June 2017 Summaries

Couchbase has improved its documentation process to make contributing more accessible and efficient. Previously, contributors faced challenges such as identifying the correct files to edit and dealing with a cumbersome build process. Now, each documentation page includes an “Edit on GitHub” link, which simplifies the process of making changes by directing users to GitHub, where they can edit files directly after creating a fork. The build process is faster, and previews are generated quickly in pull requests, which streamlines content review. Automation improvements, like the @cb-docs-robot, facilitate backporting fixes across different versions of the documentation. The community has responded positively, with several contributors already making significant improvements to the documentation. Feedback from users is also encouraged through a new feature that allows them to provide input directly from their browser. These enhancements aim to make the documentation experience less frustrating and more enjoyable for users and contributors alike.

Ratnopam Chakrabarti, a software developer at Ericsson Inc., specializes in IoT, machine-to-machine technologies, connected cars, and smart city domains, and enjoys learning and applying new technologies. He elaborates on the advantages of using Docker for containerizing applications, specifically a node app and Couchbase, to avoid installing prerequisite software locally. By using a custom Couchbase image and an automation script, Chakrabarti preconfigures a Couchbase instance with necessary services and a bucket named “photogallery,” simplifying setup and avoiding manual configuration. He details the process of building and running Docker images for both Couchbase and a photogallery app, which operates using AWS Rekognition and demonstrates the ease of running these applications without local installations. The post is part of the Couchbase Community Writing Program and references helpful resources for working with Docker and Node.js.

Communication between Couchbase Lite and Sync Gateway is secured using SSL/TLS, relying on a Public Key Infrastructure with X.509 certificates to establish the server's identity, which may be compromised or self-signed, posing potential security threats. To address these issues, Couchbase Lite supports certificate pinning, a technique that allows applications to verify a server's identity using a pre-configured certificate, mitigating risks associated with third-party Certificate Authorities and self-signed certificates. Certificate pinning is implemented by bundling the server's certificate within the client application, removing reliance on external verification. In Couchbase Lite version 1.4, certificate pinning is available for iOS, with plans for broader platform support in the upcoming 2.0 release. Developers are advised to update applications with new certificates upon expiration, as updates may require additional steps such as App Store reviews. The post provides guidance on implementing certificate pinning in iOS applications and emphasizes the importance of managing certificate lifecycles to maintain secure communication.

Couchbase 5.0 introduces several performance and feature enhancements to its N1QL technology, focusing on improved indexing and query efficiency. Performance improvements include index projection, which reduces resource use by considering only relevant index keys, and the offloading of operations, such as COUNT(DISTINCT), to the indexer instead of the N1QL service, boosting performance. New query capabilities allow LIMIT, ORDER BY, and OFFSET operators to appear in the indexer, enhancing query processing efficiency. In terms of feature enhancements, Couchbase 5.0 simplifies array indexing syntax and relaxes previous restrictions, such as mandatory variable and whole array index key requirements, allowing for more flexible and efficient indexing. Additionally, the release expands the indexing capabilities to include document meta information, such as CAS and expiration properties, enabling more comprehensive querying options. These advancements collectively enhance the performance and scalability of Couchbase Server clusters while providing developers with more robust query capabilities.

Ratnopam Chakrabarti, a software developer at Ericsson Inc., has been working on various IoT and machine-to-machine technologies. He recently focused on the AWS Reckognition API for image analysis. To use this API, he created an S3 bucket with a specific bucket policy that allows all users to store objects into the bucket and fetch objects from it. The API is then used to analyze images and infer labels with confidence scores, which are parsed using JSON and pushed into tags array before being stored in a Couchbase bucket. To run the photogallery node app, he uses environment variables for AWS access keys and S3 bucket name, ensuring that these values are not exposed to the world. This post is part of the Couchbase Community Writing Program.

