# Neolace Junction

**Junction** is the [Neolace](https://www.neolace.com) resource hub, with documentation, blog posts, and more to come.

## What is Neolace?

Neolace is a tool for managing knowledge collaboratively - either privately within an organization or publicly online. It's a combination of a wiki, a knowledge graph, a content management system, and a version control system. The focus is on making it easy to input, connect, and organize, and explore knowledge. Knowledge is not just facts or data, but also articles, explanations, and images.
Learn more in our [Introduction to Neolace](/entry/expl-introduction-to-neolace).

## Recent Blog Posts

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=entryType("blog-post")).map(apply=(e -> e.annotate(detail=e.get(prop=prop("date"))))).sort(by=(e -> e.detail), reverse=true) }

## Guides

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=entryType("guide")) }

## Tutorials

Coming soon.

## Explanations

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=entryType("explanation")) }

We also have in-depth "deep dive" articles will to help developers and site administrators understand how Neolace works, and _why_ it has been designed the way it has. Currently available deep dives:

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=entryType("deep-dive")) }

## Reference

### Lookup Functions

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=entryType("lookup-function")) }

### Terminology

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=entryType("term")) }

## Sample Content

We have some sample content in development, used to show some features of Neolace and to serve as examples throughout the documentation.
[See a graph of these demo entries.](/lookup?e=entry("demo-mammal").andDescendants().graph())

{ allEntries().filter(entryType=[entryType("demo-species"), entryType("demo-family"), entryType("demo-class")]) }


A **property** is an attribute that specific [entries](/term/entry) can have, that provides a piece of information about each such entry in a consistent way. For example, an entry about "Canada" would state that it has a **Total Area** of "9,984,670 km^2^" - in this case, "Total Area" is the Property and "9,984,670 km^2^" is the [Property Value](/entry/term-property-value).

Property

The node types and relationships that Neolace uses within Neo4j to represent a Neolace Site and all of its content.

002 Graph Data Model

An introduction to Neolace: what it is and how it works

Introduction to Neolace

Given an [entry](/entry/term-entry), this will return all directly related entries (via any type of relationship) *and* the entry itself. It's often used with { entry("lookup-graph") } to generate graphs of everything related to a particular entry.

andRelated()

An overview of the software architecture of Neolace.

001 Architecture of Neolace

A **draft** is a set of proposed edits that haven't yet been applied/published. Each draft can include edits to [entries](/entry/term-entry) and/or to the site's [schema](/entry/term-schema). Drafts are usually used to allow another person to review and comment on changes before they go live.

Draft

Every [Entry](/entry/term-entry) is of a specific **Entry Type**. The Entry Type determines what [properties](/entry/term-property) the entry can have (including what relationships to other entries it can have), as well as what type of content it can have (article text, image, attached files, etc.). This entry, { this }, has entry type { this.entryType() }. Entry Types are part of each [Site](/entry/term-site)'s [Schema](/entry/term-schema).

Entry Type

Returns the ancestors of the specified entry. Unlike {entry("lookup-andAncestors")}, the result will not include the entry itself.

ancestors()

The **elk** (*Cervus canadensis*), also known as the **wapiti**, is one of the largest species within the [deer family](/entry/demo-deer), Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America, as well as Central and East Asia. The common name "elk", used in North America, creates confusion because the larger *Alces alces*, which is called "moose" in North America, is also called "elk" in British English, and related names in other European languages (German Elch, Swedish älg, and French élan). The name "wapiti" is sometimes used in North America for *Cervus canadensis*. It originates from the Shawnee and Cree word waapiti, meaning 'white rump'.

An Entry is the core concept in Neolace. Each Neolace site is a collection of Entries. Every Entry has a **name**, **description**, **[key](/entry/term-key)** (friendly ID), and [VNID](/entry/term-VNID) (permanent unique ID). Entries can also have **properties** (which can include relationships with other Entries) and **content** (like articles, images, or files). Every Entry is of exactly one Entry Type, which defines what properties and content that Entry can or must have.

