computer science

Graph Modelling Language

Graph Modelling Language is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Graph Modelling Language rather than just read about it. In short: Graph Modeling Language (GML) is a hierarchical ASCII-based file format for describing graphs. It has been also named Graph Meta Language.

Key takeaways

Graph Modelling Language belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Graph Modelling Language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Graph Modelling Language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Graph Modeling Language (GML) is a hierarchical ASCII-based file format for describing graphs. It has been also named Graph Meta Language.

Example A simple graph in GML format:

graph [ comment "This is a sample graph" directed 1 id 42 label "Hello, I am a graph" node [ id 1 label "node 1" thisIsASampleAttribute 42 ] node [ id 2 label "node 2" thisIsASampleAttribute 43 ] node [ id 3 label "node 3" thisIsASampleAttribute 44 ] edge [ source 1 target 2 label "Edge from node 1 to node 2" ] edge [ source 2 target 3 label "Edge from node 2 to node 3" ] edge [ source 3 target 1 label "Edge from node 3 to node 1" ] ]

Applications supporting GML Cytoscape, an open source bioinformatics software platform for visualizing molecular interaction networks, loads and save previously-constructed interaction networks in GML. igraph, an open source network analysis library with interfaces to multiple programming languages. Gephi, an open source graph visualization and manipulation software. Graph-tool, a free Python module for manipulation and statistical analysis of graphs. NetworkX, an open source Python library for studying complex graphs. Tulip (software) is a free software in the domain of information visualisation capable of manipulating huge graphs (with more than 1.000.000 elements). yEd, a free Java-based graph editor, supports import from and export to GML. The Graphviz project includes two command-line tools (gml2gv and gv2gml) that can convert to and from the DOT file format. Wolfram Language, a general very high-level programming language, supports GML import and export.

See also Graph Query Language (GQL) DGML

References

External links GML: A portable Graph File Format, Michael Himsolt - 2010/11/30 () Unravelling Graph-Exchange File Formats, by Matthew Roughan and Jonathan Tuke, 2015, https://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.02781.pdf

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Graph Modelling Language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Graph Modelling Language claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Graph Modelling Language before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Graph Modelling Language ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Graph Modelling Language

In research: Graph Modelling Language appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Graph Modelling Language in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Graph Modelling Language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer file formats, Graph description languages, Programming language topic stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Graph Modelling Language outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Graph Modelling Language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Graph Modelling Language means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Graph Modelling Language out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Graph Modelling Language in simple terms?

Graph Modeling Language (GML) is a hierarchical ASCII-based file format for describing graphs. It has been also named Graph Meta Language.

Why does Graph Modelling Language matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Graph Modelling Language?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Graph Modelling Language.