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C8QL Query Tutorial

This tutorial is an introduction to C8QL, the GDN query language. This tutorial assumes no pre-existing knowledge, starting with basic operations and working up to more advanced.

The tutorial is built around a small dataset of characters from the novel and fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones (as of season 1). There is no need to import the data before you start. It is provided as part of the C8QL queries in this tutorial.

Objectives​

By the end of this tutorial, you will:

  • Understand how to use C8QL to create, read, update, and delete documents in a collection.
  • Be able to search, sort, and filter content with C8QL queries.
  • Understand the basics of Graph Edge collections.
note

Macrometa allows you to manage your collections several ways: web interface (console), CLI, API, or one of our several SDKs. Because this is a tutorial for beginners, we will primarily enter commands in the console.

If you are more comfortable working in the CLI, then you can enter any C8QL command using the gdnsl query command.

Prerequisites​

You must have a Macrometa account with the permissions necessary to create collections.

Dataset​

The dataset features 43 characters with their name, surname, age, alive status, and trait references. The surname and age properties are not always present. The column traits (resolved) is not part of the actual data used in this tutorial, but is included for your convenience.

Characters_Table

Traits​

There are 18 unique traits. Each trait has a random letter as document key. The trait labels come in English and German.

Traits_Table

Locations​

This small collection of eight locations comes with two attributes, a name and a coordinate. The coordinates are modeled as number arrays, each including a latitude and a longitude value.

Locations_Table

About this Tutorial​

This tutorial guides you through several sets of tasks. To get the most out of this tutorial, complete the sections in order. Many tasks build on earlier steps, so they are necessary to successfully complete the full tutorial.

Enjoy and have fun!