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LPG vs RDF

Understanding the differences between Labeled Property Graph (LPG) and Resource Description Framework (RDF) models.

Overview

Aspect LPG RDF
Primary Use Application databases Knowledge graphs, Linked Data
Query Language GQL, Cypher SPARQL
Schema Optional, flexible Ontologies (OWL, RDFS)
Properties On nodes and edges Predicates only
Identity Internal IDs URIs/IRIs

Data Model Comparison

LPG (Labeled Property Graph)

Node:
  - ID: internal identifier
  - Labels: [Person, Employee]
  - Properties: {name: "Alix", age: 30}

Edge:
  - ID: internal identifier
  - Type: KNOWS
  - Source: Node1
  - Target: Node2
  - Properties: {since: 2020}

RDF (Resource Description Framework)

Subject-Predicate-Object Triples:

<http://example.org/Alix> <rdf:type> <http://example.org/Person>
<http://example.org/Alix> <foaf:name> "Alix"
<http://example.org/Alix> <foaf:age> "30"^^xsd:integer
<http://example.org/Alix> <foaf:knows> <http://example.org/Gus>

When to Use Each

Use LPG When:

  • Building application databases
  • Need rich property support on relationships
  • Working with developers familiar with OOP
  • Performance is critical
  • Schema flexibility is needed

Use RDF When:

  • Building knowledge graphs for data integration
  • Need to link to external datasets (Linked Data)
  • Require formal ontologies and reasoning
  • Publishing data on the Semantic Web
  • Need standardized vocabularies (FOAF, Schema.org)

Feature Comparison

Properties on Relationships

-- Properties directly on the relationship
MATCH (a)-[r:KNOWS {since: 2020, strength: 'close'}]->(b)
RETURN r.since, r.strength

# Requires reification or named graphs
# More complex to model
SELECT ?since ?strength
WHERE {
    << :Alix :knows :Gus >> :since ?since ;
                             :strength ?strength .
}

Multiple Labels

-- Node with multiple labels
INSERT (:Person:Employee:Manager {name: 'Alix'})

MATCH (p:Person:Employee)
RETURN p.name

# Multiple types are natural
INSERT DATA {
    :Alix a :Person, :Employee, :Manager ;
           :name "Alix" .
}

Identity

-- Internal IDs, application-defined keys
INSERT (:Person {id: 'user-123', name: 'Alix'})

# Global URIs enable linking
INSERT DATA {
    <http://example.org/user-123> a :Person ;
        :name "Alix" .
}

Grafeo Approach

Grafeo primarily uses the LPG model because:

  1. Developer Experience - More intuitive for application developers
  2. Performance - Optimized storage and query execution
  3. Flexibility - Easy schema evolution
  4. Rich Relationships - First-class properties on edges

RDF Support Status

Grafeo supports both LPG (default) and RDF (via the rdf feature flag). The LPG model is the primary focus, with RDF available for SPARQL workloads. Enable both rdf and sparql features for full RDF support. See the SPARQL user guide for details.

Converting Between Models

LPG to RDF

# Conceptual mapping
# Node (id, labels, properties) ->
#   Subject-type triples + property triples

# Edge (type, source, target, properties) ->
#   Subject-predicate-object + reification for properties

RDF to LPG

# Subject -> Node
# Predicate -> Edge type or property key
# Object -> Target node or property value
# rdf:type -> Labels

Further Reading