July 2022 Summaries

Capella App Services is a fully managed application backend that brings the power of Couchbase Mobile to Capella, a fully managed Couchbase as-a-service offering. It provides offline-first data sync capabilities for mobile, desktop, and embedded applications, allowing them to run in disconnected mode and sync data with the backend servers when connectivity is restored. The platform supports various connection points, including secure websockets public URL, secure public REST API, secure admin REST API, and secure metrics REST API. Users can create multiple App Endpoints on an App Service, each backed by a unique bucket in the corresponding Couchbase Server cluster. Authentication providers define how users are authenticated with the app services, and access control is implemented using channel-based access control model of Couchbase Mobile. The platform provides features such as user journey, system architecture, and monitoring, allowing users to administer and configure their App Services and App Endpoints. It also supports on-demand scaling, making it suitable for evolving needs of apps.

This blog series aimed to address common misconceptions about NoSQL databases, specifically MongoDB, by examining the ranking of databases in Stack Overflow's Developer Survey and discussing the differences between buffering and caching in databases. Couchbase was found to have improved its reputation among developers, with a significant increase in survey rankings since 2020, and was identified as a viable alternative to MongoDB for projects requiring flexibility and SQL support. The series also highlighted the importance of considering memory usage in databases and introduced Couchbase's Magma storage engine, which can efficiently store large amounts of data while minimizing memory usage.

The text discusses the use of N1QL (Couchbase's query language) inside JavaScript user-defined functions, providing two methods for executing N1QL statements: calling directly a function named `N1QL()` or letting the JavaScript compiler detect embedded N1QL statements and produce corresponding `N1QL()` calls. The text explains how to create and use these functions with examples, including dynamic generation of N1QL statements using placeholders, and how to use positional and named parameters. It also covers the role of a transpiler in executing static N1QL statements and building correct `N1QL()` calls behind the scenes.

Couchbase marked its first anniversary as a publicly traded company, celebrating a year of significant achievements, including the introduction of Capella, a multicloud database-as-a-service that facilitates the creation of reliable applications, and the expansion of its customer base. The company remains committed to its core values and is recognized for its positive workplace culture. With a massive and growing market opportunity, driven largely by the cloud's dominance in nearly half of the total database market revenue, Couchbase is poised for continued success as a leader in modern database solutions for enterprise applications. The company is optimistic about the future, with digital transformation and application development receiving top investment priorities, aligning with its innovation roadmap and market strategy.

Couchbase is designed to scale horizontally from the ground up and has a built-in architecture that supports sharding and replication, making it efficient in handling growth by adding resources. Unlike many other NoSQL databases, Couchbase's architecture takes a different approach to scalability, with automatic sharding and built-in replication across every node. Despite not being the most popular database, Couchbase is still in the top 10% of databases worldwide and has been adopted by many companies for its features, performance, scalability, and affordability. Industry standard benchmarks and customer testimonials demonstrate its capabilities, and it enables use of widely regarded industry standards and frameworks. The next post in this series will discuss Couchbase's unique approach to memory usage and clarify the confusion between CouchDB and Couchbase.

CosmosDB, Microsoft's NoSQL database offering for Azure, has evolved from its previous identity as DocumentDB by incorporating a broad range of features, including document, columnar, key-value, and graph database capabilities. It aims to serve numerous database needs through a universal abstraction model called atom-record-sequence (ARS) and supports multiple APIs such as SQL, MongoDB, and Cassandra; however, this versatility might limit its feature set and performance. A key challenge is the management of Request Units (RUs), which can lead to unpredictable costs and necessitate expert management to optimize performance. In contrast, Couchbase Capella offers a more predictable pricing model with flexible scaling options, memory-first architecture, and comprehensive SQL support, which can result in significant cost savings and performance improvements, as evidenced by Facet Digital's switch from CosmosDB. While CosmosDB offers attractive features like global data distribution and multiple consistency models, its complicated pricing structure and performance limitations, particularly in sharding and indexing, may make it less suitable for large-scale, mission-critical applications compared to Couchbase Capella.

