Talking to Neo4j running on OSX from Windows7

This is not a deep diving article but just a brain dump.  Maybe it will help someone.  At least it works on my machine.

I wanted to use Neo4j with dotnet.  So I put Neo4j as a server on the Mac and my regular dotnet stuff on a Win7 machine running through Parallels.

I don’t remember exactly what was needed to get Neo4j up and running but it was easy I recall.  Download.  Extract.  Find the right folder.  Type “neo4j start”. Open a browser.  Type “localhost:7474”.  Create a node.  Check it was created.  Done.
I opted for running Neo4j stand alone to keep my machine tidy – starting the Neo4j server every time I develop is easy.

Since I want to talk to Neo4j from another machine I need to bridge the network and open the firewall on the mac.  It’s just a google away even though the way to open the firewall seems to shifts with every OSX release.  To the better in my case.

A caveat that burned some time for me was that the admin GUI for Neo4j is set to only answer on localhost.  It is considered a good thing since there is no usr/pwd.  That is solved by updating the config and restarting the Neo4j server. Use http://yourmachine:7474 to check this.

On the Windows/Visual studio/Dotnet side I opted for Neo4jclient since it is under present development and open source.  The 2 top hits I found otherwise had their last update set in 2010.  It’s an easy install with Nuget.

Creating nodes from dotnet was easy.  I just followed the getting started.

That’s all I’ve done for now.

Using Git for Windows with Atlassian Bitbucket

The real article is here.

I like how the Git-for-windows application is very clean.  But I don’t like how it doesn’t give the user any clues.  Like: I know I can add a new repository by clicking the add button but there is no way for me to see that I can reference an existing by dragdropping a folder.  Maybe I can do this by the same add button but I can’t see it.

It also doesn’t give the user any clue about d’esprit of Git.  Giving Git a GUI that catches the spirit while being easy to use would be quite a feat.  I dare to say that if I started building such an application I would lose track of ease-to-use at the same pace as I gathered Git knowledge.

For the newbie I recommend Git for windows.  Silverbacks need more gauges and levers and will use the command line.

Back to spirits.  I learned the basics of Git through the well written post as Github.

Neo4j web admin user interface only listens on localhost as default

If you can’t connect to the Neo4j web admin through a URL like

http://mymachine:7474

it might be because the default setting is that only localhost is allowed.

Open the neo4j-server.properties file in the conf directory.  Find

#org.neo4j.server.webserver.address=0.0.0.0

and uncomment it.

There are security considerations for removing this.

SAP Cats and travel is pure eevulness

The Cats and travel program/solution/functionality is possibly probably the worst program I have been forced to use during my entire life.

I compare it to the ones I have written myself and won’t touch with a 10 meter pole.  I compare it to lousy hacks sent to me to solve a problem and nothing else.  I compare it to the wierd programs that came to live about the birth of Windows3.  I compare it to any program I have ever stumbled upon on any machine on any device during any circumstance; including boat electronics, old WindowsCE and washing machines.

It isn’t just bad.  No.  That is not how bad it is.  It is worse.  There is a special place in hell for the responsible behind the product.  That place is situated right next to the place for the ones that buy it to use in their business Against their employees.  They have obviously never used it as human beings.

It is pure eevulness devouring your soul.

Microsoft team foundation bug management

A minute ago I reported two bugs for a project and noticed that the GUI for bug reporting in TFS inside Visual studio still sucks.  It sucked 5? years ago.  It still does.

It was a flashback because I 1) didn’t remember exactly how user unfriendly the form is with edit fields all over, hard (partly impossible!) to navigate with keyboard and bad overview.  There wasn’t a clue 5 years ago that a bug had an attachment.  There still isn’t.  2) didn’t remember how awfully slow it was.  Reporting bugs might inflict some stress to me because there is so much I want to tell but text and images are so limited and I want to get it all out before it flees my mind.

Now I can see that the overview of bugs is still lousy.  I have read that it has improved but from what?  To Microsoft’s defense I must say that they have done a good effort but it all smells like one-department-for-testing with dedicated-testers and one-department-for-developers and so on.  To me development, testing, operations, architecture is all the same.

