Method and apparatus for identifying the optimal schema to store graph data in a relational store

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing a computer-readable code that when read by a computer causes the computer to perform a method for storing graph data in a relational store, the method comprising:

• identifying a graph dataset comprising data and relationships between data pairs;
• identifying a plurality of storage methods, each storage method comprising a unique structural arrangement of the data and relationships from the graph data set;
• calculating metrics describing the data and relationships in the graph dataset;
• using the calculated metrics to group the data and relationships into a plurality of graph dataset subsets, each graph dataset subset comprising at least a portion of the data and relationships in the graph dataset;
• using the calculated metrics to identify data, relationships, and data and relationship tuples suitable to be located in more than one graph dataset subset;
• locating the identified data, relationships, and data and relationship tuples to one of the graph data subsets;
• associating a unique storage method selected from the plurality of storage methods with each graph data subset, wherein associating the unique storage method comprises associating at least three separate unique storage methods with the graph data subsets;
• and
• storing all data and relationships in each graph dataset subset of the data and relationships of the graph dataset according to the unique storage methods associated with each graph dataset subset, wherein the associated storage methods define an overall schema for the graph dataset that is heterogeneous across all graph dataset subsets, and
• wherein storing the data and relationships comprises selecting the at least three storage methods to achieve an orders of magnitude decrease in query evaluation time over a storage arrangement of the graph dataset using only a single storage method for all data and relationships.