond Pizza
    @michellesanver
    Being creepy
    “Don’t like meat huh?”
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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75. Wrapup
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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76. Wrapup
    @michellesanver
    Graphs are everywhere
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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77. Wrapup
    @michellesanver
    They make it easy to connect data
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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78. Wrapup
    @michellesanver
    Easier to be creepy <3
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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79. Wrapup
    @michellesanver
    OmNomHub will be EPIC :D
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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80. Wrapup
    @michellesanver
    Open Source!
    !
    !
    !
    !
    !
    https://github.com/Omnomhub
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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81. Resources
    @michellesanver
    docs.neo4j.org
    Graph Databases - Ian Robinson, 

    neo technology gives you the e-book version for free.
    neo4j.org/learn
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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82. Questions?
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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83. Thank you
    #phpnw14
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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84. Pleaaaaase….
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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85. Give me feedback
    !
    https://joind.in/11807
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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86. How would you use it?
    @michellesanver
    (Michelle)-[:LOVES]->(Neo4j)
    

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