Couchbase has launched the Couchbase Ambassador Program to empower and support community leaders who are experts in Couchbase technology and eager to share their knowledge. The program offers tools and resources to help Ambassadors engage with the community through speaking at events, contributing educational content, and representing the community in leadership meetings. Ambassadors are selected based on their technical expertise and enthusiasm for advocating Couchbase, and they are encouraged to engage in various activities such as creating content, speaking at events, and monitoring community forums. Benefits for Ambassadors include access to senior technical staff, participation in product briefings, influence over product strategy, personal brand elevation, and travel opportunities to company events. Those interested in becoming Ambassadors are invited to apply and join the program to help build the Couchbase community.

Couchbase Capella has been shown to outperform MongoDB Atlas in a recent benchmarking test conducted by Altoros, a global IT service provider. The test evaluated the performance of both databases across various workloads and cluster sizes, with Couchbase Capella emerging as the clear winner. Throughput and latency were tested on three different cluster configurations of 6, 9, and 18 nodes, with Couchbase Capella consistently outperforming MongoDB Atlas on each configuration. The test showed that Couchbase Capella's throughput was approximately 10x higher than MongoDB Atlas for each node configuration, culminating in a throughput of 523,020 ops/sec on an 18-node cluster. The results suggest that Couchbase Capella offers industry-leading performance with features such as a built-in object-level cache, SQL++ query language, and ACID transactions, making it easier to process complex workloads without needing to model data for each query. In contrast, MongoDB Atlas does not support JOIN operations on sharded collections out of the box. The test results also highlight the cost savings potential of using Couchbase Capella, with a 6-node cluster costing $5,284 compared to an 18-node MongoDB Atlas cluster costing $28,050, representing a savings of around 81%. Overall, the benchmarking test confirms that Couchbase Capella is a more efficient and cost-effective option for businesses looking to process complex data workloads.

Couchbase Server 7.0 introduced N1QL User Defined Functions (UDFs), which allow for the inclusion of bespoke business logic in queries, bridging a gap in previous versions. These UDFs can be written in several languages, with a particular focus on JavaScript in this context. They come in two forms: cluster-wide, suitable for those not using collections, and scope-bound, allowing for different logic across scopes. JavaScript UDFs in Couchbase are managed externally via the jsevaluator, which supports only plain JavaScript and does not allow global state to prevent unexpected results in concurrent requests. The 7.1 release enhances the JavaScript engine to execute multiple N1QL statements, supports iterators and transactions, and introduces a hierarchical storage system for JavaScript libraries, making them accessible at different levels and scopes. A new user interface also simplifies the manipulation of JavaScript libraries and UDFs, although it currently lacks advanced features like a debugger.

Modern NoSQL databases like Couchbase have made significant strides in security, data consistency, and ACID transactions, dispelling common misconceptions about their capabilities. Unlike some early versions of MongoDB, Couchbase has implemented strong security measures such as encryption, access management, and monitoring, and its document database is strongly consistent, allowing for control over data operations. Additionally, Couchbase supports ACID transactions, which are available in multiple programming languages, including .NET, Node.js, PHP, Go, Python, and C SDKs. With modern NoSQL like Couchbase, users can rest assured that their data will be secure and consistent, making it suitable for critical use cases.

Couchbase has launched a new Community Hub designed to enhance user and contributor engagement by providing a centralized space for sharing, learning, and collaboration. This initiative complements existing platforms like the Couchbase Discord server and Community Forums, offering users the opportunity to stay informed about product updates, events, and connection opportunities with fellow Couchbase enthusiasts. The hub encourages participation in various activities such as contributing to open-source projects, organizing events, and enhancing documentation. Open to everyone with a simple request to join, the hub facilitates interactions through features like quick posts, polls, and the ability to create interest-based groups. As a dynamic, evolving platform, user feedback is highly valued to refine and improve the community experience.

Couchbase's Eventing Service offers a flexible solution for data transformation and integration by using JavaScript functions to respond to mutation events in document-based databases, allowing businesses to consolidate data from various sources into a uniform format. This service excels in transforming and denormalizing data, such as merging customer information from normalized databases and flat files into denormalized formats with sub-documents for billing and mailing addresses. The process involves configuring a Couchbase environment, creating necessary buckets, and deploying eventing functions that automate data transformation through JavaScript code snippets. These snippets demonstrate how to manipulate and enrich data by consolidating address information and handling schema transformations, ultimately ensuring data consistency and compatibility across different data sources. The article also provides guidance on setting up the environment, creating eventing functions, and testing the transformations, making it a valuable resource for those looking to leverage Couchbase's capabilities for efficient data management.