One of the drivers behind the popularity of NoSQL solutions is performance (especially) under heavy loads. Due to their data model, key value stores lead the pack, providing lightweight yet flexible means of working with data. In this entry, I am going to quickly showcase what it takes to work with a key value store (Redis) using Spring (Spring Redis) through one of Spring Data samples (RetwisJ) and deploy the app into the cloud (through Cloud Foundry) to share it with the world. I am going even further by using Windows, as a deployment platform for a change.
Redis
A popular
choice among key-value stores is
Redis, an open source, crazy fast database written in ANSI C weighting around 200 KB (yes,
kilo-bytes) for the server or 400 KB for the entire package (includes a command-line client and some administration utilities) and available virtually on all major platforms which also makes it the choice for the sample. Note that a Redis instance is not needed unless one wants to run the sample locally. If so, for Windows users (such as the author) yours truly uses (and recommends)
this pre-packed version available in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavours.
Spring and NoSQL
If you are using NoSQL from a Java environment, take a look at
Spring Data: it's not a project by itself but rather an umbrella of projects embracing the various new data access technologies such as non-relational databases (like Redis or MongoDB), map-reduce frameworks (think Hadoop) and cloud-base data services for Java apps. Spring Data promotes the
classic Spring values, enhancing developer productivity by removing the API noise, boiler-plate code and resource management and offering a consistent programming model. It builds on top of existing Spring features and projects (such as inversion of control, life-cycle management, type conversion, portable data access exceptions, caching and so on) so one can add it right away, with minimal effort in her application. And of course, just like the rest of the Spring projects, it is open source and available under Apache license.
Spring Data Redis
In the case of Redis, Spring Data offers dedicated support through the Spring Data Redis or simply
Spring Redis project. It offers both low-level and high-level features ranging from portable Redis client abstractions (allowing different Redis clients such as Jedis, JRedis or RJC to be changed with literally one configuration line) to Redis-backed atomic collections or counters or pub-sub support. The project
reference documentation covers these topics in great detail.
RetwisJ, YATC - Yet Another Twitter Clone
RetwisJ source code, including the code in this blog, can be downloaded at Spring Data Key Value sample project. Further more, documentation is available at here
RetwisJ can be seen as the Java port of Redis' Retwis sample: a simple Twitter-clone that demonstrates how one can replace expensive joins in a traditional, relational database with Redis flexible data model (such as set intersections…
