# ProvGen: generating synthetic PROV graphs with predictable structure

**Authors:** Hugo Firth, Paolo Missier  
**arXiv:** [1406.2495](https://arxiv.org/abs/1406.2495)  
**Date:** 2014-06-10  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1406.2495v1/

## Key points

- Hugo Firth and Paolo Missier introduce provGen, a generator for synthetic provenance graphs
- Synthetic provenance graphs serve two primary purposes: testing storage and query capabilities of provenance management systems at scale, and experimenting with graph algorithms for provenance analytics
- provGen generates PROV (PROvenance) graphs and stores them in Neo4J
- Users can control the relationship makeup and topological features of the graph by providing a seed pattern along with constraints expressed using a custom Domain Specific Language (DSL)
- The authors propose a method for evaluating the quality of generated graphs by measuring how realistically they simulate real-world patterns
- Existing approaches to generating synthetic provenance graphs have limitations, but provGen enables users to generate large-scale synthetic provenance graphs with predictable properties while also giving them control over topology.
- Overall, this paper presents an innovative approach to generating synthetic provenance graphs that offers researchers new opportunities for exploring complex relationships within data sets.

## Summary

In their paper titled "ProvGen: generating synthetic PROV graphs with predictable structure," Hugo Firth and Paolo Missier introduce provGen, a generator designed to produce large synthetic provenance graphs with predictable properties and of arbitrary size. The authors explain that synthetic provenance graphs serve two primary purposes: firstly, they provide controlled workloads that can be used to test the storage and query capabilities of provenance management systems at scale; secondly, they offer challenging testbeds for experimenting with graph algorithms for provenance analytics, an area of increasing research interest. provGen generates PROV (PROvenance) graphs and stores them in a graph database management system called Neo4J. A key feature of provGen is its ability to allow users to control the relationship makeup and topological features of the graph by providing a seed provenance pattern along with a set of constraints expressed using a custom Domain Specific Language (DSL). The authors also propose a simple method for evaluating the quality of the generated graphs by measuring how realistically they simulate the structure of real-world patterns. The authors note that existing approaches to generating synthetic provenance graphs have limitations such as being unable to generate large-scale graphs or not allowing users to control the graph's topology. In contrast, provGen addresses these limitations by enabling users to generate large-scale synthetic provenance graphs with predictable properties while also giving them control over the graph's topology. Overall, this paper presents an innovative approach to generating synthetic provenance graphs that can be used for testing storage and query capabilities as well as experimenting with graph algorithms for provenance analytics. By providing users with greater control over the generation process, provGen offers researchers new opportunities for exploring complex relationships within data sets.