Vertex & Edge Methods

GSQL provides a rich set of built-in methods to interact with vertices and edges directly.

1. Core Vertex Methods

Invoke these on a vertex variable or alias using the dot (.) operator.

Method	Description	Return Type
.outdegree()	Returns the count of outgoing edges.	INT
.getAttr()	Dynamically retrieves an attribute value.	BaseType
.setAttr()	Dynamically updates an attribute value.	void
.neighbors()	Returns a collection of immediate neighbors.	BagAccum<VERTEX>

Performance Tip: outdegree()

outdegree() is extremely fast because it reads from metadata. However, in high-concurrency write environments, it may be slightly delayed. For exact real-time counts, use a manual traversal.

2. Core Edge Methods

Invoke these on an edge alias inside a SELECT statement.

• .getAttr(name, type): Retrieves an edge attribute.
• .setAttr(name, value): Updates an edge attribute.
• .isDirected(): Returns true if the edge is directed.

3. ID & Conversion Functions

These functions handle the mapping between external (user-facing) IDs and internal (engine) IDs.

• getvid(v): Returns the internal numeric ID of a vertex. Useful for algorithms like Community Detection where speed is critical.
• to_vertex(id, type): Converts a string ID and type into a VERTEX object.
• to_vertex_set(id_collection, type): Converts a collection of string IDs into a SET<VERTEX>.

[!CAUTION] Performance Warning: to_vertex and to_vertex_set are relatively expensive operations. Do not use them inside ACCUM or POST-ACCUM blocks, as they will execute for every edge/vertex, severely impacting performance. Instead, resolve IDs at the start of the query.

4. Metadata Functions

• elementId(v/e): Returns a persistent internal string ID.
• .type: Returns the type name of the vertex or edge as a string.
• .neighbors().filter(): Allows inline filtering of neighbor collections without a full SELECT statement.