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Path Finding functions

The ability to find routes through the graph between interesting assets can be accomplished through Path Finding functions.

SOMEHOW ALPHA​

danger

This feature is currently in ALPHA and breaking changes are planned. We are making it available now to all customers as it does solve some interesting problems, but do not rely on it for critical workflows at this time.

The SOMEHOW function is used to find paths through the graph between interesting assets, where you may not know the intermediate nodes or relationships.

info

The "entry" and "exit" points of a SOMEHOW query must be small sets of assets, ideally a single asset. Broad targets will likely return no results.

Query Syntax:

FIND <source entity>
  THAT SOMEHOW <depth> <relationship classes> <target entity>
RETURN TREE
  • source entity is the starting point of the path, and should ideally be a single asset
  • relationship classes is a collection of relationship classes to traverse, such as RELATES TO, (HAS|IS), or ALLOWS
  • depth is the maximum number of intermediate nodes to traverse, defaulting to 5 with a maximum of 10
  • target entity is the ending point of the path, and should ideally be a single asset

Example: Finding paths between Google Cloud Organizations and Google Cloud Projects via intermediate Google Cloud Folders​

FIND google_cloud_organization
  THAT SOMEHOW HAS google_cloud_project
RETURN TREE

SOMEHOW Example google org path finding

This produces all the intermediate nodes between the Google Cloud Organization and Google Cloud Project, that use the HAS relationship class. It includes more than just the intermediate Google Cloud Folders, which is a limitation of the current implementation and will be addressed as part of the Alpha program.

Example: Finding how Person entities may relate to the github_account​

FIND Person
  THAT SOMEHOW RELATES TO github_account
RETURN TREE

SOMEHOW Example person to github account

This gives a good summary of the potential relationships. It's likely that this query hit the internal limit of 250 intermediate nodes, but it still provides a good summary of the potential relationships. Again, this is a known limitation of the current implementation and will be addressed as part of the Alpha program.

There are some important limitations to be aware of at this time:

  • The SOMEHOW function has an internal limit of 250 intermediate nodes in a path. This is to prevent runaway queries. Currently the system cannot tell you if you have hit this limit. Getting no results does NOT mean there are no paths between the two assets.

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