Scalaxy
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Cypher

The openCypher query language in Scalaxy: coverage, TCK conformance, and access points.

Scalaxy implements the openCypher query language for its graph layer, implemented in Common Lisp (SBCL); the protocol, JSON, and HTTP layers are in-tree. The compiler pipeline lives in src/cypher/ : lexer → parser → AST (with a canonical printer) → semantic analysis → executor, plus a wire format and a metacircular reference oracle used for differential testing.

Language coverage

  • Clauses: MATCH, OPTIONAL MATCH, WHERE, WITH, RETURN, UNWIND, ORDER BY, SKIP, LIMIT, DISTINCT, UNION, CREATE, MERGE (with ON CREATE / ON MATCH), SET (including map =/+= with null-removal), REMOVE, DELETE, DETACH DELETE.
  • Patterns: labels, relationship types and direction, property constraints, bound-variable anchoring, named paths (MATCH p = ...), and variable-length relationships (-[:T*1..3]->) with relationship-list binding.
  • Expressions: literals, maps, lists, list comprehensions, pattern comprehensions, list predicates (all/any/none/single), EXISTS { }, CASE, chained comparisons, list concatenation, append/prepend, and string/aggregation functions.
  • Aggregation: symbolic aggregation, so aggregates can nest inside arbitrary expressions (count(a) * 10 + count(b) * 5, head(collect(...))), with implicit grouping, DISTINCT aggregates, and per-group ORDER BY.
  • Errors: the openCypher error taxonomy as ~35 named CLOS conditions, surfaced through the REST API with error and kind fields.

Conformance (openCypher TCK)

Scalaxy currently passes the complete openCypher TCK: all 3,898 expanded scenarios execute successfully with no failures or unsupported cases. The local runner intentionally executes every corpus case, including the scenario marked @ignore in the upstream feature file.

OutcomeScenarios
Pass3,898
Fail0
Unsupported0

Run the same check from the repository root with:

sbcl --script scripts/run-tck.lisp

This is a reproducible TCK conformity result for the current Scalaxy implementation; it is not a claim of third-party certification by the openCypher project. The detailed runner and feature corpus are kept in the repository alongside the implementation.

Access points

  • REST: POST /api/cypher (see REST API).
  • Lisp client: (scalaxy:cypher client query &key db params) (see Client API).
  • Wire protocol: the CYPHER opcode (12) over the binary frames (see Protocol).
  • Web console: the cypher <query> command in the console’s command bar.

Reference

The complete language reference lives in the repository: docs/cypher-reference.md. For the design rationale, see docs/cypher-implementation-plan.md.

Next

  • Benchmarks: Movie Graph and NYC taxi datasets that exercise the engine at two very different scales.
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