Class GraphEdge<T>

Namespace

AiDotNet.RetrievalAugmentedGeneration.Graph

Assembly

AiDotNet.dll

Represents a directed edge (relationship) between two nodes in a knowledge graph.

public class GraphEdge<T>

Type Parameters

T

The numeric type used for vector operations.

Inheritance

object

GraphEdge<T>

Inherited Members

object.Equals(object, object)

object.GetType()

object.MemberwiseClone()

object.ReferenceEquals(object, object)

Remarks

A graph edge represents a relationship between two entities, such as "works_for", "located_in", or "friend_of". Edges are directed (from source to target) and can have properties to store additional relationship metadata.

For Beginners: Think of an edge as a relationship or connection between two people.

In a social network:

• "Alice WORKS_FOR Microsoft" (Alice is the source, Microsoft is the target)
• "Bob LIVES_IN Seattle" (Bob is the source, Seattle is the target)
• "Charlie KNOWS David" (Charlie knows David, but maybe David doesn't know Charlie - it's directional!)

In a knowledge graph:

• Source: The entity the relationship starts from
• Target: The entity the relationship points to
• Type: The kind of relationship (WORKS_FOR, LIVES_IN, KNOWS)
• Properties: Extra info (since: "2020", strength: 0.9)
• Weight: How important or strong this relationship is (0.0 to 1.0)

For example: Source: "Albert Einstein" (PERSON) Target: "Princeton University" (ORGANIZATION) Type: "WORKED_AT" Properties: { "from": "1933", "to": "1955" } Weight: 0.95 (very strong relationship)

Constructors

GraphEdge(string, string, string, double)

Initializes a new instance of the GraphEdge<T> class.

public GraphEdge(string sourceId, string targetId, string relationType, double weight = 1)

Parameters

sourceId string

The source node ID.

targetId string

The target node ID.

relationType string

The relationship type.

weight double

The relationship weight (default: 1.0).

Properties

CreatedAt

Timestamp when this edge was created.

public DateTime CreatedAt { get; set; }

Property Value

DateTime

Id

Unique identifier for this edge.

public string Id { get; set; }

Property Value

string

Properties

Additional properties and metadata for this relationship.

public Dictionary<string, object> Properties { get; set; }

Property Value

Dictionary<string, object>

RelationType

The relationship type (e.g., WORKS_FOR, LOCATED_IN, FRIEND_OF).

public string RelationType { get; set; }

Property Value

string

SourceId

The source node ID (where the relationship starts).

public string SourceId { get; set; }

Property Value

string

TargetId

The target node ID (where the relationship points to).

public string TargetId { get; set; }

Property Value

string

Weight

Weight or strength of this relationship (0.0 to 1.0).

public double Weight { get; set; }

Property Value

double

Methods

Equals(object?)

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.

public override bool Equals(object? obj)

Parameters

obj object

The object to compare with the current object.

Returns

bool

true if the specified object is equal to the current object; otherwise, false.

GetHashCode()

Serves as the default hash function.

public override int GetHashCode()

Returns

int

A hash code for the current object.

GetProperty<TValue>(string)

Gets a property value from this edge.

public TValue? GetProperty<TValue>(string key)

Parameters

key string

The property key.

Returns

TValue

The property value, or default if not found or conversion fails.

Type Parameters

TValue

The expected type of the property value.

Remarks

This method handles JSON deserialization quirks where numeric types may differ (e.g., int stored as long after JSON round-trip). It uses Convert.ChangeType for IConvertible types to handle such conversions gracefully.

The method catches and handles the following exceptions during conversion: - InvalidCastException: When the types are incompatible - FormatException: When the string representation is invalid - OverflowException: When the value is outside the target type's range

SetProperty(string, object)

Adds or updates a property on this edge.

public void SetProperty(string key, object value)

Parameters

key string

The property key.

value object

The property value.

ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

public override string ToString()

Returns

string

A string that represents the current object.