Meta: benchmark coverage unlock plan for GFQL and GFQL/Cypher

[lmeyerov]

Summary

Meta-tracker for benchmark-impacting GFQL/Cypher compiler/planner gaps.

Closed Residual / Benchmark Wave

• [FEA] GFQL bindings_table (row bindings) from chain using Yannakakis prune #880 closed after graphistry/pyg-bench#19 final residual closeout.
• graphistry/pyg-bench#11/edge colors can't be set #12/make def height 600 to prevent modal window sizing issues #14/better error when NaN in src/dst/node #15/When ETLing without key, error message should state that key is needed #16/Bind call required before most others #19/print out current set of bindings #20/Update documentation #22/encoding issues #24 completed benchmark-side cleanup and receipts.
• Test hardening: replace direct cuDF .to_pandas().to_dict() conversions in GFQL lowering tests #1439 cuDF .to_pandas().to_dict() test-hardening via Harden cuDF to_pandas to_dict lowering tests #1444.
• GFQL row-pipeline: anonymous-source MATCH projects boolean reachability, not bound node/edge — blocks tck-gfql with-skip-limit{1-2,2-4} #1438 closed as not-a-pygraphistry runtime bug; harness-side tracking moved to [META] tck-gfql harness gaps: ~120 xfails are harness-side, not pygraphistry (evidence-based re-audit) tck-gfql#108.

Direct-Cypher Residual Cleanup (#1353)

Fresh #1353 snapshot after graphistry/tck-gfql#125, against pygraphistry 592e34a6 + tck-gfql 0fbaa42e:

• tracked non-validation debt: 1
• success_matches_expected: 1 (match5-8 bookkeeping)
• success_wrong_rows: 0
• unexpected_success_expected_error: 0
• additional fastfail drift: with5-2 now returns expected rows while its direct-Cypher xfail contract still expects GFQLValidationError

Completed:

• [META-split] Direct-Cypher wrong-rows tranche A: comparator + ORDER BY semantics #1405, [META-split] Direct-Cypher wrong-rows tranche B: temporal comparison/canonicalization #1406, [META-split] Direct-Cypher wrong-rows tranche C: tri-valued list/map/null semantics #1407, [META-split] Direct-Cypher wrong-rows tranche D: string/type-conversion cleanup #1429, GFQL/Cypher: temporal wrong-row follow-up (11 remaining, #1353 item #2) #1374, Tranche: Comparison/list/null wrong-row semantics (14 cases) under #1353 #1367, Tranche: mixed wrong-row tail cleanup under #1353 #1369, Tranche: Literals/string/type-conversion wrong-row semantics under #1353 #1368, Direct-Cypher residual: pattern predicate wrong rows under #1369 #1449, Direct-Cypher residual: string list-index expected-error drift under #1369 #1450, GFQL/Cypher: audit and broaden cuDF coverage for temporal comparisons #1446
• Direct-Cypher residual: reconcile return2-9 map row cardinality tck-gfql#113 via demos(csv upload miniapp): icij medical implant files #121
• Direct-Cypher residual: reconcile match5-25/26 fixture or contract tck-gfql#114 via docs(v1 of zeek hunting masterclass) #124
• Direct-Cypher residual: reconcile with2-1 setup/join contract tck-gfql#115 via docs(finale corelight notebook) #125

Remaining support only:

• Direct-Cypher promotion bookkeeping for match5-8 and with5-2 tck-gfql#129 — final promotion/accounting sidecar for match5-8 + with5-2

GFQL Deletion Wave (#1419)

