--- title: "22: Graph relations at greater depth | SurrealDB University" description: "Follow along with interactive SurrealDB lessons featuring hands-on exercises, code examples, and step-by-step instructions." url: https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-22 --- ![Course content preview](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/town.D95IYf2V.avif) [Back to Courses](https://surrealdb.com/learn) Course chapters [Welcome to the Tour of SurrealDB!](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour) [1: Connecting to a database](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-01) [2: Creating records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-02) [3: Using the ONLY keyword](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-03) [4: Non-ASCII record IDs](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-04) [5: Parentheses, indexing, and accessing fields](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-05) [6: Deleting records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-06) [7: Field order in objects](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-07) [8: Tips when selecting records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-08) [9: Casting and aliases](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-09) [10: Affixes](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-10) [11: Updating records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-11) [12: Linking records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-12) [13: Viewing the database as a whole](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-13) [14: Schemafull and schemaless](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-14) [15: Viewing the schema](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-15) [16: Literal types and assertions](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-16) [17: INSERT and using JSON](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-17) [18: FOR loops](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-18) [19: Basic graph relations](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-19) [20: Creating graph edges](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-20) [21: Querying graph relations](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-21) [22: Graph relations at greater depth](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-22) [23: Adding and improving data](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-23) [24: Defining events](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-24) [25: Defining indexes](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-25) [26: Improving the schema](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-26) [27: Visualising graph paths](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-27) [28: Recursive queries: setup](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-28) [29: Recursive queries](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-29) [30: More on recursive queries](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-30) [31: AI vector search](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-31) [Done the tour!](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-32) # 22: Graph relations at greater depth Graph queries can go much longer than a single step. If the path `->likes->person` goes from a `person` record to another `person` record, then the path `->likes->person->likes->person` will go one more step down. The result will be the people that are liked by someone that is liked by another. Here is a quick example of this from the X-Men franchise, in which the character Wolverine likes Jean Grey, who likes the superhero Cyclops. Here, the `hero:wolverine->likes->hero` path leads to Jean Grey, the person he likes, but the `hero:wolverine->likes->hero->likes->hero` path to Cyclops, who he hates! (Well, *sort of* hates. It's complicated.) ``` CREATE hero:wolverine, hero:jean_grey, hero:cyclops;RELATE hero:wolverine->likes->hero:jean_grey;RELATE hero:jean_grey->likes->hero:cyclops;-- returns Jean Grey, whom Wolverine likeshero:wolverine->likes->hero;-- returns Cyclops, whom the person that Wolverine likes likeshero:wolverine->likes->hero->likes->hero; ``` ![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query For our `person` records, just repeating `->works_at->place` would make no sense, because libraries don't work at libraries. Path that makes no sense ```surql person->works_at->place->works_at->place ``` But the arrows can be turned around at the midpoint to form this path instead. Path that makes sense ```surql person->works_at->place<-works_at<-person ``` This path starts at a person and then follows the `->works_at->place` path to see where the person works. Once it reaches the `place`, it then follows the `<-works_at<-` path to see the people that are employed by the library. Finally, it uses `.name` to access their `name` field. Queries can be written over multiple lines, so breaking these paths down with comments on each line can be helpful when you come back to read your own code later. ```surql person -- Start at a person ->works_at->place -- go to the place where the person works <-works_at<-person -- then to the people that work at that place .name -- and get their names ``` The end result: all the people that work at a library that the first person works at. ``` SELECT name, ->works_at->place <-works_at<-person.name AS team_membersFROM person; ``` ![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query Response ```surql [ { name: 'Sara Bellum', team_members: [ 'Samm Schwartz', 'Sara Bellum', 'Lydia Wyndham' ] }, { name: 'Lydia Wyndham', team_members: [ 'Samm Schwartz', 'Sara Bellum', 'Lydia Wyndham' ] }, { name: 'Samm Schwartz', team_members: [ 'Samm Schwartz', 'Sara Bellum', 'Lydia Wyndham' ] } ] ``` Now let's improve the output a bit by having the `team_members` contain every name *except* the name of the current `person`. Since a graph path returns an array, that lets us use any of SurrealDB's array functions on it. One of them is called [`array::complement()`](https://surrealdb.com/docs/reference/query-language/functions/database-functions/array#arraycomplement) and returns every item in one array minus the items in a second array. ``` array::complement( ["He", "is", "almost", "always", "on", "time"], ["always", "almost"]); ``` ![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query Response ```surql [ 'He', 'is', 'on', 'time' ] ``` We can use that at the `->works_at->place<-works_at<-person` path to return every person's name, minus the current person. ``` SELECT name, -- The function takes two arrays, so put `name` inside an array array::complement(->works_at->place<-works_at<-person.name, [name]) AS team_membersFROM person; ``` ![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query Now the output shows each person's teammates, without including the person's name as well. Response ```surql [ { name: 'Lydia Wyndham', team_members: [ 'Sara Bellum', 'Samm Schwartz' ] }, { name: 'Sara Bellum', team_members: [ 'Lydia Wyndham', 'Samm Schwartz' ] }, { name: 'Samm Schwartz', team_members: [ 'Lydia Wyndham', 'Sara Bellum' ] } ] ``` Previous 21: Querying graph relations [Previous](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-21) Next lesson 23: Adding and improving data [Next lesson](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-23) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Course","name":"Welcome to the Tour of SurrealDB!","description":"Welcome to the Tour of SurrealDB!","url":"https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour","inLanguage":"en","isAccessibleForFree":true,"provider":{"@type":"Organization","name":"SurrealDB","url":"https://surrealdb.com"},"hasPart":[{"@type":"LearningResource","name":"Welcome to the Tour of SurrealDB!","url":"https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour"},{"@type":"LearningResource","name":"1: Connecting to a 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