GQL vs SPARQL¶

Comparing the ISO standard GQL with W3C standard SPARQL.

Overview¶

Query Comparison¶

Basic Query¶

MATCH (p:Person)
WHERE p.age > 25
RETURN p.name, p.age

PREFIX : <http://example.org/>
SELECT ?name ?age
WHERE {
    ?p a :Person ;
       :name ?name ;
       :age ?age .
    FILTER (?age > 25)
}

Relationship Query¶

MATCH (a:Person)-[:KNOWS]->(b:Person)
RETURN a.name, b.name

PREFIX : <http://example.org/>
SELECT ?aName ?bName
WHERE {
    ?a a :Person ;
       :name ?aName ;
       :knows ?b .
    ?b a :Person ;
       :name ?bName .
}

Path Queries¶

MATCH path = (a:Person)-[:KNOWS*1..3]->(b:Person)
WHERE a.name = 'Alice'
RETURN path

PREFIX : <http://example.org/>
SELECT ?path
WHERE {
    :Alice :knows+ ?b .
    ?b a :Person .
}

Aggregation¶

MATCH (p:Person)-[:WORKS_AT]->(c:Company)
RETURN c.name, count(p) AS employees
ORDER BY employees DESC

PREFIX : <http://example.org/>
SELECT ?companyName (COUNT(?p) AS ?employees)
WHERE {
    ?p a :Person ;
       :worksAt ?c .
    ?c a :Company ;
       :name ?companyName .
}
GROUP BY ?companyName
ORDER BY DESC(?employees)

Creating Data¶

INSERT (:Person {name: 'Alice', age: 30})

PREFIX : <http://example.org/>
INSERT DATA {
    :Alice a :Person ;
           :name "Alice" ;
           :age 30 .
}

Key Differences¶

1. Pattern Syntax¶

GQL uses ASCII-art patterns that visually represent the graph:

-- GQL: Visual pattern
(a)-[:KNOWS]->(b)-[:WORKS_AT]->(c)

SPARQL uses triple patterns:

-- SPARQL: Triple patterns
?a :knows ?b .
?b :worksAt ?c .

2. Properties on Relationships¶

GQL supports properties on relationships natively:

-- GQL
MATCH (a)-[r:KNOWS {since: 2020}]->(b)
RETURN r.strength

SPARQL requires reification:

-- SPARQL (RDF-star)
<< ?a :knows ?b >> :since 2020 ;
                   :strength ?strength .

3. Schema¶

• GQL: Schema-optional, validation at application level
• SPARQL: Uses RDFS/OWL ontologies for schema and reasoning

4. Identity¶

• GQL: Internal IDs, application-managed
• SPARQL: URIs enable global identity and linking

Migration Considerations¶

From SPARQL to GQL¶

1. Map RDF types to LPG labels
2. Map predicates to edge types or properties
3. Handle reification explicitly
4. Adapt property path syntax

From GQL to SPARQL¶

1. Define URI scheme for nodes
2. Create vocabulary for edge types
3. Handle edge properties with reification
4. Adapt pattern matching syntax

When to Use Each¶