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  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Databases
  4. Databases
  5. ArangoDB vs Dgraph

ArangoDB vs Dgraph

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

ArangoDB
ArangoDB
Stacks273
Followers442
Votes192
Dgraph
Dgraph
Stacks124
Followers221
Votes9
GitHub Stars21.3K
Forks1.6K

ArangoDB vs Dgraph: What are the differences?

  1. 1. Query Language: ArangoDB uses a slightly modified version of SQL as its query language, allowing users with SQL experience to easily interact with the database. On the other hand, Dgraph uses a graph-based query language called GraphQL, which is optimized for querying graph data structures and offers more flexibility in terms of shaping the data returned.

  2. 2. Data Model: ArangoDB is a multi-model database, which means it supports multiple data models including document, key-value, and graph. This allows it to handle a wide range of use cases without requiring data duplication. Dgraph, on the other hand, is a graph database and focuses solely on managing graph data structures, providing more advanced features and optimizations specific to graph data.

  3. 3. Scalability and Distributed System: ArangoDB is designed to be a highly scalable distributed system, allowing horizontal scaling through sharding and replication. It provides built-in clustering and synchronization mechanisms, making it suitable for large-scale deployments. Dgraph, on the other hand, is built on a distributed architecture from the ground up, using a consensus algorithm called Raft for replicating and ensuring consistency across nodes. This makes it highly scalable and fault-tolerant, specifically tailored for distributed graph data.

  4. 4. Performance Optimization: ArangoDB focuses on providing high-performance execution of complex queries by utilizing various indexing techniques, including hash indexes, persistent indexes, and geo-spatial indexes. It also offers built-in caching mechanisms to improve query response times. Dgraph, on the other hand, optimizes performance by leveraging its native graph storage and traversal mechanisms. It uses a memory-mapped file-based storage for efficient storage and retrieval of graph data. It also employs caching and prefetching techniques to minimize disk I/O and speed up query execution.

  5. 5. Consistency Model: ArangoDB follows a strict ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) consistency model, ensuring data integrity and correctness. It provides multi-document transactions and supports various isolation levels. Dgraph, on the other hand, provides a more relaxed consistency model known as eventual consistency. It favors availability and partition tolerance over strict consistency, allowing for higher scalability and fault tolerance at the expense of potential temporary inconsistencies.

  6. 6. Community and Ecosystem: ArangoDB has a larger and more established community, with extensive documentation, active community forums, and a wide range of third-party integrations and tools. It also has a well-defined roadmap and regular releases. Dgraph, being a relatively newer database, has a smaller but growing community. It offers extensive documentation and actively maintains its open-source repository, but its ecosystem is still evolving.

In Summary, ArangoDB and Dgraph differ in terms of query language, data model, scalability, performance optimization, consistency model, and community/ecosystem. ArangoDB is a multi-model database with a flexible query language, while Dgraph is a specialized graph database optimized for graph data structures. ArangoDB focuses on providing high-performance execution of complex queries, while Dgraph leverages its native graph storage and traversal mechanisms. The consistency models also vary, with ArangoDB offering strict ACID consistency and Dgraph favoring eventual consistency. Finally, ArangoDB has a larger and more established community and ecosystem compared to Dgraph, although both databases have documentation and active development.

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Detailed Comparison

ArangoDB
ArangoDB
Dgraph
Dgraph

A distributed free and open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values. Build high performance applications using a convenient SQL-like query language or JavaScript extensions.

Dgraph's goal is to provide Google production level scale and throughput, with low enough latency to be serving real time user queries, over terabytes of structured data. Dgraph supports GraphQL-like query syntax, and responds in JSON and Protocol Buffers over GRPC and HTTP.

multi-model nosql db; acid; transactions; javascript; database; nosql; sharding; replication; query language; joins; aql; documents; graphs; key-values; graphdb
-
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
21.3K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
1.6K
Stacks
273
Stacks
124
Followers
442
Followers
221
Votes
192
Votes
9
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 37
    Grahps and documents in one DB
  • 26
    Intuitive and rich query language
  • 25
    Open source
  • 25
    Good documentation
  • 21
    Joins for collections
Cons
  • 3
    Web ui has still room for improvement
  • 2
    No support for blueprints standard, using custom AQL
Pros
  • 3
    Graphql as a query language is nice if you like apollo
  • 2
    Low learning curve
  • 2
    Easy set up
  • 1
    Open Source
  • 1
    High Performance

What are some alternatives to ArangoDB, Dgraph?

MongoDB

MongoDB

MongoDB stores data in JSON-like documents that can vary in structure, offering a dynamic, flexible schema. MongoDB was also designed for high availability and scalability, with built-in replication and auto-sharding.

MySQL

MySQL

The MySQL software delivers a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server. MySQL Server is intended for mission-critical, heavy-load production systems as well as for embedding into mass-deployed software.

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an advanced object-relational database management system that supports an extended subset of the SQL standard, including transactions, foreign keys, subqueries, triggers, user-defined types and functions.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server is a database management and analysis system for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.

SQLite

SQLite

SQLite is an embedded SQL database engine. Unlike most other SQL databases, SQLite does not have a separate server process. SQLite reads and writes directly to ordinary disk files. A complete SQL database with multiple tables, indices, triggers, and views, is contained in a single disk file.

Cassandra

Cassandra

Partitioning means that Cassandra can distribute your data across multiple machines in an application-transparent matter. Cassandra will automatically repartition as machines are added and removed from the cluster. Row store means that like relational databases, Cassandra organizes data by rows and columns. The Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is a close relative of SQL.

Memcached

Memcached

Memcached is an in-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) from results of database calls, API calls, or page rendering.

MariaDB

MariaDB

Started by core members of the original MySQL team, MariaDB actively works with outside developers to deliver the most featureful, stable, and sanely licensed open SQL server in the industry. MariaDB is designed as a drop-in replacement of MySQL(R) with more features, new storage engines, fewer bugs, and better performance.

Neo4j

Neo4j

Neo4j stores data in nodes connected by directed, typed relationships with properties on both, also known as a Property Graph. It is a high performance graph store with all the features expected of a mature and robust database, like a friendly query language and ACID transactions.

RethinkDB

RethinkDB

RethinkDB is built to store JSON documents, and scale to multiple machines with very little effort. It has a pleasant query language that supports really useful queries like table joins and group by, and is easy to setup and learn.

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