Given my current kick of learning and using more NoSQL approaches, I find the timing of Heroku’s growing NoSQL support most excellent! ..and Adam from Heroku has his say here.
The Take-aways are this:
- It’s about adding tools to the toolbelt, not taking away SQL
- Polyglot Persistence, which is to use multiple datastores in an app
- NoSQL is a great match for cloud services
- Heroku will continue to add NoSQL support, and continue their great support of Postgres as well
Adam also talks a little about what a datastore is and whether memcached qualifies as one.
I know we could get VPS hosting and setup Capistrano to deploy a rails app, but using Heroku takes a lot of friction out of deploying rails. It’s easy to scale up, and they have great support for plugging in things like exception and performance monitoring. If TimesheetToaster takes off, I know I’d be able to scale to meet demand on Heroku.
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I’ve started reading more seriously about different NoSQL databases. It seems that MongoDB and CouchDB are both quite good, in addition to RavenDB. MongoDB has a good both a good .Net library and a few Ruby libraries. CouchDB has a few Ruby libraries, but I’m not sure about .Net. RavenDB, of course, has .Net API and is written in .Net.
Rob Conery laid down a public challenge a while ago to build your own blog. I’ve seen a few people do it including Rob; and I think its worth while. I’ve been toying with writing a blog to incorporate into the csinc site using a NoSQL database. It’s a pretty simple data model, and I like the idea of file-based storage making backups easier. Our current hosting plan limits what I can do however; the plan expires a little later this year though.
So I’m thinking. And I’m thinking I wish someone would do a NoSQL presentation at our local .Net user group. Maybe, and this is a very big maybe, I’ll put one together. A blog engine demo with each of the above three db’s. As an introduction to NoSQL. Which is probably better called NotRelationalDB, because it’s data storage that doesn’t use relational data. Just a thought.
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So I debated even posting this, but it’s been a while since my last post and I find it interesting when others mention what they’ve been up to.. so here goes.
My family and I just recently took a nice tip to Northern California, and it was a lot of fun for all. It took about 2,300 miles of driving so it’s a good thing I like to drive. We broke that up into chunks and stayed at various places along the way. I won’t bore you with all the details. Instead, I’ll just give a few recommendations and highlights.
You may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter, that I was in the same area (San Fran) as Rob Conery at about the same time. It would have been nice to meet Rob in person, but we just missed each other. He did set a trap to turn me evil over sushi, but we managed to dodge that too. ;) Besides that, it was all family time and working for me.
First, I am very impressed with the Redwoods. They are amazing trees; learned lots of things I didn’t know. We also went on a canopy tour here. Definitely recommended! A fun hike if you are in the area is Fern Canyon in Prarie Creek State Park, CA. It was used in Jurassic Park 2, and looks just like it. But bring shoes that can get wet as it’s hard to avoid getting your feet wet. It can be done, but it’s much more enjoyable if you’re not trying to balance logs and rocks.
The rest of the trip was also fun, but I’d like to finish with some recommendations.
- Pick up a travel magazine to plan a road trip. You learn about places you might not otherwise know to go to.
- GPS! Normally we’d print and follow directions. This time we borrowed a Tom Tom and will be buying one.
- You can get some pretty good last minute hotel deals. We paid the most for the one hotel we booked in advance.
- Mary’s Pizza shack in Santa Rosa has great pizza.
- Screamin Mimi’s ice cream is worth the stop if you’re near Sebastapol, CA
- Scott’s Valley Market in Santa Cruz has an awesome buffet.
- Also liked Yogizmo in Scotts Valley
- Avoid tourist traps, and ask locals for recommendations.
- Take a road trip adventure with your family and don’t over plan. Discovery is part of the fun.
