Spring Data Neo4j (SDN) 4.0 runtime polymorphism

Question

Spring Data Neo4j (SDN) 4.0 did away with @RelationshipType and @Labels, among other tools that could be used to implement dynamic typing or runtime polymorphism. In SDN 4.0 all polymorphic possibilities (labels and relationship types) must be modeled explicitly, statically, in Java prior to build time. Given those limitations, I am unable to migrate my SDN 3.x code, which took advantage of those features, forward.

I would appreciate any insight, work arounds, alternative tools, etc. anyone has to offer. The only alternative right now that I see is to unplug SDN and write directly to Neo4j.

Thanks

Answer 1

We're very aware that the lack of runtime polymorphism is currently frustrating some SDN 3 users who want to migrate to SDN 4. And while there may be workarounds in many cases, we also accept that having to refactor application code is not ideal.

We do want to address this, however to enable runtime polymorphism will require both architectural and implementation changes, so its not something we can expect to accomplish in just a few days. Unfortunately, right now we can't commit to when we will be in a position to start that work, because the product road map is still being discussed with the development team and the product owner, Neo Technology.

If you can stay with SDN 3 that might be the best option right now until this feature is available in SDN 4.