Property Graph Techniques in Relational Databases

2026-08-11

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenge of unifying attribute graph models and SQL querying within relational databases. The authors propose reinterpreting SQL foreign key semantics as reference keys, enabling natural modeling of labeled property graphs directly on standard relational table structures. They further extend SQL to support efficient graph data insertion and complex pattern matching. This approach achieves deep integration of relational and graph models within a single system without requiring an additional storage engine. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively enables graph structure construction and advanced graph querying capabilities, significantly enhancing relational databases’ support for graph-oriented operations.

Abstract

Current developments in standardization activities for database management systems include the development of the next versions of the Structured Query Language (SQL), and related standards for labelled property graphs. This short paper explores mechanisms for unified implementation of record-based relational and property graph databases: its contribution is that modeling SQL foreign keys as reference keys facilitates the graph insert and advanced pattern matching mechanisms of Property Graph Database Management Systems (PGDMS) and allows the construction of multiple type graph models on a single relational database.

Problem

• Property Graph
• Relational Database
• SQL
• Graph Model
• Foreign Key

Innovation

• property graph
• relational database
• foreign key as reference key
• graph pattern matching
• unified data model