Components¶
Neo4j’s Graph Platform includes the following components:
The Neo4j native graph database for transactional applications
Graph analytics help data scientists gain new perspectives on data
Data integration expedites distilling tabular data and big data into graphs
The Cypher graph query language is the bridge to big data analytic tooling
Neo4j Bloom provides intuitive data visualization for non-technical users
Components of Neo4j¶
The different components of Neo4j are described in the following link A extensive documentation is also available for the different components
1. Neo4j Graph Database¶
This is the core of the Neo4j application
2. Graph Data Science (GDS) Library¶
The GDS library uses the relationships and network structures in data to help data scientists address complex questions about system dynamics and group behavior.
3.Neo4j Bloom¶
This is an easy-to-use graph exploration application for visually interacting with Neo4j graphs. Bloom gives graph novices and experts alike the ability to visually investigate and explore graph data from different business perspectives.
4.Cypher Query Language¶
Cypher describes nodes, relationships and properties with text-based symbols, making queries of graph data easy to read and understand. With Neo4j, connections between data are stored – not computed at query time. Cypher is a powerful, graph-optimized query language that understands, and takes advantage of, these stored connections. Cypher is inspired by SQL, with the addition of pattern matching borrowed from SPARQL. It uses simple ASCII symbols to represent nodes and relationships, making queries easy to read and understand.
5. Neo4j Developer Tools¶
Developer Tools like Neo4j Desktop and Sandbox make it easy to learn and develop graph apps.
Neo4j Desktop is a convenient, free desktop application that allows developers to easily create, work with and manage local Neo4j databases.
Neo4j Sandbox is a great way to get your own free, cloud-based instance of Neo4j launched in about 30 seconds, without downloading or installing anything !
Download site
Sandbox¶
Neo4j Sandbox is a great free way to try out Neo4j without downloading or installing anything locally. It gives you access to Neo4j database, Neo4j Bloom, and plugins like Neo4j Graph Data Science, all hosted online and private to you. Once you sign in you can choose which project to spin up. Each project contains a different dataset and guided experience to show you how to query the dataset using Cypher and the Neo4j drivers, all in a private hosted environment.
Imagine you are interested in the Paradise Papers project, so you start with a Sandbox example that covers this topic. Once you create a sandbox instance you can open Neo4j Browser where you’ll see a friendly interactive guide with embedded queries and images guiding through the process of using the Neo4j.