October 2018 Summaries

Couchbase Lite, an embedded NoSQL database designed for iOS, Android, and .Net platforms, can be integrated into Cordova applications using Cordova plugins, which bridge web-based apps with native platform functionality through a JavaScript interface. The app architecture comprises a common HTML/JavaScript UI layer across mobile platforms and a WebView for rendering, while plugins facilitate access to native code libraries. The Couchbase Lite Cordova Plugin, written in native platform language, enables Cordova applications to utilize Couchbase Lite for data persistence by exposing a JS API. Tutorials provided for both Android and iOS guide users in building a Cordova plugin that interfaces with Couchbase Lite 2.x, exemplified by the "Hotel-Lister" app that queries and displays hotel data from a local Couchbase Lite database via an Ionic frontend. Upon completing these tutorials, developers will understand how to implement Couchbase Lite as a local data store in Cordova applications on both iOS and Android, with further resources and support available through forums and direct contact with the tutorial authors.

Couchbase Server 6.0 has been released, emphasizing reduced time to insight for enterprise applications, and introducing the official launch of the Couchbase Analytics service. This new service supports Hybrid Operational and Analytical Processing (HOAP) workloads, allowing users to conduct ad-hoc analytical queries using a Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) engine without affecting application performance. Key features include fast data ingestion, NoETL processing, workload isolation, ad-hoc querying, and the N1QL for Analytics, which is the first commercial implementation of SQL++ for querying JSON data. Early adopters have praised the service for its agility, cost-efficiency, and scalable performance. Additionally, Couchbase has enhanced its Eventing service with timers for triggering routines and improved its Full-Text Search service by doubling indexing speed and reducing index space by up to 70%. These updates aim to provide a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for both analytical and operational workloads.

Couchbase 5.5 introduced an Eventing service that allows developers to write JavaScript functions to execute upon changes to data, referred to as mutations, which include inserts, updates, merges, and deletions. These eventing functions, integrated with N1QL, enable the automation of business process workflows by executing procedural business logic with immediate data access. The functions can be invoked for each data mutation, allowing developers to manage execution times based on the number of mutations. The service supports various use cases, such as maintaining data integrity, synchronizing secondary data, and handling cascade deletes. Developers can leverage N1QL statements within the functions to perform operations like creating indexes, managing referential data, and executing periodic data quality checks. The functionality is documented extensively in Couchbase's blogs and documentation, providing developers with resources to implement eventing strategies effectively.

We are excited to be part of the Red Hat announcement of OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 version, which extends application Operator capabilities in a Developer Preview capacity. This release allows customers to use the Couchbase Autonomous Operator, a new feature that enables modern application portability across hybrid and multicloud environments. The Couchbase Autonomous Operator is now generally available on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.10, and its first version has been released as part of this announcement. In the new cluster console, users will find Operator Lifecycle Manager, which hosts built-in Operators like Prometheus and etcd, along with partner-built operators like Couchbase's Autonomous Operator. This makes deploying a new cluster on OpenShift significantly easier, thanks to the integration of Couchbase with OpenShift 3.11 and the Tech Preview of the Operator Lifecycle Manager.

Zebra Technologies, a leader in barcode printing and mobile computing, has developed a sample inventory scanning application that integrates their ruggedized handheld computers with built-in barcode scanners and the Couchbase Mobile stack. This application, demonstrated with a fictitious set of book data, utilizes Android-based devices and the Zebra DataWedge service to scan ISBN barcodes, retrieving information from a locally stored Couchbase Lite NoSQL database. The app is designed to initialize and populate inventory data through two-way replication with Couchbase Server, employing RxJava for multi-threading and using an intent-based API to handle barcode scanning. The application's architecture includes a single activity that sets up the database, starts replication, and manages scan results, with query execution based on Couchbase's N1QL query language. The project is open source and available on GitHub, offering resources for further exploration of barcode scanning integration with Couchbase and Zebra technologies.