• [META] GFQL deletion wave: remove 2K+ LOC of obsolete compatibility paths #1419 — deletion wave closed as revised/de-scoped after final D8 D8 final GFQL compat-executor reachability audit and deletion/shrink decision #1466 / PR GFQL compat-executor reachability shrink #1467.
  • [DEL] D1 remove obsolete row-join fallback branches after #880 post-rerun fixes #1418 D1 row-join fallback deletion via [codex] Remove connected-match row-join compat fallback #1431 + Remove connected optional compat fallback #1435
  • [DEL] D2 remove pre-strict binder compatibility guards after #1357 #1420 D2 pre-strict binder guard deletion via Remove pre-strict Cypher binder guards #1432
  • [DEL] D3 remove stale reentry failfast scaffolding #1421 D3 reentry failfast scaffolding deletion via [codex] Remove stale reentry failfast scaffolding #1433
  • D4 prep: native physical dispatch coverage needed to retire GFQL compat executor #1441 D4 native physical-dispatch enabler via Add native physical dispatch for planned GFQL routes #1448
  • GFQL deprecated validation API removal policy and release gate #1440 deprecated validation API removal policy gate: removal not approved for this wave
  • D5 prep: inventory remaining compat executor fallbacks and CALL route decision #1455 D5 CALL route decision via Route Cypher CALL through physical dispatch #1458
  • D6 deletion prep: native route for simple top-level OPTIONAL MATCH fallback #1460 D6 simple top-level OPTIONAL MATCH native route via Route simple OPTIONAL MATCH through native physical dispatch #1463
  • D7 deletion prep: native route for OPTIONAL MATCH reentry fallback #1461 D7 optional reentry native route via Route optional reentry through native planning #1462
  • D8 final GFQL compat-executor reachability audit and deletion/shrink decision #1466 D8 final compat-executor reachability audit and deletion/shrink decision via GFQL compat-executor reachability shrink #1467

Post-#1419 concrete deletion follow-up:

• GFQL deletion: remove Cypher reentry compiletime lowering-symbol shim #1471 reentry compiletime lowering-symbol shim deletion via Remove Cypher reentry compiletime lowering shim #1474.

Final #1419 receipt:

• PR GFQL compat-executor reachability shrink #1467 removed _execute_compiled_query_compat_non_union() after D1-D7 eliminated the known generic compat-executor blockers.
• The observed residual WITH/RETURN DISTINCT defer now plans natively through logical Distinct.
• Final D8 LOC receipt: GFQL source net -24; full PR net -24.
• Decision: the original >=2K LOC target is revised/de-scoped. Do not assign more workers to [META] GFQL deletion wave: remove 2K+ LOC of obsolete compatibility paths #1419 solely to chase the original LOC number.

Dispatch Guidance

Priority pygraphistry lanes

• feat(gfql): add public declarative schema model #1457/GFQL type system follow-on A: public declarative schema model + stable exports #1337: existing active PR in /home/lmeyerov/Work/pygraphistry5; review/merge only, do not duplicate.

Typed schema stack

• GFQL type system follow-on B: schema inference API + typed topology extraction #1338 -> GFQL type system follow-on C: public schema-Arrow APIs + plottable boundary enforcement #1339 -> GFQL remote: send bound typed GraphSchema with gfql_remote requests #1465 -> GFQL schema tutorial: infer, refine, bind, and validate Cypher #1464 after feat(gfql): add public declarative schema model #1457 lands or as an explicitly stacked branch.

Support sidecars

• Direct-Cypher promotion bookkeeping for match5-8 and with5-2 tck-gfql#129 for match5-8/with5-2 promotion bookkeeping only.

