# Gremlin

> graph traversal language

**Wikidata**: [Q5607337](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5607337)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlin_(query_language))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/gremlin

## Summary

Gremlin is a software application whose design has been shaped by regular expression, XPath, SPARQL, Java, and Java virtual machine.

## Summary
Gremlin is a graph traversal language that allows developers to query and manipulate graph data structures. It is part of the Apache TinkerPop project and designed specifically for working with graph databases and graphs in general.

## Key Facts
- Gremlin is a graph traversal language created in 2009 and licensed under the Apache Software License 2.0.
- It is a domain-specific language designed specifically for querying and traversing graph data structures.
- Gremlin runs on the Java virtual machine and is implemented primarily in the Java programming language.
- The language is part of the larger Apache TinkerPop project, which provides a suite of graph computing frameworks.
- Gremlin has evolved through multiple versions since its inception, with version 1.0 released on May 21, 2011.
- It supports cross-platform operation and has documentation available in multiple languages including English, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and others.

## FAQs
### Q: What is Gremlin used for?
A: Gremlin is used for querying and traversing graph databases and graph data structures. It allows developers to express complex graph queries and manipulations in a concise and powerful way.

### Q: How does Gremlin compare to other graph query languages?
A: Gremlin differs from languages like SPARQL and XPath in that it focuses specifically on graph traversal rather than document or XML querying. It provides a comprehensive approach to navigating graph structures using steps, pipes, and traversals.

### Q: What databases support Gremlin?
A: Gremlin is designed to be database-agnostic and can be used with any graph database that implements the TinkerPop stack, including Neo4j, JanusGraph, Amazon Neptune, and others.

### Q: Is Gremlin open source?
A: Yes, Gremlin is open source software released under the Apache Software License 2.0, making it freely available for commercial and non-commercial use.

## Why It Matters
Gremlin matters because it provides a standardized, powerful way to query graph databases, which are increasingly important for representing complex, interconnected data. It addresses the challenge of navigating relationships in networked data that is difficult to model with traditional relational databases. By abstracting the specifics of different graph databases behind a common language, Gremlin enables developers to work with various graph technologies without learning different query languages for each. This standardization has helped drive adoption of graph databases across industries like social networking, fraud detection, recommendation systems, and knowledge representation, where understanding complex relationships is critical.

## Notable For
- Gremlin is notable as one of the first graph traversal languages to achieve widespread adoption across different graph database implementations.
- It is distinguished by its fluent, step-based traversal syntax that allows developers to chain operations to express complex graph traversals in a readable way.
- Gremlin is notable for its inclusion in the Apache TinkerPop project, making it part of a comprehensive graph computing ecosystem rather than an isolated language.

## Body

### Language Design
Gremlin is a domain-specific language designed specifically for graph traversal and querying. It features a fluent API that allows developers to chain operations together to navigate graph structures. The language operates on the principle of vertices and edges, which are the fundamental components of a graph.

### Implementation and Architecture
Gremlin is primarily implemented in Java and runs on the Java virtual machine. This makes it accessible to the vast ecosystem of Java developers and allows it to be integrated into Java-based systems. The language is cross-platform, meaning it can run on any operating system that supports Java.

### Version History
Gremlin has undergone several version releases since its inception in 2009:
- Version 0.1 was released on December 25, 2009
- Version 0.2 followed on February 14, 2010
- Version 0.2.1 on February 25, 2010
- Version 0.5 on September 22, 2010
- Version 0.5.5 on October 28, 2010
- Version 0.6 on December 15, 2010
- Version 0.7 on January 22, 2011
- Version 0.8 on March 2, 2011
- Version 0.9 on April 4, 2011
- Version 1.0 on May 21, 2011

### Relation to Other Technologies
Gremlin has been influenced by several technologies including regular expressions, XPath, and SPARQL, each contributing to its design as a query and traversal language. It is also related to Java, both in terms of implementation language and target platform.

### Community and Documentation
The Gremlin community supports the language through a GitHub repository, issue tracker, and Stack Exchange tag. Documentation is available in multiple languages, making the language accessible to a global developer community.

## Schema Markup

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Gremlin",
  "description": "A graph traversal language for querying and manipulating graph data structures",
  "url": "https://tinkerpop.apache.org/",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q58450721",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlin_(query_language)"
  ],
  "additionalType": [
    "Domain-specific language",
    "Query language",
    "Programming language",
    "Graph Query Language"
  ]
}

## References

1. [Release 0.1. 2009](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.1)
2. [Release 0.2. 2010](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.2)
3. [Release 0.2.1. 2010](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.2.1)
4. [Release 0.5. 2010](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.5)
5. [Release 0.5.5. 2010](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.5.5)
6. [Release 0.6. 2010](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.6)
7. [Release 0.7. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.7)
8. [Release 0.8. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.8)
9. [Release 0.9. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/0.9)
10. [Release 1.0. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/1.0)
11. [Release 1.1. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/1.1)
12. [Release 1.2. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/1.2)
13. [Release 1.3. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/1.3)
14. [Release 1.4. 2011](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/1.4)
15. [Release 1.5. 2012](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/1.5)
16. [Release 2.0.0. 2012](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.0.0)
17. [Release 2.1.0. 2012](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.1.0)
18. [Release 2.2.0. 2012](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.2.0)
19. [Release 2.3.0. 2013](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.3.0)
20. [Release 2.4.0. 2013](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.4.0)
21. [Release 2.5.0. 2014](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.5.0)
22. [Release 2.6.0. 2014](https://github.com/tinkerpop/gremlin/releases/tag/2.6.0)