December 2010 Summaries

Neo4j is a fashionable Not-Only-SQL alternative to traditional storage, designed for efficiently storing and querying graphs of data. The database can be run as a server, providing a RESTful interface to applications written in any language, or embedded into an application. This allows developers to use Neo4j with their preferred programming languages and platforms. A key feature is High Availability, which provides scalability for read load and tolerates faults in participating machines, although write operations are slightly slower. The database also has a Custom Tailored aspect, with updates to the kernel, graph database monitoring and management, and usage data collection components, making it easier to use and manage. Ultimately, Neo4j invites developers to "Strut Your Stuff" by showcasing its capabilities and encouraging users to download, experiment, and design their own customizations.

The Neo4j community has released Neo4j 1.2 M06, with a focus on improving the REST API and introducing a plugin API for the Neo4j Server. The new REST Index API allows multiple named indexes of each type to be created, making it easier to manage data in the graph database. This is achieved through a POST request that adds a node to an index, which automatically creates the index if it doesn't exist. The plugin API enables developers to extend the Neo4j Server with new functionality without inventing their own API. Plugins can contribute hypermedia and maintain the notion of a tight REST API, making it easier for clients to discover extensions. Several example plugins are available in the download, showcasing the potential of the plugin API.

The Neo4j team has released a new version of the project, bringing long-term value through documentation and a glimpse into the High Availability component. The community's feedback and bug reports have contributed to this release, including minor enhancements to the server script and improvements to the REST API feedback form. The new documentation provides a one-stop reference manual for using Neo4j, with both online HTML and PDF versions available at https://docs.neo4j.org/. This documentation is ongoing work in progress, but it aims to make it easier for users to find relevant information and contribute to its evolution into a book on Neo4j. The High Availability component has been released as the first glimpse of this feature, allowing the cluster to operate with a Write-Master and Read-Slaves, providing transparent infrastructure for code that uses the Neo4j API.