Do not assign

• Tranche: Literals/string/type-conversion wrong-row semantics under #1353 #1368, Direct-Cypher residual: pattern predicate wrong rows under #1369 #1449, Direct-Cypher residual: string list-index expected-error drift under #1369 #1450, D4 prep: native physical dispatch coverage needed to retire GFQL compat executor #1441, GFQL deprecated validation API removal policy and release gate #1440, Test hardening: replace direct cuDF .to_pandas().to_dict() conversions in GFQL lowering tests #1439, GFQL row-pipeline: anonymous-source MATCH projects boolean reachability, not bound node/edge — blocks tck-gfql with-skip-limit{1-2,2-4} #1438, GFQL/Cypher: temporal wrong-row follow-up (11 remaining, #1353 item #2) #1374, Tranche: mixed wrong-row tail cleanup under #1353 #1369, Tranche: Comparison/list/null wrong-row semantics (14 cases) under #1353 #1367, Compiler policy MVP: expose one structured Cypher compile/projection summary hook #1454, D5 prep: inventory remaining compat executor fallbacks and CALL route decision #1455, D6 deletion prep: native route for simple top-level OPTIONAL MATCH fallback #1460, D7 deletion prep: native route for OPTIONAL MATCH reentry fallback #1461, D8 final GFQL compat-executor reachability audit and deletion/shrink decision #1466, GFQL deletion: remove Cypher reentry compiletime lowering-symbol shim #1471: closed.
• [META] GFQL deletion wave: remove 2K+ LOC of obsolete compatibility paths #1419: closed/revised; open a new concrete deletion issue if a new reachable surface appears.
• Direct-Cypher residual: reconcile return2-9 map row cardinality tck-gfql#113/demos(csv upload miniapp): icij medical implant files #121, Aggregate security logs with cudf and pandas for graphing #114/docs(v1 of zeek hunting masterclass) #124, and Avoid setting variables in %%time blocks, and fix link at end #115/docs(finale corelight notebook) #125: merged/closed.
• [DEL] D1 remove obsolete row-join fallback branches after #880 post-rerun fixes #1418/[DEL] D2 remove pre-strict binder compatibility guards after #1357 #1420/[DEL] D3 remove stale reentry failfast scaffolding #1421 child deletion slices: closed.
• GFQL policy: add compiler semantic hooks for parse/bind/projection/aggregate summaries #1453 parent: design tracker only.

[lmeyerov]

New measured benchmark state from pyg-bench as of March 31, 2026:

• official SNB query floor measured: 7 (interactive-short-1/2/3/4/5/6 + interactive-complex-2)
• GFQL: ok=2, supported_with_workaround=5
• Cypher: ok=3, blocked=3, semantic_mismatch=1

New issue from that floor:

• #994 direct Cypher undirected peer binding mismatch on incoming edges
  • blocks interactive-short-3 correctness even though the query now executes

Current local next queue from the translation analyzer:

1. interactive-complex-8
2. interactive-short-7
3. interactive-complex-13
4. interactive-complex-4

[lmeyerov]

Priority recommendation from the current measured SNB benchmark floor (8 official queries measured on March 31, 2026):

Coverage unlock order:

1. #981 + #880 together
   • biggest unlock by far: each touches 13 official SNB queries
   • current measured manifestations include:
     • interactive-complex-2 blocked on direct Cypher multi-binding projection
     • interactive-complex-8 semantic corruption on direct Cypher row lowering
     • multiple GFQL paths still relying on local join workarounds instead of direct row materialization
2. #973
   • next official-query unlock for connected varlen patterns
   • currently blocks the official interactive-short-2 / interactive-short-6 family
3. #982
   • narrower than the row-binding work, but still needed to remove the current direct GFQL edge-projection workaround on interactive-short-3

Run in parallel as a correctness fix:

• #994
  • narrower query impact than the three unlocks above, but it is a wrong-answer bug in a query shape that already executes
  • current measured manifestation: interactive-short-3 returns the seed node as the peer alias on incoming undirected KNOWS edges

So the benchmark recommendation is:

• main unlock track: #981/#880 -> #973 -> #982
• correctness fast-path: #994 in parallel

[lmeyerov]

New measured benchmark state from pyg-bench as of March 31, 2026 after adding interactive-short-7:

• official SNB query floor measured: 9
  • interactive-short-1/2/3/4/5/6/7
  • interactive-complex-2/8
• GFQL: ok=2, supported_with_workaround=7
• Cypher: ok=3, blocked=4, semantic_mismatch=2

Important change: interactive-short-7 is the first measured query that clearly opens a new post-row-shaping feature lane.

