atan
Generic Description
Computes arctangent and returns an angle in radians. It is documented separately because numeric transforms change ranking, thresholds, and buckets in ways planner tools must not guess.
Simple example:
RETURN atan(1.0) AS value
Consumer-Level Explanation
Use it when a ratio needs to become an angle-like feature. Prefer this function when the transformation is a deliberate part of the model or report, and name the derived value in a WITH stage when it will be reused.
More Detailed Explanation
atan is scalar math, so it is evaluated per row after graph patterns, procedure output, or map projections have produced values. Keep it close to the query when thresholds, ranking, and derived fields need to be auditable and reproducible.
Advanced Example
This example applies atan to a named score component after matching graph data, making the derived metric reviewable before ordering.
WITH [0.25, 0.5, 1.0] AS slopes
UNWIND slopes AS slope
RETURN slope, atan(slope) AS angle_radians
Real Use Cases
- distance-from-target scoring
- numeric bucketing and normalization before
ORDER BYor aggregation - making scoring formulas visible to query review and assistant tooling
Real Limitations And Tradeoffs
- invalid numeric inputs produce null-like results rather than a repaired value
- math functions do not fix poor feature scaling; choose transformations intentionally
- nondeterministic functions such as random sampling are not appropriate for persisted decisions