Package org.neo4j.graphdb

Interface Relationship

All Superinterfaces:
Entity
public interface Relationship extends Entity
A relationship between two nodes in the graph. A relationship has a start node, an end node and a type. You can attach properties to relationships with the API specified in Entity.

Relationships are created by invoking the Node.createRelationshipTo() method on a node as follows:

Relationship rel = node.createRelationshipTo( otherNode, MyRels.REL_TYPE );

The fact that the relationship API gives meaning to start and end nodes implicitly means that all relationships have a direction. In the example above, rel would be directed from node to otherNode. A relationship's start node and end node and their relation to Direction.OUTGOING and Direction.INCOMING are defined so that the assertions in the following code are true: 

 
 Node a = tx.createNode();
 Node b = tx.createNode();
 Relationship rel = a.createRelationshipTo( b, MyRels.REL_TYPE );
 // Now we have: (a) --- REL_TYPE ---> (b)

 assert rel.getStartNode().equals( a );
 assert rel.getEndNode().equals( b );
 assert rel.getNodes()[0].equals( a ) &&
        rel.getNodes()[1].equals( b );
Even though all relationships have a direction they are equally well traversed in both directions so there's no need to create duplicate relationships in the opposite direction (with regard to traversal or performance).

Furthermore, Neo4j guarantees that a relationship is never "hanging freely," i.e. getStartNode(), getEndNode(), getOtherNode(Node) and getNodes() are guaranteed to always return valid, non-null nodes.

A relationship's id is unique, but note the following: Neo4j reuses its internal ids when nodes and relationships are deleted, which means it's bad practice to refer to them this way. Instead, use application generated ids.

  • Method Details

    • getStartNode

      Node getStartNode()
      Returns the start node of this relationship. For a definition of how start node relates to directions as arguments to the relationship accessors in Node, see the class documentation of Relationship.
      Returns:
      the start node of this relationship

    • getEndNode

      Node getEndNode()
      Returns the end node of this relationship. For a definition of how end node relates to directions as arguments to the relationship accessors in Node, see the class documentation of Relationship.
      Returns:
      the end node of this relationship

    • getOtherNode

      Node getOtherNode(Node node)
      A convenience operation that, given a node that is attached to this relationship, returns the other node. For example if node is a start node, the end node will be returned, and vice versa. This is a very convenient operation when you're manually traversing the graph by invoking one of the getRelationships() operations on a node. For example, to get the node "at the other end" of a relationship, use the following:

      Node endNode = node.getSingleRelationship( MyRels.REL_TYPE ).getOtherNode( node );

      This operation will throw a runtime exception if node is neither this relationship's start node nor its end node.

      Parameters:
      node - the start or end node of this relationship
      Returns:
      the other node
      Throws:
      RuntimeException - if the given node is neither the start nor end node of this relationship

    • getNodes

      Node[] getNodes()
      Returns the two nodes that are attached to this relationship. The first element in the array will be the start node, the second element the end node.
      Returns:
      the two nodes that are attached to this relationship

    • getType

      RelationshipType getType()
      Returns the type of this relationship. A relationship's type is an immutable attribute that is specified at Relationship creation. Remember that relationship types are semantically equivalent if their names are equal. This is NOT the same as checking for identity equality using the == operator. If you want to know whether this relationship is of a certain type, use the isType() operation.
      Returns:
      the type of this relationship

    • isType

      boolean isType(RelationshipType type)
      Indicates whether this relationship is of the type type. This is a convenience method that checks for equality using the contract specified by RelationshipType, i.e. by checking for equal names.
      Parameters:
      type - the type to check
      Returns:
      true if this relationship is of the type type, false otherwise or if null

    • getStartNodeId

      @Deprecated(since="5.0", forRemoval=true) default long getStartNodeId()
      Deprecated, for removal: This API element is subject to removal in a future version.
      Returns the id of the start node of this relationship. For a definition of how start node relates to directions as arguments to the relationship accessors in Node, see the class documentation of Relationship.

      Note that this id can get reused in the future, if this relationship and the given node are deleted.

      Returns:
      the id of the start node of this relationship.

    • getEndNodeId

      @Deprecated(since="5.0", forRemoval=true) default long getEndNodeId()
      Deprecated, for removal: This API element is subject to removal in a future version.
      Returns the id of the end node of this relationship. For a definition of how end node relates to directions as arguments to the relationship accessors in Node, see the class documentation of Relationship.

      Note that this id can get reused in the future, if this relationship and the given node are deleted.

      Returns:
      the id of the end node of this relationship.

    • getOtherNodeId

      @Deprecated(since="5.0", forRemoval=true) default long getOtherNodeId(long id)
      Deprecated, for removal: This API element is subject to removal in a future version.
      A convenience operation that, given an id of a node that is attached to this relationship, returns the id of the other node. For example if id is the start node id, the end node id will be returned, and vice versa.

      This operation will throw a runtime exception if id is not the id of either of this relationship's nodes.

      Note that this id can get reused in the future, if this relationship and the given node are deleted.

      Parameters:
      id - the id of the start or end node of this relationship
      Returns:
      the id of the other node
      Throws:
      RuntimeException - if the given node id is not the id of either the start or end node of this relationship.