August 2020 Summaries

In this post, Michael Goddard explores full text indexing and search using CockroachDB. He begins by discussing the motivation behind his experiment and then presents an initial solution for implementing a text search feature with CockroachDB. The solution involves creating two tables, indexing certain columns within these tables, and running SQL queries to find rows containing specific terms. Goddard also discusses limitations of this simplistic approach, such as the absence of ranking mechanisms and phrase queries. He concludes by highlighting the benefits of using Elasticsearch or Solr for text search and expressing his interest in further experimentation with CockroachDB's capabilities.

Cockroach Labs has introduced an internal mobility program called "Roachermobile" that provides opportunities for employees to grow their careers within the company but outside of their current team. The program aims to retain top-performing employees by offering alternative avenues for growth and development, as well as helping companies diversify their workforce. Employees who perform well in their roles for at least one year can apply for open positions through an internal job board and must complete a full interview process to ensure fairness.

CockroachDB has introduced the ability to alter primary keys while in production without downtime. This feature allows developers to change the type of a column (alter column type) without taking tables offline, making it easier to manage database schema changes and evolving requirements. The implementation closely follows a manual process but automates the steps involved. Challenges faced during this implementation include handling two-version invariant object descriptors for reading and writing data. Currently, alter column type only works on columns that are not indexed or constrained, with plans to support more complex schema changes in the future.

Cockroach Labs has adapted its policies and processes to support remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded on the principle of establishing balance and flexibility, the company has invested in resources for effective remote work, asynchronous communication, and relocation throughout employees' careers. The company conducts workshops and lunch-and-learn sessions, provides individual coaching, and encourages knowledge sharing about remote working best practices. It also offers technology support, including a stipend for home office setup and reimbursement of internet costs. Cockroach Labs has moved all social hours and team-wide meetings online and continues to hire with fully remote interviewing processes. The company is committed to delivering on its core values and putting people first during these challenging times.

CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database that supports Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) API. It has recently added tutorials for Spring Data JDBC, Spring Data JPA, and MyBatis to help developers implement applications on top of the Java programming language. These tutorials cover different data access patterns depending on the needs of the application. CockroachDB is compatible with Postgres wire, making it easy to use with these frameworks.

The future of global applications is set to undergo a significant transformation due to the combined impact of improved public clouds and the rollout of 5G. These advancements will unlock unprecedented levels of latency, previously only available to Fortune 500 companies, leading to users expecting these low latencies in their application experiences. The 100 Millisecond Rule, which states that a delay beyond 100 milliseconds is perceptible to humans and can affect the user experience negatively, will become more relevant as global applications strive to deliver local experiences to a worldwide audience. The advent of 5G technology represents a historic leap in network latency, enabling developers to create nearly real-time experiences for users. This new generation of applications is not limited to large companies with significant resources; smaller teams and individual developers can also leverage managed service software and infrastructure-as-a-service to develop innovative applications that cater to the growing demand for low-latency technologies. The combination of 5G, improved public clouds, and managed service software will enable a new era in application development, allowing previously unthinkable applications to be developed by small teams and individual developers. This shift is set to make our world more distributed than ever before, with the impending changes to application development ensuring that we are ready to meet this reality.