Graphs and graph processing - an introduction

Before diving into GraphX, let's take a quick look at the domain of graph processing. Graphs and algorithms on graph structures were always the core of specific industries, such as logistics, transportation, routing, as well as social networking. These industries, among many others, relied on very special algorithms to optimize their businesses, irrespective of whether they were routing trucks or packets. Then came PageRank and social media, and the domain of graph processing has been growing ever since.

While I was preparing the materials for this book three interesting graph applications crossed my desk, all of which were very representative of the new applications of graph processing. Here's a bit about these applications.

The EU has initiatives such as fp6 and fp7, which consist of projects in multiple domains that are being worked on by a host of companies and educational institutions. And they found that they can measure the impact of a project...