The latest episode of The NoSQL Database Podcast features a discussion on Linq, particularly its application with NoSQL, with special guest Brant Burnett and co-host Jeff Morris, an engineer specializing in the Couchbase .NET SDK. The episode, which follows a previous installment featuring Max Neunhoeffer on ArangoDB, is available on major podcast platforms such as iTunes and Pocket Casts. Listeners can engage with the hosts via their Twitter handles and explore more about Couchbase Server through the Couchbase Developer Portal.

Couchbase Analytics is a new service available in Couchbase Server 6.0, enabling developers to query large datasets without creating indexes. The service uses the Couchbase Go SDK and provides features such as ad-hoc queries, filtering, and aggregation across various fields. Developers can use the analytics service to analyze data from their applications, including retrieving dynamic data through a web server. A graphical user interface is also provided for interactive exploration of the data. The analytics service allows developers to quickly analyze datasets with various metrics without requiring index creation, enhancing the capabilities of the Couchbase platform.

Azure Key Vault offers a secure solution for storing sensitive information such as database credentials, allowing only specified Azure services to access it. This blog post guides users through storing Couchbase Server credentials in Azure Key Vault and accessing them via an Azure Function. The process involves setting up Couchbase Server, creating an Azure Key Vault, storing secrets, and modifying Azure Functions to retrieve these secrets securely. Azure Key Vault provides advantages over app settings by encrypting stored values, offering version history, and enabling secret sharing across applications. Users must enable a managed service identity for the Azure Functions service and set an access policy for the Vault to authorize access. The post emphasizes the enhanced security and centralized management of credentials using Azure Key Vault, encouraging the Couchbase community to share their experiences and seek advice on integrating Couchbase with Azure.

Fuzzy matching is a technique used to identify non-exact matches of a target item, crucial in search engine frameworks to deliver relevant results despite typographical errors or variations in a query. Predominantly, search engines use the Levenshtein Distance, which measures the number of edits needed to transform one string into another. While effective, it can introduce false positives, prompting some frameworks to also utilize the Damerau-Levenshtein distance, which allows character transpositions. This article highlights the challenges of fuzzy matching, particularly its impact on result relevance, and provides strategies to enhance search accuracy, such as combining queries with varying fuzziness levels. Examples from a movie catalog demonstrate how different configurations affect search outcomes, illustrating that while fuzzy matching improves user experience by accommodating errors, careful calibration is essential to minimize irrelevant results. The discussion also emphasizes that effective search relies on a balance of techniques, including fuzzy matching, to ensure user-friendly and relevant search experiences.

YCSB-JSON is an extension of the Yahoo! Cloud Serving Benchmark (YCSB) that enhances its utility for benchmarking JSON databases like Couchbase and MongoDB by supporting complex queries involving arrays, nested objects, joins, and aggregations. It is designed to emulate realistic user scenarios and allows for the generation of datasets using tools like FakeIt, while ensuring queries do not contain hardcoded values. The system operates by generating and loading data into a database, using YCSB to cache and execute queries with non-deterministic predicate values. The YCSB-JSON utilizes generators to create flexible predicates that can be easily integrated with different databases, supporting operations such as pagination and report queries. The implementation details for Couchbase and MongoDB involve specific query structures, and the extension aims to facilitate the integration of new operations and further development of data generation and query predicate tools.

Couchbase Lite is an embedded NoSQL database designed for iOS, Android, and .Net platforms, providing native platform bindings for Android (Java), iOS (Swift, ObjC), and UWP/Xamarin (C#). For React Native apps, developers must use React Native Modules to access Couchbase Lite’s native APIs from the Javascript environment. The architecture involves a Javascript UI layer common across platforms and a data persistence layer in a native language to interact with Couchbase Lite. The article offers tutorials for both Android and iOS, using a simple app called "Hotel-Finder" to demonstrate accessing and managing data, such as searching for hotel documents and bookmarking them in a local database. Future tutorials are hinted at, including using Cordova plugins for hybrid apps, and the article invites feedback and questions via Twitter, email, or the Couchbase Forums.