Using link properties

Links can contain properties. Due to how they’re persisted under the hood, link properties have a few additional constraints: they’re always single and optional.

Declaration

Let’s a create a Person.friends link with a strength property corresponding to the strength of the friendship.

1. type Person {
2. required property name -> str { constraint exclusive };

4. multi link friends -> Person {
5. property strength -> float64;
6. }
7. }

Constraints

1. type Person {
2. required property name -> str { constraint exclusive };

4. multi link friends -> Person {
5. property strength -> float64;
6. constraint expression on (
7. __subject__@strength >= 0
8. );
9. }
10. }

Indexes

To index on a link property, you must declare an abstract link and extend it.

1. abstract link friendship {
2. property strength -> float64;
3. index on (__subject__@strength);
4. }

6. type Person {
7. required property name -> str { constraint exclusive };
8. multi link friends extending friendship -> Person;
9. }

Inserting

The @strength property is specified in the shape of the select subquery. This is only valid in a subquery inside an insert statement.

1. insert Person {
2. name := "Bob",
3. friends := (
4. select detached Person {
5. @strength := 3.14
6. }
7. filter .name = "Alice"
8. )
9. }

We are using the detached operator to unbind the Person reference from the scope of the insert query.

When doing a nested insert, link properties can be directly included in the inner insert subquery.

1. insert Person {
2. name := "Bob",
3. friends := (
4. insert Person {
5. name := "Jane",
6. @strength := 3.14
7. }
8. )
9. }

Updating

1. update Person
2. filter .name = "Bob"
3. set {
4. friends += (
5. select .friends {
6. @strength := 3.7
7. }
8. filter .name = "Alice"
9. )
10. };

The example updates the @strength property of Bob’s friends link to Alice to 3.7.

In the context of multi links the += operator works like an an insert/update operator.

To update one or more links in a multi link, you can select from the current linked objects, as the example does. Use a detached selection if you want to insert/update a wider selection of linked objects instead.

Querying

1. edgedb>
2. .......
3. .......
4. .......
5. .......
6. .......

1. select Person {
2. friends: {
3. name,
4. @strength
5. }
6. };

1. {
2. default::Person {name: 'Alice', friends: {}},
3. default::Person {
4. name: 'Bob',
5. friends: {
6. default::Person {name: 'Alice', @strength: 3.7}
7. }
8. },
9. }

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