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Defining Node Set Relationships

Similar to defining a Unique Relationship, defining Node Set relationships is extremely useful. For example: a user may only have one unique profile, but that profile will have anywhere from zero to unlimited posts

The defineNodeSetRelationship method​

defineNodeSetRelationship takes the following arguments:

  • toNodeType: the node type definition (as defined in its own definition file)

How to Define a Node Set Relationship​

Defining a node set relationship is as simple as appending a method call to the end of the defineNodeType function when defining a node.

For example, lets say we want our Profile Node to have a node set relationship with its posts.

  1. Define your node type and stateSchema using defineNodeType and Zod
./src/libs/nodes/ProfileNodeType.ts
import { z } from "zod";
import { defineNodeType } from "@thinairthings/uix";

export const ProfileNodeType = defineNodeType(
    "Profile",
    z.object({
      profileName: z.string().min(4),
      lastSeen: z.string().catch(new Date().toISOString()),
      postCount: z.number().catch(0)
    }),
)
  1. Import the node types you wish to create unique relationships for
./src/libs/nodes/ProfileNodeType.ts
import { z } from "zod";
import { defineNodeType } from "@thinairthings/uix";
import { PostNodeType } from "./PostNodeType";

export const ProfileNodeType = defineNodeType(
    "Profile",
    z.object({
      profileName: z.string().min(4),
      lastSeen: z.string().catch(new Date().toISOString()),
      postCount: z.number().catch(0)
    }),
)
  1. Append the .defineNodeSetRelationship() method to the end of the defineNodeType() call with the nodes passed in.

(Note: for more than one node like this scenario, you must pass them individually as individual method calls)

./src/libs/nodes/ProfileNodeType.ts
import { z } from "zod";
import { defineNodeType } from "@thinairthings/uix";
import { PostNodeType } from "./PostNodeType";

export const ProfileNodeType = defineNodeType(
    "Profile",
    z.object({
      profileName: z.string().min(4),
      lastSeen: z.string().catch(new Date().toISOString()),
      postCount: z.number().catch(0)
    }),
).defineNodeSetRelationship(PostNodeType)

(Note: please make sure to run the CLI to see changes reflected)

Now what?​

With the node set relationships defined, you can now call functions such as getChildNodeSet to fetch your unique node using its parent's node information.

This is great, because it means that you don't need to hunt for the Profile's Posts node ID/unique index when you already have the Profile's ID.