Entry

Returns the descendants of the specified entry, *and* the entry itself.

andDescendants()

A Connector is a plugin for Neolace that can import data from an external system, on an ongoing basis. This makes the data from the external system available within Neolace, and keeps it updated in real time. Each such external data source that is integrated into a neolace site is called a **Connection**.

Connector

It turns out that writing a parser is... surprisingly easy with the right tool!

Parsing Lookup Expressions using Chevrotain

Counts the number of [entries](/entry/term-entry)/values in the given result. Returns a number.

count()

The **grizzly bear** (*Ursus arctos horribilis*), also known as the "North American brown bear" or simply "grizzly", is a population or subspecies of the brown bear found in North America.

Grizzly bear

The **moose** (in North America) is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family.

Moose

**Bears** are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails.

Bear

The **deer** family, formally the family "Cervidae", are hoofed ruminant mammals. Male deer of all species (except the water deer) as well as female reindeer, grow and shed new antlers each year.

Deer

We've just launched a major improvement to our graph visualization tools.

Improving Our Graph Visualization

Search for entries whose name or [key](/entry/term-key) contains the given text string.

basicSearch()

This guide explains how to create a new [Site](/entry/term-site) in Neolace.

How to create a new Neolace Site

Returns the descendants of the specified [entry](/entry/term-entry). Unlike { entry("lookup-andDescendants") }, the result will not include the original entry itself.

descendants()

The **orca** or **killer whale** (*Orcinus orca*) is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is recognizable by its black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, orcas can be found in all of the world's oceans in a variety of marine environments, from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas.

Orca

A lookup is a request for information from Neolace, similar to a **formula** in a spreadsheet program like Excel. A *lookup expression* like `this.ancestors().count()` is evaluated using the most up to date data, and it results in a *lookup value* like `5` which is then embedded in the entry or displayed to the user as requested.  See the [list of available lookup functions](//lookup?e=allEntries().filter(entryType%3DentryType("lookup-function"))) for examples.

Lookup

Returns the ancestors of the specified entry *and* the entry itself.

andAncestors()

A Neolace **Realm** is an installation of Neolace, which hosts one or more [Sites](/entry/term-site). Neolace.com is an example of a Realm, and it hosts [sites](/entry/term-site) such as junction.neolace.com.

Realm

The `allEntries()` lookup function returns all entries in the current site (that you have permission to see).

allEntries()

Every [Entry](/entry/term-entry) has a **key** string that uniquely identifies it. For example, the key of this { this } entry is **{ this.key }**. The key appears the in the URL of each entry - for example, the UR for this term ends with `/entry/{ this.key }`. You _can_ edit an entry to change its key, unlike its [VNID](/entry/term-VNID).

Given a value, "annotate" it with additional information. This can influence how the value is sorted, or displayed in the frontend.

annotate()

**Mammals** (from Latin *mamma*) are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia, characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones.

Mammal

Given a string like "2022-08-20", converts it into a Date value. This is the recommended way to represent calendar dates in Neolace. Note that these date objects are *calendar dates*, and do not include any time/timezone information.

date()

A **property value** is the value that a [property](/entry/term-property) has for a specific [entry](/entry/term-entry). For example, an entry about "Canada" would state that it has a "Total Area" of **9,984,670 km^2^** - in this case 9,984,670 km^2^ is the Property Value (for the "Total Area" [property](/entry/term-property)).

Property Value

The **Schema** defines the [Entry Types](/entry/term-entry-type) and [Properties](/entry/term-property) that can be used on each Neolace [Site](/entry/term-site).

Schema

**Oceanic dolphins** or **Delphinidae** are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Close to forty extant species are recognized. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the killer whale and pilot whale. River dolphins are relatives of the Delphinoidea.

Oceanic dolphin

Blog Post

Deep Dive

Class

Family

Species

Explanation

How-to Guide

Lookup Function

Term

Junction is the Neolace resource hub, with documentation, blog posts, tutorials, and more.