I’m grateful we were able to take a trip like this, and thankful my work allows me to be a bit flexible at times. My one minor regret was not meeting up with Rob, but that wasn’t the point of the trip anyway. (Sorry Rob, I’m still a fan though)
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Thought I’d link a couple of notable, recent articles. First, ScottGu posted on embedded db support in Asp.Net, and also IIS express. Both are good enhancements. I’m still skeptical of the GUI-driven db stuff in Visual Studio; it’s just to point-and-clickish for me. I’d also recommend RavenDB as an embedded db, plus putting some thought into your db instead of point and click automation.
[As a side note, VS is starting to feel like its trying to do too much, too much going on distracting from the code. I like SharpDevelop as a free alternative. Maybe its just me and my experiments with VIM.]
Please read and share this article from Damien Guard about a proper bug report. It will save lots of time, and friction between QA & Dev.
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It just hit me a few minutes ago, that I can name precisely 3 sources for my recent inspirations and growth as a developer.
..oh, you want me to actually tell you? ok. Ayende (blog), Rob Conery (blog), and Ruby on Rails. It comes in the form of new ways of thinking, new (to me) technology like NoSQL, and understanding good principles and concepts like REST. Interestingly, Rob intersects with Rails in his use of it for both his blog and TekPub. Rob and Ayende intersect regarding TekPub content and NoSQL. I think the major common denominator is NoSQL, but there is also the dynamic nature of Ruby itself. Ayende wrote a DSL book which I’m a fan of. It used Boo to do some interesting things in .Net; things which would be possible or even easier in Ruby.
The key is the realization that some of my core coding beliefs aren’t as concrete as I had held them. Specifically SQL/RDBMS, and that static languages are best.
I’ve been on of a minor self transformation in the last couple years; challenging my own beliefs and habits to see if I can find a better way. Which I often have. It’s interesting how seemingly small changes can yield a big effect, or show how mentally dependent my thinking was on something. The classic example, was changing which pocket I kept my wallet in. What I found was I became more conscious of my wallet and whatever else I put in my pocket; instead of just an unconscious habit, I was thinking with more focus in that area.
I think that’s the key to self-improvement in general; become more focused. Doesn’t mean having to re-invent yourself. I’ve just found that removing old habits helps by taking away the crutch those present.
What’s funny is this started as a simple observation and the thought that I’m finding less to push me forward coming from Redmond. Not even in small ways. Yet it naturally evolved into some thoughts on personal growth. Seems somewhat unrelated. Or maybe not.
To more directly fan the flames, read Rob’s post.
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This is a really interesting question from StackOverflow. What would you expect to be the result from the following code:
1: (test1, test2, test3="3", test4="4")
Or maybe:
1: (test1, test2, test3="3", test4="4", test5 = "5", test6 = "6")
For the first one, test1 = “3”, test2 = “4”, and test3 = nil (aka null in C# world). The explanation is in an answer, but basically its because or Ruby allowing multiple assignments and Right Hand result assignment. I’d upvote the answer but I don’t have enough SO rep. :(
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This is just a fun post, in thinking about technologies I like. Not comprehensive, just what I thought of at the time I was writing it.
I’m sure I could think of more, but those were the first to pop into my head. I’d recommend each of them.
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Ayende talks about different NoSQL approaches.
I’ll be putting together some information with similar information; probably at least partly based on this in addition to other information. The point being to have a simple intro into NoSQL and why it’s worth considering. I might be convinced to make it a presentation if someone twists my arm.
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What would you want to learn about NoSQL from an introduction? From a new or novice perspective, what basics would you like to learn about NoSQL and what sort of sample would be helpful?
It wouldn’t be meant to convince anyone, but to educate. Looking for your suggestions.
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Yes, I’m still not adding stuff to my list, but I am thinking about how I work. The nosql movement, for me, is about reducing resistance in building applications. Sometimes feels like we are trying to make .Net more like Ruby on Rails. Which makes me wonder if I should be just start using Rails more. I want to solve problems and build things, and not spend so much time fighting tools.
Read this about TekPub moving from ASP.Net to Ruby on Rails. Also read this post from Rob Conery about VIM being very productive.
Addendum: No, I'm not leaving .Net; just opening pondering what better ways there may be.
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