11.5. Aggregation

Introduction

To calculate aggregated data, Cypher offers aggregation, much like SQL’s GROUP BY.

Aggregate functions take multiple input values and calculate an aggregated value from them. Examples are avg that calculates the average of multiple numeric values, or min that finds the smallest numeric value in a set of values.

Aggregation can be done over all the matching subgraphs, or it can be further divided by introducing key values. These are non-aggregate expressions, that are used to group the values going into the aggregate functions.

So, if the return statement looks something like this:

RETURN n, count(*)

We have two return expressions: n, and count(*). The first, n, is no aggregate function, and so it will be the grouping key. The latter, count(*) is an aggregate expression. So the matching subgraphs will be divided into different buckets, depending on the grouping key. The aggregate function will then run on these buckets, calculating the aggregate values.

If you want to use aggregations to sort your result set, the aggregation must be included in the RETURN to be used in your ORDER BY.

The last piece of the puzzle is the DISTINCT keyword. It is used to make all values unique before running them through an aggregate function.

An example might be helpful. In this case, we are running the query against the following data:

Query 

MATCH (me:Person)-->(friend:Person)-->(friend_of_friend:Person)
WHERE me.name = 'A'
RETURN count(DISTINCT friend_of_friend), count(friend_of_friend)

In this example we are trying to find all our friends of friends, and count them. The first aggregate function, count(DISTINCT friend_of_friend), will only see a friend_of_friend once — DISTINCT removes the duplicates. The latter aggregate function, count(friend_of_friend), might very well see the same friend_of_friend multiple times. In this case, both B and C know D and thus D will get counted twice, when not using DISTINCT.

Result

count(distinct friend_of_friend)count(friend_of_friend)
1 row

1

2

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; MATCH (me:Person)-->(friend:Person)-->(friend_of_friend:Person) WHERE me.name = 'A'RETURN count(distinct friend_of_friend), count(friend_of_friend)

The following examples are assuming the example graph structure below.

Figure 11.7. Graph

COUNT

COUNT is used to count the number of rows.

COUNT can be used in two forms — COUNT(*) which just counts the number of matching rows, and COUNT(<expression>), which counts the number of non-NULL values in <expression>.

Count nodes

To count the number of nodes, for example the number of nodes connected to one node, you can use count(*).

Query 

MATCH (n { name: 'A' })-->(x)
RETURN n, count(*)

This returns the start node and the count of related nodes.

Result

ncount(*)
1 row

Node[0]{name:"A",property:13}

3

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n {name: 'A'})-->(x) return n, count(*)

Group Count Relationship Types

To count the groups of relationship types, return the types and count them with count(*).

Query 

MATCH (n { name: 'A' })-[r]->()
RETURN type(r), count(*)

The relationship types and their group count is returned by the query.

Result

type(r)count(*)
1 row

"KNOWS"

3

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n {name: 'A'})-[r]->() return type(r), count(*)

Count entities

Instead of counting the number of results with count(*), it might be more expressive to include the name of the variable you care about.

Query 

MATCH (n { name: 'A' })-->(x)
RETURN count(x)

The example query returns the number of connected nodes from the start node.

Result

count(x)
1 row

3

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n {name: 'A'})-->(x) return count(x)

Count non-null values

You can count the non-NULL values by using count(<expression>).

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN count(n.property)

The count of related nodes with the property property set is returned by the query.

Result

count(n.property)
1 row

3

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return count(n.property)

Statistics

sum

The sum aggregation function simply sums all the numeric values it encounters. NULLs are silently dropped.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN sum(n.property)

This returns the sum of all the values in the property property.

Result

sum(n.property)
1 row

90

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return sum(n.property)

avg

avg calculates the average of a numeric column.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN avg(n.property)

The average of all the values in the property property is returned by the example query.

Result

avg(n.property)
1 row

30.0

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return avg(n.property)

percentileDisc

percentileDisc calculates the percentile of a given value over a group, with a percentile from 0.0 to 1.0. It uses a rounding method, returning the nearest value to the percentile. For interpolated values, see percentileCont.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN percentileDisc(n.property, 0.5)

The 50th percentile of the values in the property property is returned by the example query. In this case, 0.5 is the median, or 50th percentile.

Result

percentileDisc(n.property, 0.5)
1 row

33

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return percentileDisc(n.property, 0.5)

percentileCont

percentileCont calculates the percentile of a given value over a group, with a percentile from 0.0 to 1.0. It uses a linear interpolation method, calculating a weighted average between two values, if the desired percentile lies between them. For nearest values using a rounding method, see percentileDisc.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN percentileCont(n.property, 0.4)

The 40th percentile of the values in the property property is returned by the example query, calculated with a weighted average.

Result

percentileCont(n.property, 0.4)
1 row

29.0

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return percentileCont(n.property, 0.4)

stdev

stdev calculates the standard deviation for a given value over a group. It uses a standard two-pass method, with N - 1 as the denominator, and should be used when taking a sample of the population for an unbiased estimate. When the standard variation of the entire population is being calculated, stdevp should be used.

Query 

MATCH (n)
WHERE n.name IN ['A', 'B', 'C']
RETURN stdev(n.property)

The standard deviation of the values in the property property is returned by the example query.

Result

stdev(n.property)
1 row

15.716233645501712

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n) where n.name IN ['A','B','C'] return stdev(n.property)

stdevp

stdevp calculates the standard deviation for a given value over a group. It uses a standard two-pass method, with N as the denominator, and should be used when calculating the standard deviation for an entire population. When the standard variation of only a sample of the population is being calculated, stdev should be used.

Query 

MATCH (n)
WHERE n.name IN ['A', 'B', 'C']
RETURN stdevp(n.property)

The population standard deviation of the values in the property property is returned by the example query.

Result

stdevp(n.property)
1 row

12.832251036613439

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n) where n.name IN ['A','B','C'] return stdevp(n.property)

max

max find the largest value in a numeric column.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN max(n.property)

The largest of all the values in the property property is returned.

Result

max(n.property)
1 row

44

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return max(n.property)

min

min takes a numeric property as input, and returns the smallest value in that column.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN min(n.property)

This returns the smallest of all the values in the property property.

Result

min(n.property)
1 row

13

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return min(n.property)

collect

collect collects all the values into a list. It will ignore NULLs.

Query 

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN collect(n.property)

Returns a single row, with all the values collected.

Result

collect(n.property)
1 row

[13,33,44]

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (n:Person) return collect(n.property)

DISTINCT

All aggregation functions also take the DISTINCT modifier, which removes duplicates from the values. So, to count the number of unique eye colors from nodes related to a, this query can be used:

Query 

MATCH (a:Person { name: 'A' })-->(b)
RETURN count(DISTINCT b.eyes)

Returns the number of eye colors.

Result

count(distinct b.eyes)
1 row

2

Try this query live create (_0:`Person` {`name`:"A", `property`:13}) create (_1:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"B", `property`:33}) create (_2:`Person` {`eyes`:"blue", `name`:"C", `property`:44}) create (_3:`Person` {`eyes`:"brown", `name`:"D"}) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_3) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_2) create (_0)-[:`KNOWS`]->(_1) ; match (a:Person {name: 'A'})-->(b) return count(distinct b.eyes)