Pathfinding queries

Many users of Neo4j use the graph structure of their data to find out whether there are useful paths between different nodes on the network. Useful in this phrase is probably the operative word; they are looking for specific paths on the network to perform the following:

• To see whether the path actually exists. Are there any connections between
  two data elements, and if so, what does this connectivity look like?
• To look for the optimal path. Which path between two things has the
  lowest cost?
• To look for the variability of the path if a certain component of the path changes. What happens to the path if the properties of a node or relationship change?

Both of these sweet spot use cases share a couple of important characteristics:

• They are graph local and they have one or more fixed starting
  point(s), or anchors, in the graph from where the graph database
  engine can start traversing out
• They are performed on near real-time data (unlike  replicated data called cubes in Business Intelligence)

Let's now switch to another key element of Neo4j's success as a graph database management system: the fact that it is an open source solution.