So even though I like the symbiosis of TFS and VS and the whole test rig with virtual machines one can buy from Microsoft I won’t sell the bug management tool to any client that isn’t already deep into it.
The licensing model, as I remember it last time I checked, also bothers me but that is for another article.

Communicate, communicate, communicate – and if hell froze over, wouldn’t penguins settle?

hejdig.

The title might be the funniest tweet about latest version of Microsoft Azure that came out the other day.
The point is that it is now possible to run Linux in the Microsoft cloud.
I wonder if someone has mentioned it to SBallmer?

Recently out is also a new beta of Windows8 and Visualstudio2012 though they are called RC and whatnot.  TFS and EF are upgraded.  Dotnet is coming to version 4.5.

And this is only on the Microsoft stack.  Check out the new Apple hardware…

This news letter is sponsored by SBallmer himself.

/OF

 

—-8<—-

 

1. CODE AND DEVELOPMENT

1. New stuff in Windows Azure (win)
2. General purpose compressing library coming to dotnet (win)
3. aspConf – a virtual Aspnet conference (win)
4. Windows 8 client virtualization (win)
5. Visual studio tip: add a solution to a solution (win)
6. Visual studio/TFS 2012 release candidate and dotnet4.5 is here (win)
7. LESS – takes some of the evul out of CSS
8. Microsoft fakes – avoid adapting the architecture to the testing (win)

• PROJECTS AND LEADERSHIP

1. Lean software and systems conference 2012 on Vimeo

• MISCELLANEOUS

1. OpenROV – open source underwater remotedly operated vehicle
2. Watch “The Ikea Song” on YouTube
3. Yelling made easier

 

Code and development

New stuff in Windows Azure (win)

When Azure came around one was limited to dotnet and running two or three different types of programs.  It was not a bad solution and took a third path from Amazon and Google.  Now times are different.  Read on.

Firstly you can run the Azure SDK from latest version of Visual studio, the 2012RC release.  Go install!  You can run it from VS2010 too but what is the fun in that?

The admin portal is spiced up.  It is also reachable through REST.  DevOps cheers.

Azure can now run “normal” virtual machines.  This means you can set up a machine at home and then upload it.  The same machines can be moved to other platforms – read Amazon or take it home again.

To top it of, the VMs don’t even have to be Windows but 3 versions of linux are supported too.  Yes, you read that right.  Suse, CentOS and Ubuntu.

One can integrate to publish directly from TFS or Git.  I don’t know if there is any difference in functionality between the two.  This promises continuous deployment.

Choice of language for the Azure SDK is dotnet, java, javascript (node.js), php, python and possibly something more – I haven’t heard anything about ruby.

If you are afraid of earth quakes or electrical thunder storms or the more plausible nuclear fall out there is an option to have your data replicated to another place at least 640km away.

 

– http://www.meetwindowsazure.com/     <- presentation keynote by scottgu

– http://feeds.magnusmartensson.com/~r/magnusmartensson/~3/2674NixQHB0/WindowsAzureTakesTheLeadJune2012.aspx    <- mmårtensson, a swedish mvp, sings praise to the new stuff. you’ve got to love his passion!

– http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2012/06/07/meet-the-new-windows-azure.aspx      <- scottgu, head chief writes on his blog

– http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2012/06/07/announcing-continuous-deployment-to-azure-with-team-foundation-service.aspx      <- continuous deployment to azure from tis

– http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jasonz/archive/2012/06/07/announcing-the-june-2012-release-of-windows-azure-sdk-for-net-now-with-support-for-visual-studio-2012-rc.aspx

 

General purpose compressing library coming to dotnet (win)

Yup.  What the headline says.  In dotnet 4.5.

– http://www.infoq.com/news/2012/05/Net-Zip

 

aspConf – a virtual Aspnet conference (win)

Online conference about the Microsoft stack.  17-18 of June.

Did I say it is gratis?

