Neo4j is a NOSQL hipster with serious business credentials.
Neo4j stores data in a Graph, with records called Nodes. The simplest graph has just a single node with some named values called Properties.
Let's draw a social graph of our friends on the Neo4j team:
Not yet friends with the team? Then we're future friends.
Like any database, storing data in Neo4j can be as simple as adding more records. Here, we'll add a few more nodes for Neo4j people:
Seriously, a Neo4j graph can hold multiples of the human population.
The real power of Neo4j is in connected data. To connect any two nodes, add a Relationship which describes how the data is related.
In our social graph, we simply say who KNOWS whom:
Having real relationships just feels better, doesn't it?
The property graph allows you to store information in your relationships.
Looking more closely at Emil's relationships, note that:
Relationships are First Class Citizens in Neo4j.
Neo4j stores data in a property graph made up of nodes and relationships, with properties on both. Absolutely any domain can be stored in a graph.
Having "whiteboarded" a graph, you are ready to create a graph in Neo4j.
Next steps:
Or, see other guides.