A developer is looking to use PHP with Couchbase Server as a NoSQL database. They need to install the Couchbase PHP SDK and configure their environment to work with Couchbase. The SDK provides an extension to PHP that enables communication between PHP applications and Couchbase databases. To use the SDK, they must obtain the necessary dependencies and add the Couchbase extension to their php.ini file. Once installed, they can perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on data stored in Couchbase using PHP. The developer can also create indexes on specific fields of documents to enable querying by those fields. Additionally, they can use N1QL, a SQL-like query language for NoSQL databases, to perform more complex queries on their data. By following these steps and examples, the developer can effectively integrate Couchbase into their PHP application.

To display image metadata in a web application, developers can store and retrieve data from a Couchbase bucket using HTML, jQuery on the client-side, and Node.js components running on the server-side. The app allows users to "like" images by clicking an anchor element, which triggers an Ajax call to update the like count in the database. Additionally, the app enables listing images by a particular tagname by passing the tagname when the anchor is clicked and using it to filter out images from the database. The Couchbase Query Workbench can be used to troubleshoot issues during npm-install, such as resolving errors related to Python executable not found.

This summary provides an overview of deploying a PHP application that communicates with a Couchbase NoSQL container using Docker and Docker Compose. The project structure includes two containers: one for the PHP application and another for the Couchbase server, each with its own Dockerfile and configuration files. The PHP application uses environment variables to connect to the Couchbase cluster, while the Couchbase server is automatically provisioned using a script in the Dockerfile. The docker-compose.yml file defines the services and their dependencies, including port mappings and environment variables. The containers are deployed using the `docker-compose run` command, which builds and deploys each image with the defined ports and configuration.

Iain Cartledge, a software architect at Bango in Cambridge, U.K., has been named the newest Couchbase Community Champion. At Bango, Cartledge works on scaling their payment platform integrated with various global carriers and payment providers, ensuring it can handle increasing demand while advocating for code quality and coherent design. He has a background in C# and C++ and enjoys playing with technologies like golang and Japanese in his spare time. Cartledge and his team chose Couchbase for its performance benefits in accessing live transactional data quickly, and they developed an atomic transaction pattern to update multiple documents safely. He expresses a desire for more streamlined Docker cluster setups and enhanced console features in Couchbase, as well as an online N1QL sandbox for easier learning. His favorite books include works by Asimov and Stephen King, and he particularly enjoys "The Feynman Lectures" for its engaging approach to modern physics.

Appthority published a report highlighting newly discovered vulnerabilities between mobile apps and insecure backend databases containing enterprise data, which is caused by the failure to properly secure backend servers with firewalls and authentication. Couchbase was initially mentioned in the report as having exposed vulnerabilities, but it was later corrected after researchers realized they had mistakenly included CouchDB hosting providers instead of actual Couchbase servers. However, Couchbase has built-in security features such as pluggable authentication, fine-grained policy tools for controlling data access, and encryption to manage decentralized data storage and transport concerns. The company's mobile solution, Couchbase Mobile, resolves these security risks by allowing secure storage, access, synchronization, and security across various devices and platforms.

This past week, a California native attended the Music City Code conference in Nashville, Tennessee, marking their first visit to the city. At the conference, they conducted a workshop titled "Full Stack Development with Node.js, Angular, NativeScript and NoSQL," which focused on the JavaScript stack. Despite the predominance of .NET developers among the attendees, the workshop attracted 96 participants, which the organizers considered a strong turnout. Following the event, the presenter decided to make the workshop materials, including slides, instructions, and project versions, publicly available on GitHub. Additionally, they recommended the Couchbase Developer Portal for those seeking more information on using Couchbase with Node.js.

Ratnopam Chakrabarti, a software developer at Ericsson Inc., explores a photo gallery application in this blog post, focusing on its technical implementation using various technologies like Couchbase, AWS SDK, and Node.js. The application allows users to upload images, which are then tagged using AWS Rekognition, and lets them view and like images uploaded by others. The tech stack incorporates Express for the front end, Couchbase for storing image metadata, and Amazon S3 for image storage. Chakrabarti details the installation and configuration of Couchbase, including creating a bucket and an index, and provides code snippets for saving and retrieving image metadata using the Couchbase database. This post serves as the initial part of a series aimed at instructing readers on the use of Couchbase in the application, highlighting the integration of various modules and dependencies to achieve the desired functionality.

