 Resources from Matt Ross in 2022

In this course we will learn some of the basics of getting data into and out of Neo4J, as well as touch on some of the libraries and tooling available in the Neo4J community ecosystem, which we will leverage to quickly create and use a full-featured GraphQL API.

We will start by learning how to run and interact with Neo4J locally. Then we will develop a graph model in which to store the data that we pull from SWAPI via REST. We will then create an Apollo GraphQL API driven by a few simple schemas which fit into this model. We will then write some simple code to crawl SWAPI and insert the data into Neo4J through our GraphQL API. Once there is data in the store, we will learn about some of the features in `neo4j-graphql-js` that make connecting and accessing our graph Nodes easier.

Neo4j delivers the lightning-fast read and write performance you need. Neo4j combines native graph storage, scalable architecture optimized for speed, and ACID compliance to ensure predictability of relationship-based queries.

neo4j

Build a Neo4J & GraphQL API

JavaScript® (often shortened to JS) is a lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions, most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic, and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

javascript

Node's Stream API provides a stream.Transform class for easily and intuitively transforming incoming data. Piping streams through this class preserves natively provided back-pressure and high watermarking, while also keeping you working in the same paradigm (streams!) from start to finish.

Transform Stream Data With a Node Transform Stream

Vim is a highly configurable text editor built to make creating and changing any kind of text very efficient. It is included as "vi" with most UNIX systems and with Apple OS X.

Vim 8's new `:terminal` command allows for asynchronously running a terminal job in a Vim pane or window. Learn the basics of this awesome new feature to get immediate feedback without leaving your editor or breaking your flow.

Run a Terminal Job Asynchronously in a Vim Window with Vim 8 :terminal

We will learn how to apply a graph mindset to the data available in SWAPI to fit it into the Neo4J paradigm. We will use Alistair Jones' "Arrow Tool" to easily visualize our model as we build it.

Model Simple Data in a Graph For Use in Neo4J

There are different types of data in Neo4J: Nodes and Relationships. We will cover the ways to create each type of data: creating nodes with properties, creating nodes with relationships, and creating constraints on nodes and relationships.

Create Nodes and Relationships in Neo4J with Cypher

Once there is data in Neo4J, we need to be able to access it. We will cover the structure of a cypher query to return parts of our graph.

Read Nodes and Relationships in Neo4J with Cypher

The data in our graph is unlikely to stay the same forever. We will cover the syntax used to find and modify existing data in different ways through the use of parameters.

Update Nodes and Relationships in Neo4J with Cypher

Nothing lives forever, so we need to know how to use DELETE and DETACH to get rid of nodes and relationships we no longer want in our graph.

Delete Nodes and Relationships in Neo4J with Cypher

We will learn about `neo4j-graphql-js` and how to leverage it to quickly create a full-featured API backed by Neo4J. We will create a few simple schemas to represent our model.

Use neo4j-graphql-js to Create a Simple API

We will learn to use the `@relation` directive provided by `neo4j-graphql-js` to make the relationships in our model explicit in our schemas.

Explicitly Model Schema Relationships with the @relation Directive in neo4j-graphql-js

We will use automatically generated mutations in a Apollo GraphQL API augmented with `neo4j-graphql-js` to insert data that we get from SWAPI into Neo4J.

Create Data in Neo4J Through a GraphQL API

We will use the `@cypher` directive provided by `neo4j-graphql-js` to return data about how nodes are related to each other in our schemas without writing custom resolvers.


Build Complex Schema Relationships with the @cypher Directive in neo4j-graphql-js

We will use our own custom mutations in an Apollo GraphQL API to update or create data that we scrape from SWAPI into Neo4J with. We will use the `@cypher` directive to use custom merge statements in these mutations.


Matt Ross