Artículo: Debugging Empty Answers in Graph Queries
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The declarative nature of the Cypher graph query language allows for the expression of complex structural patterns, yet it provides minimal feedback when a query yields an empty result set. This presents a significant challenge for developers in distinguishing between schema mismatches, unsatisfiable predicates, and missing graph connectivity. In this paper, we present a specialized debugger for Cypher, developed using the Cypher-DSL framework, which addresses the empty answer problem through programmatic Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) deconstruction. Our approach systematically decomposes complex query patterns into a sequence of testable sub-queries to identify the Maximal Non-Empty Sub-queries (MNESs). By isolating these frontiers, query mistakes are revealed and reported as diagnostic feedback. Preliminary results demonstrate that our tool reduces the manual effort required for query refinement and enhances the reliability of graph-based database applications. The implementation is available as an open-source project on GitHub.