The new Couchbase Server 5.0 Beta brings improved tooling for better query plan visualization, query monitoring, and user experience through the revamped Web Console, as well as enhanced import/export capabilities with cbimport and cbexport tools, allowing developers to write more efficient queries, monitor their queries in action, and easily move data around.

Since joining Couchbase in April, the company has celebrated significant achievements, including key customer wins, recognition as a top data startup, and a 50% year-over-year revenue growth. At the Connect New York conference, which saw record participation, Couchbase introduced the "Engagement Database," a new category designed to enhance customer experiences by focusing on interactions rather than just transactions. This database, built on Couchbase's NoSQL technology, supports dynamic data across all channels and devices, emphasizing the importance of customer experience in competitive markets. Coupled with a rebranding effort and a new website, these developments highlight Couchbase's commitment to innovation and its ongoing momentum in the industry.

The text compares the scalability and ease of setting up clusters between two NoSQL databases: MongoDB and Couchbase. It highlights the complexity of setting up a MongoDB cluster, which involves configuring sharding and replication across multiple nodes using a master-slave architecture, often leading to cumbersome and error-prone processes. In contrast, Couchbase offers a more streamlined approach due to its peer-to-peer design, where all nodes are uniform and inherently provide data, indexing, and query services without requiring specialized configurations. The narrative emphasizes that Couchbase simplifies the scaling process, which is a significant advantage over MongoDB's more intricate setup, making it appealing for users seeking efficient cluster management. Additionally, the author mentions resources for those interested in transitioning from MongoDB to Couchbase and provides insights into further exploring Couchbase's capabilities.

Couchbase Mobile uses a Multi Version Concurrency Control (MVCC) technique to handle conflicts, but retaining all document revisions indefinitely can lead to large database sizes. To manage this, Couchbase Mobile employs techniques such as compaction, pruning, and document expiration. Compaction purges non-leaf revisions, while pruning deletes metadata and/or JSON bodies associated with old non-leaf revisions. Document expiration removes all traces of a document, including its revisions, after a specified time. The choice of configuration values for these techniques, such as revs_limit and maxRevTreeDepth, impacts database size and can lead to undesirable consequences if set too low, such as orphaned leaf nodes or disconnected branches. Applications must carefully manage conflict resolution to prevent bloating of the revision trees and ensure efficient data storage.

A video is available that demonstrates how to use Common.Logging, log4net, and the Couchbase .NET SDK for logging, with the source code accessible on GitHub. Additional resources, including logging documentation, can be found on the developer portal. For further inquiries or feedback, the video's creator, Matthew Groves, can be reached via email, Twitter, or through comments on the video.

Aaron Ullal, a freelance full-stack developer at FactoryMind, provides a tutorial on using Couchbase with NativeScript and TypeScript to manage user data in a mobile app. The guide focuses on installing Couchbase, creating a TypeScript class to simplify data handling, and implementing the singleton design pattern to ensure a single instance interacts with the database. Ullal explains how to set up getters and setters for user data, highlighting Couchbase's document-oriented database structure, which uses key-value pairs for flexibility. The tutorial includes steps to create a NativeScript app, integrate Couchbase, define an abstraction layer, and implement a UI with data binding to facilitate saving and retrieving user information. Ullal also emphasizes the importance of keeping Couchbase's document revisions up-to-date to avoid update rejections. The article is part of the Couchbase Community Writing Program and offers a hands-on approach with available code on GitHub for further exploration.

To identify personally identifiable information (PII) within a database, developers can utilize N1QL's tokenizer function in combination with regex functions and secondary indexes. This allows them to detect patterns such as unencrypted credit card numbers and social security numbers. By using the `TOKENS` function with the `"specials"` flag, developers can preserve the original document content while still identifying PII. Memory-optimized secondary indexes (MOI) can be used to speed up query performance, especially when combined with tokenization. The approach involves creating queries that utilize these features to identify specific patterns in the data, and can be implemented using tools like Docker and Node.js.