June 2015 Summaries

Installing Neo4j 2.2.3 on Windows OS is a simple process that allows developers to access the benefits of the graph database platform, regardless of their operating system choice.` `The five fast and easy steps outlined in this post cover navigating to the download page, running the installer, starting Neo4j for the first time, allocating sufficient memory to the page cache, and editing memory levels for the virtual machine.` `These steps provide a straightforward guide for developers who may not have previously used Neo4j or are looking to switch from another database platform.

Data scientists spend a significant amount of time cleaning and munging data, leaving little time for building predictive models in traditional stacks. This is often due to the use of SQL queries that are slow development time and prevent collaboration among team members. The problem persists because data is becoming increasingly social and interconnected, requiring graph databases to store relationships between data points. With the right technology stack, including an open-source NoSQL graph database like Neo4j, data scientists can spend less time writing queries and more time building models, creating a seamless and short development process.

GraphConnect Europe: (Graphs)-[:ARE]->(Everywhere) by Andy Smale, where graphs are eating the world. Emil Eifrem presented on this topic at GraphConnect Europe. Various interviews and videos were also featured, including discussions with industry experts such as Jim Webber and Brian Joyce. Articles covered a wide range of topics related to graph databases, including Neo4j, Spring Data Neo4j, and graph visualization. These resources provide insights into the applications and use cases of graph databases in various industries, from customer service to finance and more.

Wanderu, a meta-search travel website, leverages polyglot persistence by combining the strengths of MongoDB for document storage and Neo4j for graph-style relationships. To synchronize data between the two databases, Wanderu utilizes the `mongo-connector` project to replicate MongoDB's built-in replication service to Neo4j, allowing for efficient route calculations and a better search experience for users.

The Neo4j 2.3 Milestone 2 release is now available for development and experimentation purposes only, as not all features are fully operational. This release aims to make Neo4j more scalable and efficient in handling graph data by optimizing resource usage. Key improvements include a highly scalable off-heap graph cache, which reduces strain on the garbage collector and provides significant performance gains, particularly in concurrent read scaling. Additionally, there are improvements to the Cypher cost-based optimizer, compiled runtime engine, and user experience enhancements such as code-view, allowing users to inspect the http requests sent to the server and reproduce issues using tools like curl or Postman. The release is available for testing and feedback, with the next stable version of Neo4j 2.3 scheduled for future release.

Spending a whole day, a whopping 12 hours in total with people interested in learning Neo4j makes me a happy person. This year we returned to our favorite Space Station in Berlin c-base to host the Neo4j GraphHack-Day co-hosted with Berlin Buzzwords. It was definitely worth it as attendees were curious and willing to learn about graph databases. The event started with an extensive demo of Cypher in the Neo4j Web-UI, covering property graph concepts, aspects of graph databases, and querying capabilities. Teams then formed and presented their ideas for working on for the rest of the day before having pizza. The afternoon went by quickly with everyone busy coding and asking questions. Each team presented their solution and discussed the approach and pointed out related information or projects. Attendees showcased various use cases including an airfare recommendation system, computer systems, biological models, security auditing software, GraphInsight for 3D graph visualization, and public data analysis of German parliament behavior. The event concluded with a sense of accomplishment and a fully belly, as everyone went home with a Neo4j Mug and a book.