Category Archives: Design Reviews

Book reviews dealing with designing.

Review: MongoDB Applied Design Patterns

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MongoDBPatternsMongoDB Applied Design Patterns by Rick Copeland (O’Reilly Media) is another in a series of patterns books that I would highly recommend for the implementer that knows the technology but is trying to discover if a previous solution (via a pattern) has been found for their problem.

As to the reader, MongoDB Applied Design Patterns is not for the MongoDB “Hello World” level implementer.  There is a basic assumption that the reader understands how to implement basic MongoDB solutions and is now ready to implement more advanced solutions using established patterns.  The Use Cases in the second half of the book were probably the most useful for me.  It not only gave me ideas of how to solve certain patterns of problems, but allowed me to explore features of MongoDB that I had not had a chance to explore.

I appreciated that Copeland explored several important topics at the beginning of the book.  For example, he takes time to explain how important it is to MongoDB solutions for optimization to be considered at the beginning of the design vs. afterwards.  Along with those lessons, Copeland provides detailed examples of the “why” instead of leaving the reader to just trust his statements.

I’d highly recommend MongoDB Applied Design Patterns to the implementer that is ready to move beyond the basics and move into highly viable and scalable solutions using MongoDB pattern as their initial template.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: Developing with Couchbase Server

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Couchbase ServerIn reviewing Developing with Couchbase Server by MC Brown (O’Reilly Media), I was impressed with how the author was able to turn the complex topic of NoSQL databases into graspable units of learning.  The book is relatively short for a technical title (88 pages).  However, it is clear that the book strives to get the reader started in the Couchbase technology with references to other online resources that provide much more detail.

Brown provides several easy wins in this title that helped me understand Couchbase in a quick-and-dirty manner that deserve special mention.  The “Getting Data In and Out” chapter provides examples on how to use the Couchbase Client Library in a very concise manner.  The chapters dealing with modeling were also very well written and provided another set of quick wins for my learning.  Finally, the views sections were helpful in understand the aggregation side of the technology.

I would suggest that a reader should look at this book as a “fundamentals and quick-win” work that will get you into the NoSQL paradigm using Couchbase Server.  With that in mind, I recommend it as a good read.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: MapReduce Design Patterns: Building Effective Algorithms and Analytics for Hadoop and Other Systems

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MapReduce Design PatternsI picked up MapReduce Design Patterns: Building Effective Algorithms and Analytics for Hadoop and Other Systems by Donald Miner and Adam Shook (O’Reilly) to explore the deeper analytics that were possible in using Hadoop and MapReduce.   This book definitely did not disappoint in covering many of the more advanced challenges that engineers working with Hadoop datasets will encounter once they move from the simple into the advanced.  MapReduce Design Patterns is not for the faint of heart nor the true novice in Hadoop and/or MapReduce frameworks.  A solid understanding of the fundamentals of analytics is also a valuable prerequisite to this title.

Having explored the use of Pig and Hive as a way to abstract the underlying implementations of MapReduce, MapReduce Design Patterns helped me understand what was going on “under the hood.”  This was important to me as I have learned the hard lesson that sometimes the easy way is not always the most efficient and/or effective way.  By reading through this title, I now better understand how I can use Pig and Hive for the straight forward analytics and MapReduce native for my more specialized needs – or in other words – use the right tool for the job.

To the bold adventurer new to Hadoop and MapReduce – I’d suggest that you look at this book as your follow-on study guide to be used after learning the basics and working with those frameworks for a little while.  In that view, I have no hesitations in recommending MapReduce Design Patterns to those engineers that are looking for something to help them move from entry level into advance levels of understanding in these technologies.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: Hadoop Operations by Eric Sammer

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Hadoop Operations by Eric Sammer (O’Reilly Media) is a thoughtfully organized book that guides the operational and architectural reader into a viable Hadoop-centric solution.  In his book, Sammer spends a reasonable amount of time providing the reader with enough Hadoop background to be able to move onto the more complex considerations and actions needed to implement high quality Hadoop clusters in an operations environment.  Sammer provides some very specific information in his books that puts it into my “must have” collection for Hadoop.

First, instead of trying to cover what Hadoop can do in all flavors and colors, Sammer describes configurations that will meet the needs of a general operational implementation.  This allows the reader to focus on the key concepts of installing, configuring, and operating a Hadoop cluster instead of learning the many Hadoop features that most shops will never use.  Secondly, Sammer spends an appropriate amount of time discussing ways that an operational team can monitor and troubleshoot Hadoop clusters.  Very few authors cover the areas needed so that a solution can move from “proof of concept” into a “production-level” implementation.  Third, Sammer looks at products that work around Hadoop to either add features or allow for better maintainability/management of the system.  This gives the reader the ability to see how Hadoop fits into the larger operational model.  Finally, Sammer approaches the chapters in the book from the view of someone that has actually implemented Hadoop clusters by providing suggestion, tips, and tricks that allow the reader to bypass many of the more common challenges that Hadoop adopters can face.

I highly recommend Hadoop Operations by Eric Sammer for the operational and architectural readers that want to get a highly viable solution as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Program

Review: Head First Design Patterns

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I picked up Head First Design Patterns by Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Robson, Bert Bates, Kathy Sierra while working through some particularly difficult design/code reviews.  In these reviews, I found that very few developers actually knowingly use design patterns beyond the most simplistic of forms.  In fact, during several interviews, I asked candidates what design patterns they could name and most could not name a single one.  However, when I asked them if they had heard of the Singleton Pattern, they immediately began giving examples of writing code to meet this pattern.  With this discovery, I quickly began recommending this book to java developers of all levels as a way to renew why we design code the way we do.

Head First Design Patterns quickly gives the reader exposure to some of the most common patterns and why they work.  Does this book cover every possible pattern and the intricacies in its use?  No.  However, it brings to the reader a mode of thought that begins to look at design patterns as a way to solve common problems without “reinventing the wheel.”  The examples are relatively simple to understand and the writing style straightforward and logic in its flow.

I recommend Head First Design Patterns to any entry through advanced level developer or designer in the object-oriented world that desires to find a solution to common problems in a way that allows your design/code reviewer and maintainers the ability to understand why the design/code was “done” the way that is was “done” in a less-than-four-hour line-by-line review meeting.