October 2013 Summaries

The Neo4j Driver Authors Hackathon brought together authors from around the world to develop and update Neo4j language drivers for the 2.0 release, focusing on data model developments and Cypher HTTP endpoints. The conference also featured trainings on various topics, including Neo4j in production, data modeling, and advanced Cypher queries. Keynote speakers such as Emil Eifrem and Fred Trotter discussed new opportunities for connected data and hacking healthcare with Neo4j, respectively. The event included a GraphClinic, BBQ lunch, and GraphPub, allowing attendees to mingle with developers over games and beer. The conference closed with Jim Webber's keynote on graph theory for busy developers, followed by the 2nd Annual Graphie Awards Dinner recognizing innovative graph database applications. Recorded videos and photos from the conference are available online.

Neo4j Browser is a user interface that combines the features of a REPL and a lightweight IDE, allowing users to write and run Cypher queries in a meaningful way. The editor along the top provides a single-line query input area where users can type and execute queries, with result frames displaying either table data or graph visualizations of nodes and relationships. Users can save scripts, edit previous queries, and interact with the sidebar to load content such as help pages and mini guides. The interface is designed to be both functional and educational, demonstrating how things are done while showing users how to smoothly transition into application development. With plans for extending its approach to integrate with everyday workflows, Neo4j Browser debuted at Graph Connect in San Francisco and is available for download today.

The Neo4j driver authors hackathon was a two-day event where developers gathered in San Francisco and San Mateo to work on improving the Neo4j drivers for various programming languages. The attendees made significant progress on updating the Neo4j 2.0 release, including improvements to transaction support, Cypher HTTP endpoints, labels, indexes, and other features. Several drivers were updated or started working on new versions compatible with Neo4j 2.0, such as the Ruby gem, Grails plugin, Python driver, AnormCypher, Geo plugin, JDBC driver, and .NET client. The attendees also discussed the Neo4j roadmap and provided feedback from insightful users worldwide. Aseem Kishore caught up on outstanding bugs and feature requests, particularly around indexing, while Wes Freeman released a new version of AnormCypher supporting Neo4j 2.0 minus transactional features. The event aimed to establish an annual hackathon for the community to continue improving the drivers.

The Neo4j GraphGist challenge was a competition where developers were invited to create interactive visualizations using Neo4j's graph database. The challenge received high-quality contributions, with three winners: Johannes Mockenhaupt for his "Learning Graph" contribution, Nicole White for her "US Flights & Airports" contribution, and Wes Freeman for his "Chess Games and Positions" contribution. Each winner was recognized for their creative use of Neo4j's Cypher queries and data models to visualize complex information in an interactive way. The challenge also highlighted the evolving GraphGist project, which now includes features such as Math formulas, Disqus integration, and improved styling.