November 2011 Summaries

We have released the first milestone of Neo4j version 1.6, named after the small Swedish city of Jörn, which focuses on improving infrastructure and QA, including faster builds, moving to Jenkins, and extending tests to cover more client platforms. The update also includes storing graph metadata, such as configuration settings, to better evolve the internal infrastructure. Additionally, a number of bugs have been fixed, both internally and for community issues, following feedback from a community poll started by Pablo Pareja Tobes. This milestone does not support the new Firefox8 and Firefox9 releases due to webworker support issues.

With Cypher, querying data is like creating Ascii Art to navigate through information. A DSL implementation in Java allows safely constructing Cypher queries without relying on the execution engine's appreciation for the query structure. The new implementation enables more complex and expressive queries, improving overall query readability and maintainability. By presenting a clear example of how this DSL can be used, Rickard Öberg showcases its potential to enhance developer productivity when working with Cypher in Java.

The Neo4j "Boden Bord" 1.5 GA release is now available for download, featuring a range of improvements and new features, including smoother performance, smaller database sizes, and enhanced Cypher query capabilities. The server has been upgraded to support HTTP request-level authorization, customizable IP addresses, and lower memory overhead, while Webadmin tool offers improved visualization options. The Cypher team has added more features, such as optional relationships in match clauses, new predicates, and path functions. Additionally, the HA clustering protocol has been improved for faster performance and self-healing capabilities, making it easier to operate highly available clusters. Spring Data Neo4j is also set to release version 2.0.0.RELEASE, with significant improvements and updates. The community is encouraged to join the mailing list and provide feedback on the new release.

The first London NOSQL Exchange was held successfully, with around 100 attendees and excellent talks throughout the day, including presentations by the Neo4j team. The event featured a state-of-the-NOSQL-union talk by Emil Eifrem, where he discussed the past, present, and future of NOSQL databases, including graph traversal. Ian Robinson also gave an engaging talk on managing complex connected data with Neo4j, while Robert Rees shared an experience report on polyglot persistence using Neo4j and CouchDB. The event was well-received by attendees, who were able to meet new faces and reconnect with old friends. The organizers are already planning the next event, which may be held in London or overseas.