preferential_attachment()#

relationalai.std.graphs.Compute
#preferential_attachment(node1: Producer, node2: Producer) -> Expression

Compute the preferential attachment score between two nodes in a graph. The preferential attachment score quantifies node similarity based on the product of their number of neighbors. In link prediction analysis, a high preferential attachment score may indicate that two nodes are likely to form a connection under the assumption that connections are more likely between nodes with higher degrees. Must be called in a rule or query context.

Supported Graph Types#

Graph TypeSupportedNotes
UndirectedYes
DirectedYes
WeightedYesWeights are ignored.
UnweightedYes

Parameters#

NameTypeDescription
node1ProducerA node in the graph.
node2ProducerA node in the graph.

Returns#

Returns an Expression object that produces the preferential attachment score between the two nodes as an integer value, calculated by the following formula:

#preferential attachment = number of neighbors of node1 * number of neighbors of node2

Example#

Use .preferential_attachment() to compute the preferential attachment score between two nodes in a graph. You access the .preferential_attachment() method from a Graph object’s .compute attribute:

#import relationalai as rai
from relationalai.std import alias
from relationalai.std.graphs import Graph

# Create a model named "socialNetwork" with a Person type.
model = rai.Model("socialNetwork")
Person = model.Type("Person")

# Add some people to the model and connect them with a multi-valued `friend` property.
with model.rule():
    alice = Person.add(name="Alice")
    bob = Person.add(name="Bob")
    carol = Person.add(name="Carol")
    alice.friends.add(bob)

# Create an undirected graph with Person nodes and edges between friends.
# This graph has one edge between Alice and Bob. Carol is not connected to anyone.
graph = Graph(model, undirected=True)
graph.Node.extend(Person)
graph.Edge.extend(Person.friends)

# Compute the preferential attachment score between Alice and Bob.
with model.query() as select:
    person1, person2 = Person(), Person()
    similarity = graph.compute.preferential_attachment(person1, person2)
    response = select(person1.name, person2.name, alias(similarity, "preferential_attachment"))

print(response.results)
# Output:
#     name  name2  preferential_attachment
# 0  Alice  Alice                        1
# 1  Alice    Bob                        1
# 2    Bob  Alice                        1
# 3    Bob    Bob                        1

There is no row for Alice and Carol in the preceding query’s results. That’s because Alice and Carol have preferential attachment score of 0, since Carol has no neighbors. Pairs of nodes with zero preferential attachment are often excluded from analyses. Consequently, we filter out these pairs to improve performance.

If node1 or node2 is not a node in the graph, no exception is raised. Instead, that object is filtered from the rule or query:

## Add a Company type to the model.
Company = model.Type("Company")

# Add some companies to the model.
with model.rule():
    apple = Company.add(name="Apple")
    google = Company.add(name="Google")

# Create the union of the Person and Company types.
PersonOrCompany = Person | Company

with model.query() as select:
    # Get all person and company objects.
    obj1, obj2 = PersonOrCompany(), PersonOrCompany()
    obj1 < obj2  # Ensure pairs are unique. Compares internal object IDs.
    # Compute the preferential attachment score between each pair of objects.
    # Objects that are not nodes in the graph are filtered.
    similarity = graph.compute.preferential_attachment(obj1, obj2)
    response = select(obj1.name, obj2.name, alias(similarity, "preferential_attachment"))

# Only rows for people are returned, since companies are not nodes in the graph.
print(response.results)
# Output:
#     name name2  preferential_attachment
# 0  Alice   Bob                        1

See Also#