Measured result:

• GFQL: workaround-backed partial
• direct Cypher: primitive_gap via new issue #996
  • MATCH ... OPTIONAL MATCH ... RETURN CASE ...
  • current error: Only node-only pre-binding MATCH clauses are supported before the final connected MATCH in this phase

Updated benchmark priority recommendation:

1. #981 + #880
2. #973
3. #982
4. #996 as the first clearly new feature-lowering lane beyond row shaping
5. #994 in parallel as the narrower wrong-answer bug

Current next translation queue:

1. interactive-complex-13
2. interactive-complex-4
3. interactive-complex-7
4. interactive-complex-11

[lmeyerov]

Updated benchmark coverage status from pyg-bench on March 31, 2026 using explicit pygraphistry master snapshot 7095102df:

• SNB Interactive official query texts inventoried: 29
• Measured today: 12
• Current measured floor: interactive-short-1/2/3/4/5/6/7 plus interactive-complex-2/4/8/11/13
• Dataset-backed GFQL status on the measured floor: ok=2, supported_with_workaround=10
• Dataset-backed Cypher status on the measured floor: ok=3, blocked=7, semantic_mismatch=2

Newly added measured queries in this pass:

• interactive-complex-4 / new-topics: GFQL workaround passes; direct Cypher blocked by #981
• interactive-complex-11 / job-referral: GFQL workaround passes; direct Cypher blocked by #981

Updated next translation queue from the analyzer:

1. interactive-complex-3
2. interactive-complex-7
3. interactive-complex-5
4. interactive-complex-1
5. interactive-complex-10

Priority order still holds: #981/#880, then #973, then #982, with #996, #997, and #994 as the next measured side lanes.

[lmeyerov]

Updated measured benchmark state from pyg-bench on March 31, 2026 after adding interactive-complex-3 and reproducing the expanded floor on dgx-spark CPU:

• SNB Interactive official query texts inventoried: 29
• measured today: 14
• current measured floor:
  • interactive-short-1/2/3/4/5/6/7
  • interactive-complex-2/3/4/7/8/11/13
• dataset-backed GFQL status on the measured floor: ok=2, supported_with_workaround=12
• dataset-backed Cypher status on the measured floor: ok=3, blocked=9, semantic_mismatch=2
• latest remote reproduction: dgx-spark CPU run snb-interactive-358480dd77
  • status mix: ok=5, partial=12, planner_gap=3, primitive_gap=4, result_mismatch=2, parser_gap=2

New measured query in this pass:

• interactive-complex-3 / cross-country-messages
  • GFQL: workaround-backed partial
  • direct Cypher: new issue #999
    • multi-stage MATCH ... WITH ... MATCH ... WITH ... MATCH read-query reentry
    • current error: Cypher WITH after post-WITH MATCH is not yet supported in the current GFQL Cypher compiler

Updated benchmark unlock order from the current floor:

1. #981 + #880
2. #999
3. #973
4. #982
5. #996
6. #997
7. #998
8. #994 in parallel as the narrower wrong-answer fix

Updated next translation queue from the analyzer:

1. interactive-complex-1
2. interactive-complex-10
3. interactive-complex-12
4. interactive-complex-5
5. interactive-complex-9
6. interactive-complex-6

[lmeyerov]

Benchmark update from pyg-bench on 2026-03-31:

• Measured SNB Interactive floor is now 15/29 official queries.
• Latest remote artifact on dgx-spark CPU: results/runs/dgx-spark-snb-interactive-master-7095102df-v11/
• Current remote status mix on the 15-query floor: ok=5, partial=13, planner_gap=3, primitive_gap=5, result_mismatch=2, parser_gap=2.

New measured blocker from interactive-complex-9 (Recent messages by friends or friends of friends):

• direct Cypher is blocked by WITH collect(...) -> UNWIND -> MATCH continuation after graph aliases are introduced
• tracked separately in #1000
• GFQL still covers the query via a 1..2-hop friend plus local message-join workaround under #880

The current measured unlock order is now:

1. #981 + #880
2. #1000 + #999
3. #973
4. #982
5. #996 / #997 / #998
6. #994

[lmeyerov]

Another benchmark update from pyg-bench on 2026-03-31:

• Measured SNB Interactive floor is now 16/29 official queries.
• Latest remote artifact on dgx-spark CPU: results/runs/dgx-spark-snb-interactive-master-7095102df-v12/
• Current remote status mix on the 16-query floor: ok=5, partial=14, planner_gap=3, primitive_gap=5, result_mismatch=2, parser_gap=3.

