neo4j - how to insert a node in a middle of a linked list in cypher

Question

I am using linked list pattern in cypher to represent some data.

(node1)-[:NEXT]->(node2)-[:NEXT]->(node3)

the question is how can I insert newNode between the linked list nodes. so that I get

(node1)-[:NEXT]->(newNode)-[:NEXT]->(node2)-[:NEXT]->(node3) for example.

there are some corner cases where the newNode can be at the end of the list or the beginning and the solution needs to account for them.

is there an elegant end easy way to do it without multiple apoc.do.when calls?

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/65865919/how-to-insert-a-node-in-a-middle-of-a-linked-list-in-cypher

Answer 1

All you need to do is plumb in the new node, and then remove the old relationships, something like... (I'm assuming some properties here)

MATCH (n1:Node {name:'node1'})-[r:NEXT]->(n2)
CREATE (n1)-[:NEXT]->(:Node {name: 'new Node'})-[:NEXT]->(n2)
DELETE r