– http://www.aspconf.net/

 

Windows 8 client virtualization (win)

Have you run a virtual machine under WinXP.  Have you finally managed how to set up for virtual machines on Win7 *without* installing the WinXP compatibility thingy?  Have you tried to move a virtual machine from WinXP to Win7?  Have you seen a grown man cry?

Windows8 puts something new in the cradle.  SLAT.  Some fast info about that is linked below.

– http://sqlblog.com/blogs/john_paul_cook/archive/2012/06/06/windows-8-client-virtualization.aspx

 

Visual studio tip: add a solution to a solution (win)

I have seen one can add folders to a solution in visual studio.  Now I have read that one can add solutions to solutions.  Please note that I have written Solution and not Project.

Below is linked the original article.

The blog is dedicated to Visual studio tricks so it might be worth having in your RSS reader.

– http://nilsnaegele.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/tip-7-10-you-can-add-a-solution-to-a-solution-4/

 

Visual studio/TFS 2012 release candidate and dotnet4.5 is here (win)

Don’t forget to update your Windows8 to get the newest stuff Metro-wise.
VS RC can be installed directly over the beta.
I don’t know how the Win8 upgrade process is.  Yet.

Some new stuff in TFS:

Easier association between work items on checkin.

Moving a TFS database has become easier, now there is tooling for it.

The GUI has been updated.

The task board is touch friendly.  I have lot to say about this but will save it for a later time and a greater scope.

Some new stuff in VS:

Performance is even better.  VS11 started quicker than VS2010.  VS2012 is even faster.

Don’t get me started about the GUI but is has been improved again.  Embrace change I say.

Theming is improved.  Now you can have a cool black theme to show off.  Personally I want to use the dark theme but don’t like it.

The solution explorer toolbox is changed.  It was close to being too cluttered.  It still is.

If you think it is – install DPack and don’t care about the solution explorer any more.

Tired of searching through the menus for a command?  There is a quick search for it.  Here I must give kudos to the team for at the same time presenting the shortcut in a non-intrusive way.

The XAML designer has been updated in both VS and Blend.

There are new Aspnet templates.  Among them a new empty one.

Scaffolding is new since the beta.  One uses the nuget command prompt to point out stuff and get code back.  Think like this: you want to create a new CRUD page for a table.  Write some text on a command line and the code gets written for you.  It is like when creating a new project that connects to a database and has a lot of pages but without having to… create a new project.

VS supports debugging in different web browsers.  No more need to swap default one.  One can even start several at once.

The Javascript editor is improved.

The CSS editor is improved.

The HTML editor is improved.

VS now uses Json.net out of the box.  Like everyone else does.

The web api is a more RESTful approach.  I have tried it and it is really simple and nice.

Put javascript files in a folder and VS can minify and bundle it for you for making faster downloads.

Lightswitch is improved.

If you are into testing and is using VS there are lots to learn already.  More functionality has now been added and the GUI has been improved.

Architectural tools have been improved but I won’t mention them due to their uselessness due to Microsofts licence scheme.  Unless you like 25000€ is a fair price.

Some new stuff in Dotnet4.5:

The await keyword.

It is like multi threading made easy to read.

EntityFramework 5.  Well… EF is released out of band with Dotnet so it isn’t a part of it.

EF5 has database migration.  This means you write upgrade and downgrade code for changing database version in a dotnet language and not sql as usual is.  I have seen it demonstrated and liked the smoothness of the process but still think it is the wrong way to go.  Database stuff should be done in databases and sql.  Amen.

– http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2012/05/31/visual-studio-tfs-2012-release-candidate-available-today.aspx     <- mostly tis

– http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jasonz/archive/2012/05/31/announcing-the-release-candidate-rc-of-visual-studio-2012-and-net-framework-4-5.aspx     <- contains a video too

– http://www.hanselman.com/blog/VisualStudio2012RCIsReleasedTheBigWebRollup.aspx

 

LESS – takes some of the evul out of CSS

I am not saying CSS is bad.  I am just saying it is far from being good.