New measured query added:

• interactive-complex-6 (Tag co-occurrence)
  • GFQL: partial via 1..2-hop friend plus local tag co-occurrence aggregation workaround under #880
  • Cypher: parser_gap under #1000

Analyzer state after adding complex-6 and complex-9:

• #1000 now affects 6 official queries with 2 already measured
• next lowest-novelty queue is now interactive-complex-12, interactive-complex-5, interactive-complex-1, interactive-complex-10

[lmeyerov]

Benchmark update from pyg-bench on 2026-03-31:

• Measured SNB Interactive floor is now 17/29 official queries.
• Latest remote artifact on dgx-spark CPU: results/runs/dgx-spark-snb-interactive-master-7095102df-v13/
• Current remote status mix on the 17-query floor: ok=5, partial=15, planner_gap=3, primitive_gap=5, result_mismatch=2, parser_gap=4.

New measured query added:

• interactive-complex-12 (Expert search)
  • GFQL: partial via direct-friend plus local tag-class-expanded reply aggregation workaround under #880
  • Cypher: parser_gap under #983

Important correction:

• #984 improved the earlier REPLY_OF*0.. manifestation, but #983 remains active for relationship-alternation zero-hop forms such as [:HAS_TYPE|IS_SUBCLASS_OF*0..].

Next queue from the analyzer is now:

• interactive-complex-5
• interactive-complex-1
• interactive-complex-10
• interactive-complex-14

[lmeyerov]

Benchmark coverage update from pyg-bench on March 31, 2026:

• official SNB Interactive query inventory: 29
• measured floor: 18
• backend status on the measured floor:
  • GFQL: ok=2, supported_with_workaround=16
  • direct Cypher: ok=3, blocked=13, semantic_mismatch=2
• latest remote conformance artifact: dgx-spark-snb-interactive-master-7095102df-v14
  • status mix: ok=5, partial=16, planner_gap=3, primitive_gap=6, result_mismatch=2, parser_gap=4

New measured query this pass:

• interactive-complex-5 / new-groups
  • GFQL: partial via friend-membership + forum-post-count workaround
  • direct Cypher: blocked by existing #999 lane, no new issue family needed

Current read-side next queue from the translation analyzer:

1. interactive-complex-1
2. interactive-complex-10
3. interactive-complex-14

[lmeyerov]

Benchmark coverage update from pyg-bench on March 31, 2026:

• official SNB Interactive query inventory: 29
• measured floor: 19
• backend status on the measured floor:
  • GFQL: ok=2, supported_with_workaround=17
  • direct Cypher: ok=3, blocked=14, semantic_mismatch=2
• latest remote conformance artifact: dgx-spark-snb-interactive-master-7095102df-v15
  • status mix: ok=5, partial=17, planner_gap=3, primitive_gap=6, result_mismatch=2, parser_gap=5

New measured query this pass:

• interactive-complex-1 / named-shortest-friends
  • GFQL: partial via bounded-shortest-path + profile-history join workaround
  • direct Cypher: blocked by confirmed #997 shortestPath(...) parser/front-end lane

Current read-side next queue from the translation analyzer:

1. interactive-complex-10
2. interactive-complex-14

[lmeyerov]

Benchmark status update from pyg-bench after rerunning the measured #1000 lane against isolated ambient graphistry v0.53.11.

Artifact:

• results/runs/local-snb-interactive-v05311-rerun/

Outcome split:

• interactive-complex-9 / recent-network-messages now clears the old WITH collect(distinct friend) -> UNWIND -> MATCH blocker and fails later at #981
• interactive-complex-6 / tag-cooccurrence still reproduces #1000, but on a narrower carried-scalar shape:
  • WITH knownTagId, collect(distinct friend) AS friends
  • UNWIND friends AS f
  • MATCH ...

Practical priority implication for benchmark coverage:

1. #981/#880 stay the main unlocks
2. #999 remains the broader MATCH/WITH/MATCH continuation family
3. #1000 is now a narrower residual benchmark blocker, not a blanket blocker for every measured WITH -> UNWIND -> MATCH query

[lmeyerov]

Benchmark-driven priority update from pyg-bench as of 2026-03-31.

