TerminusDB allows path regular expressions as a way to describe multi-hop searches in a concise fashion. When you need to follow a link repeatedly for shortest path queries or to find all linked documents meeting some specification you can often use a path query.
For guidance on back-links and path queries using GraphQL visit the GraphQL reference guide
The syntax of path expressions, for expressions A, B and fields F is as follows:
| Expression | Example | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
A,B | friend,name | Sequence | First follow expression A, then from that node expression B |
A|B | friend|foe | Choice | Follow expression A or expression B |
F+ | friend+ | Plus | Follow the field F any number of times, but at least once |
F* | friend* | Star | Follow the field F any number of times, including zero |
. | . | Any | Follow the field F any number of times, including zero |
. | . | Any | Follow any field F regardless of name |
F | friend | Field | Follow the field F |
F{n,m} | friend{1,3} | Times | Follow the field F between n and m times |
(A) | (friend|foe) | Group | Group the expression for inclusion in a larger expression |
F> | friend> | Forward | Follow the field F forward. This is the same as F. |
<F | <friend | Backward | Follow the field F backward (who is linked to this node by F https://assets.terminusdb.com/docs/technical-documentation-terminuscms-og.png media: [] |