Version 2 of the graph database Infinite Graph is now available, and there’s a competition for developers to win up to $12,000 worth of Apple kit.

Infinite Graph is a distributed graph database that lets you work with your data in terms of objects and relationships shown graphically as nodes and connections. The idea is that you can use the database to build apps that deal with non-traditional database requirements such as being able to show how data elements are connected or how closely they’re connected.

Version 2.0 of Infinite Graph includes an improved visualization tool that makes it easier to show the structure of your data as a graph with connected nodes. The improvements let the data owner concentrate on the paths between the nodes rather than the nodes themselves. For example, if you were using the database to show a network with devices and routes between them, you might want to see the best route to take if you have to reroute data in the case of a switch failing.

According to the Infinite Graph blog announcement, applications that have already used this tool include: real-time and location-aware web and mobile advertising platforms; military operations such as planning and mission assurance; and advanced healthcare and patient records management.

The developer contest to mark the new release is only running until the end of September, and has a wide remit. You can enter with any type of software application, web or mobile service around social, game and/or location-based networks. Applications may include process or knowledge management, or anything else which seeks to find and make use of complex relationships between objects such as people, points on a map or topics of interest.

The prizes are $12,000 in Apple computer and entertainment products including a Mac Pro Quad-Core, Apple Thunderbolt Display, Mac mini, 15-inch MacBook Pro, 11-inch MacBook Air, AppleTV, iPad (64 Gig, WiFi), AirPlay, assorted iPod Nanos and Shuffles.

Contest participants must register at http://www.infinitegraph.com/contest/win-apple-stuff and download InfiniteGraph (free of charge) and then submit their presentations and code before Friday, September 30, 2011.

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