Measured state:

• DGX CPU sf1 core slice is still badly behind current baselines:
  • PyGraphistry GFQL: 13037.569 ms
  • PyGraphistry Cypher: 6081.106 ms
  • Kuzu: 38.894 ms
  • Neo4j: 342.673 ms
• DGX GPU now has a completed SNB-shaped subset, but it is still conformance-limited:
  • single-query GFQL seed-lookup: 221.807 ms
  • core 3-query GFQL total: 612.941 ms
  • core 3-query Cypher total: 565.969 ms
  • still not apples-to-apples because one-hop-expand mismatches and expand-order-limit still lands on #973

What the language/runtime team should prioritize first:

1. #880 + #981
   • not just for coverage; the current benchmark path is forced into multi-pass local row joins and that is killing both correctness and performance.
2. #994
   • wrong-answer bug on interactive-short-3 / one-hop-expand; until this is fixed, the core comparison slice is semantically dirty.
3. #973
   • still blocks official interactive-short-2 / expand-order-limit on the direct Cypher path.
4. #982
   • still forces the GFQL side into the edge-row workaround path for interactive-short-3.

Important nuance: not all current slowness is a PyGraphistry issue.

• pyg-bench is still doing too much CPU-side fixture prep before queries.
• We fixed one harness bug where narrow GPU runs still instantiated unrelated probe specs.
• The remaining big bench-side task is reducing CPU-heavy fixture prep and keeping GPU slices narrow until semantics are clean.

So the short version is:

• for PyGraphistry, prioritize #880/#981, then #994, then #973, then #982
• for pyg-bench, we will keep reducing adapter/harness overhead so runtime numbers are less polluted by bench-side workarounds

[lmeyerov]

Warmup-aware DGX sf1 core slice update from pyg-bench.

Methodology:

• load/setup split from query timing
• untimed warmup rounds = 1
• PyGraphistry rows remain official-query-grounded custom adapter
• Kuzu and Neo4j rows remain custom reduced baseline

Current steady-state query-only numbers on the reduced 3-intent slice:

• PyGraphistry CPU: 9350.831 ms
  • direct query: 2252.492 ms
  • result materialization: 0.193 ms
  • adapter overhead: 7098.146 ms
• PyGraphistry GPU: 530.804 ms
  • direct query: 178.301 ms
  • result materialization: 4.293 ms
  • adapter overhead: 348.209 ms
• Kuzu CPU: 32.996 ms
• Neo4j CPU: 41.937 ms

Important read:

• GPU is materially better than PyGraphistry CPU on this slice.
• The current PyGraphistry timed path is still dominated by workaround cost, not direct engine execution.
• On the current 3-intent slice, the only direct GFQL timing contribution is still the reduced expand-order-limit lane.
• The core blockers are still product-side: #880, #981, #982, plus correctness gap #994. The benchmark harness is cleaner now, so the remaining gap is harder to dismiss as measurement noise.

Latest artifacts in pyg-bench:

• CPU: results/runs/dgx-spark-snb-interactive-core-sf1-timing-v5/
• GPU: results/runs/dgx-spark-snb-interactive-core-sf1-gpu-timing-v9/
• Kuzu: results/runs/dgx-spark-kuzu-snb-conformance-sf1-timing-v4/
• Neo4j: results/runs/dgx-spark-neo4j-snb-conformance-sf1-timing-v4/

[lmeyerov]

Update: v0.53.15 shipped (#994, #997, #998)

PR #1009 merged and tagged v0.53.15.

Resolved

• Cypher undirected MATCH can bind the seed node as the peer alias on incoming edges #994 (correctness): Undirected MATCH wrong-answer fix — orient_edges now correctly doubles undirected edges in both directions for connected bindings.
• Cypher parser rejects shortestPath((a)-[:REL*]-(b)) official shortest-path syntax #997 (parser): shortestPath() / allShortestPaths() now parse and fail-fast with clear validation error. Execution tracked in feat(cypher): implement shortestPath execution with igraph/cugraph backends #1010.
• Cypher parser rejects boolean pattern existence expressions in RETURN #998 (parser): Pattern existence expressions (not((a)-[:R]-(b)), exists { ... }) now detected and fail-fast with clear validation error.

