Hybrid search plan generation for generalized graph pattern matching

• Published in: Journal of logical and algebraic methods in programming Vol. 114; p. 100563
• Main Authors: Barkowsky, Matthias, Giese, Holger
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.08.2020
• Subjects: Graph pattern matching; Search plan generation; Search plan generation; Graph pattern matching
• ISSN: 2352-2208
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jlamp.2020.100563

•Constraints in a graph query are represented uniformly.•Static information allows considering the graph query's structure.•Dynamic information allows tailoring to host graph heterogeneities.•Filtering effects of constraint checks are considered. In recent years, the increased interest in application areas such as social networks has resulted in a rising popularity of graph-based approaches for storing and processing large amounts of interconnected data. To extract useful information from the growing network structures, efficient querying techniques are required. In this paper, we propose an approach for graph pattern matching that allows a uniform handling of arbitrary constraints over the query vertices. Our technique builds on a previously introduced matching algorithm, which takes concrete host graph information into account to dynamically adapt the employed search plan during query execution. The dynamic algorithm is combined with an existing static approach for search plan generation, resulting in a hybrid technique which we further extend by a more sophisticated handling of filtering effects caused by constraint checks. We evaluate the presented concepts empirically based on an implementation for our graph pattern matching tool, the Story Diagram Interpreter, with queries and data provided by the LDBC Social Network Benchmark. Our results suggest that the hybrid technique may improve search efficiency in several cases, and rarely reduces efficiency.