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Logica-TGD: Transforming Graph Databases Logically

Authors Evgeny Skvortsov , Yilin Xia , Bertram Ludäscher , Shawn Bowers

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TGDK.4.2.7.pdf
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ACM Subject Classification
  • Information systems → Query languages for non-relational engines
Keywords
  • Logic rules
  • Graph queries
  • Graph transformations

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Abstract

Graph transformations are a powerful computational model for manipulating complex networks, but handling temporal aspects and scalability remain significant challenges. We present a novel approach to implementing graph transformations using Logica, an open-source logic programming language and system that operates over standard database systems including PostgreSQL, DuckDB, and BigQuery. Logica leverages the inherent parallelism of these engines and offers a practical and scalable way to carry out a variety of graph transformations, including complex scenarios such as time-varying graphs. We illustrate Logica’s graph querying and transformation capabilities with several examples, including a declarative program for pathfinding in a dynamic graph and a taxonomic analysis over a full current Wikidata dump. Experimental results compare Logica running on DuckDB engine to the Datalog engines Soufflé and Nemo, and to DuckPGQ, an implementation of SQL/PGQ. We argue that a logic-based declarative syntax, a built-in visualization library, and (plug-and-play) support for large-scale database engines make Logica a convenient and practical tool for a wide range of graph transformation tasks.

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Evgeny Skvortsov, Yilin Xia, Bertram Ludäscher, and Shawn Bowers. Logica-TGD: Transforming Graph Databases Logically. In Special Issue on Data Management for (Knowledge) Graphs. Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge (TGDK), Volume 4, Issue 2, pp. 7:1-7:27, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026) https://doi.org/10.4230/TGDK.4.2.7

Author Details

Evgeny Skvortsov
  • Google LLC, Kirkland, WA, USA
Yilin Xia
  • School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Bertram Ludäscher
  • School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Shawn Bowers
  • Department of Computer Science, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, USA

Supplementary Materials

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