Test coverage added

• 14 new tests including undirected edge cases (incoming, outgoing, bidirectional, multi-edge, star, self-loop), shortestPath/allShortestPaths fail-fast, pattern existence fail-fast (RETURN + WHERE), and historic regression for parameterized LIMIT in reentry.
• GPU validated on dgx-spark (pandas + cudf).

Impact on measured floor

• interactive-short-3 (Cypher undirected MATCH can bind the seed node as the peer alias on incoming edges #994) should now return correct rows on direct Cypher path
• interactive-complex-13 (Cypher parser rejects shortestPath((a)-[:REL*]-(b)) official shortest-path syntax #997) now fails with clear message instead of generic syntax error
• interactive-complex-7 (Cypher parser rejects boolean pattern existence expressions in RETURN #998) now fails with clear message instead of generic syntax error

Remaining top blockers (unchanged)

1. Direct Cypher row lowering rejects scalar multi-alias projections from a single MATCH #981/[FEA] GFQL bindings_table (row bindings) from chain using Yannakakis prune #880 — multi-binding row materialization (13 queries)
2. Cypher multihop: expand direct variable-length support beyond endpoint-only patterns #973 — connected-pattern variable-length lowering (4 queries) — partially addressed by feat(cypher): support variable-length rels in connected patterns (#973) #995
3. AST row select cannot reference edge alias properties after traversal #982 — native AST edge alias projection (5 queries)
4. feat(cypher): implement shortestPath execution with igraph/cugraph backends #1010 — shortestPath execution (blocked by feat(cypher): support comma-separated MATCH patterns (cartesian product) #990 path variable support)

[lmeyerov]

Update: re-measurement needed after v0.53.13–v0.53.15

Since the last measured floor (March 31), several features shipped that likely change the benchmark status:

Version	PR	What shipped
v0.53.13	#1008	Connected multi-alias row bindings, WITH...MATCH reentry
v0.53.14	#1013	Multi-stage WITH...MATCH...WITH...MATCH...RETURN reentry
v0.53.15	#1009	Undirected MATCH correctness fix (#994), shortestPath/pattern-existence fail-fast (#997/#998)

Queries that may have graduated

The measured floor had GFQL/Cypher: ok=2, blocked=4 across IS1–IS6. With the above features:

• IS3: Should now return correct rows (was wrong-answer due to Cypher undirected MATCH can bind the seed node as the peer alias on incoming edges #994, now fixed)
• IS1, IS4, IS5, IS6: Multi-alias scalar projection (Direct Cypher row lowering rejects scalar multi-alias projections from a single MATCH #981) and multi-stage reentry (Cypher/GFQL rejects multi-stage MATCH ... WITH ... MATCH ... WITH ... MATCH read queries #999) both shipped — these were the stated blockers for these queries. Need re-measurement to confirm.
• IS2: Connected varlen (feat(cypher): support variable-length rels in connected patterns (#973) #995) shipped — may now work depending on exact query shape

Queries still known-blocked

Query	Blocker	Issue	Status
IS7	OPTIONAL MATCH + CASE	#996	Not started
Q7	Pattern existence execution	needs issue	Not started
Q13	shortestPath execution	#1010 → #990	Blocked on path variables

Recommended unlock order after re-measurement

1. Cypher/GFQL cannot lower MATCH + OPTIONAL MATCH reply-author flag queries after a connected MATCH #996 (OPTIONAL MATCH) — unlocks IS7, first new query beyond IS1–IS6
2. Cypher multihop: expand direct variable-length support beyond endpoint-only patterns #973 (remaining varlen gaps) — may unlock additional complex queries
3. feat(cypher): implement shortestPath execution with igraph/cugraph backends #1010/feat(cypher): support comma-separated MATCH patterns (cartesian product) #990 (shortestPath/path variables) — unlocks Q13

Action needed

Benchmarking team: please re-run IS1–IS6 on v0.53.15 and update the measured floor. Several queries that were blocked may now be ok. This will clarify where to focus next.