That today create a “language” that doesn’t have variables is so far out that even Whitespace seems like an ordinary language.

Enter LESS and SASS.  One of them, SASS IIRC, is also blessed by the Visual studio team.

– http://www.developerdrive.com/2012/05/learning-less-mixins/

 

Microsoft fakes – avoid adapting the architecture to the testing (win)

When doing TDD or BDD or any other abbreviation that requires testing one has to use interfaces.  Why?  Because otherwise one cannot mock.

Alas – adapting testing requires a change of architecture.  This is not considered a good thing.

Please note that I am not against interfaces; they have their reason.  But do also note that changing an architecture changes more than just a few boxes in a slide show.

Creating an architecture for supporting a domain is good.  Changing the architecture away from this is not necessarily good; even probably not so since the architecture was adapted to the domain to start with.

There is where Microsoft fakes comes in.  It supports the so called non-invasive testing which tries to stay away.  Instead it intercepts calls and does its job.

– http://www.infoq.com/news/2012/05/deep-dive-fakes

 

Projects and leadership

Lean software and systems conference 2012 on Vimeo

LSSC12 conference online gratis for your viewing pleasure.

– http://vimeo.com/channels/339107

 

Miscellaneous

OpenROV – open source underwater remotedly operated vehicle

A human life form has been on the moon more times than on the bottom of the ocean.  That is how little we know about it.

Normally ROVs, as they are called, are expensive, bulky, heavy and require several people to run them.  I have for a long time have the idea that it must not be so.  Thankfully some with more time and skill than I have thought so too.

Below is linked a start at knowing more; a small remotedly operated machine for under water use.  It looks nicer than all my sketches of my own solution.  The one I never had the time to build.

Did I say it is open? – like libre/free.

– http://openrov.com/

 

Watch “The Ikea Song” on YouTube

I don’t know if it is a try to be create a viral ad by Ikea themselves or guy with a funny bone.  Never the less it is funny.

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haxd9ncak00

 

Yelling made easier

Bash is like youtube but with text; there are a lot of duds but once in a while you start replaying/rereading the film/text while crying with laughter.

– http://bash.org/?835030

*EOF*

Communicate, communicate, communicate – and Windows 8 release preview and Visual studio 2012 release candidate

For newcomers to the Microsoft dev world: RC stands for Release Candidate and is what others would call a beta; or “late beta” to show that it is close to release.  RP stands for Release preview and is similarly a beta.  To be honest RC and RP and RTM and what else of abbreviations have a deeper meaning like “feature complete”, “production worthy” etc.  I just can’t remember what means what.

What does this more mean?
You’re close to your next update.
Dotnet micro framework still doesn’t work.

This Cccommunicate letter is sponsored by the great slide.

—-8<—-

Communicate, communicate, communicate – and it’s all about ergonomics baby!

hejdig.

A new Cccommunicate letter is out.

My primary working tool is my computer. My primary tactile tool to handle the computer is my keyboard. So it would be strange if I didn’t spend some time making it better.

20 years ago I looked at my hands and wrists I saw that they prefer to stay straight.

So I folded the legs on the keyboard and laid it flat.
It felt awkward for the first 10 minutes but I knew that I, ergonomically, was on the right track.

Now I can say that that was the simplest thing I have ever done to decrease the risk of working injures. Or just simply improve ergonomics.

/OF

Table of contents:

CODE AND DEVELOPMENT
Continous delivery in 10 minutes (java,win)
Sisodb and Sqlserver – DDB on top of RDB – What? – (win)
Unit testing is enhanced in VS11 (win)
Common pitfalls in jquery – a short article for avoiding some of them (javascript)
Team explorer everywhere – run TFS from Eclipse (win?)
The new GUI in VS11 – a slight step backwards (win)
Lint and javascript – JSLint and JSHint (javascript)
Learning Azure – weekly webcast (win)
Jetbrains dotnet decompiler and assembly browser version 1.0 (win)
INotifyPropertyChanged – here is a better solution than standard (win)
PROJECTS AND LEADERSHIP
Software Team Leader Manifesto – Take #2 – Elastic Team Leadership in Software – Elastic Leadership
Trello.com – simple online kanban board
PRODUCTS AND RELEASES
so.cl – new social network thingy from microsoft
Blank keyboards – übergeek
An 8 cm long cmputer on open platform
Power unit for a computer power in a car or boat
SECURITY, PRIVACY AND RIGHTS
Transparency for copyright removals in search (google)
Cert.se – online realtid (så gott det går) info om virus och säkerhet
MISCELLANEOUS
27b6 – the neighbour and the halogen lamp
Punkin chunking – a DIY sport
You cannot parse HTML with regex
Lowered prices on games

Communicate, communicate, communicate – and the value of updating. now.

Communicate, communicate, communicate letter is out.

Update!  Update now!

A new version of an operating system or tool you use is out.  Should you upgrade now, in a few weeks after reading through the forums, when version x.1 is out or wait until the next version with the feature(s) you really need is out?

The immediate answer is Now.  Other answers require an explanation; to not stay current with times requires a reason.

An upgrade of a system might require time, resources and risk.  For simplicity I use the word “cost” for these as a group.

Is this cost a problem?

Toy with the idea of updating something as big and complex as an operating system in small small pieces, say once a week, or even better: whenever available.  This is already done today with antivirus and patches.  Even though each and every update risks a cost they are applied all the time.  Besides, if one has business critical 24/7 systems one most probably also has checkpoints, backups and redundancy.
Alas: already today we are updating our systems continously without hesitation and it seems to work splendidly.

The job must be done anyway

As long as a system isn’t planned to be scrapped it has to be maintained so the update job has to be done anyway.  The cost is there – it is just a matter of paying the debt now or later.  While the debt isn’t payed someone else has to pay; either the very person who uses the OS or tool or the whole business unit.  By not upgrading one moves the cost from one place to another while still keeping the cost to be payed at a later time anyway.
If one waits until “next update” to do two updates at once one does just that.  Waits.  And then updates twice.  The cost is mainly dependant on the change in functionality – only partly on manual work.  Two updates directly after each other won’t decrease the cost; it will instead increase the amount of changes, the risk and the resulting cost even more.
If each update requires a lot of manual work one probably has yet a problem – the lack of dexterity to do something fast and simple.
Alas: Update now.  You will update anyway in a way or another.

What if the the update doesn’t contain anything needed?

Do the update anyway.  The situation is now such that any problems that arise is due to the update process only, not the functionality.  A golden opportunity to weed out problems with the update process.  By next update, the one with changed functionality will run smoother and with less cost.
Alas: Update now.  Take the cost now.

Child diseases

Everyone has them.  Both this update and next.  Make sure to get as few as possible.  Alas: update each time.  Now.

Dead time

If one spends a week on forums to find out if others got problems oneself might get, don’t wait with starting the process of updating.  As soon as the update is available, start working on it.  As soon as the update is verfied, apply it.  Remember: the update has to be done anyway and there is no reason to let the rest of the company pay for a week more with an old system.

Psychology

By choosing to not upgrade one also tells the surrounding that staying current with time isn’t proper.  As a business leader the signal is that work is done at desk, in chair, 8 hours a day with the tools in front, not with the tools available.  Progress? things others do.  As a IT pro running the computers one tells the users their time and working environment is less worth.  As a developer one is simply smoked.  A developer who doesn’t embrace change maybe should change line of business – conservation or royal court comes to mind.

 

Exception in AspnetMvc with Razor: Parser Error Message: Expected “}”.

The below text/error can occur if you have missed one of the } in jquery in a @section features{ section.

It can be hard tracking exactly which } is missing because commenting out the javascript code doesn’t change anything – it seems the razor engine doesn’t care about that type of comments.  Instead start the @section{} anew and copy-paste the code in again piece by piece.

In my case it was a totally ok javascript for loop:

for (i = 0 ; i < 12 ; i++) { }

Server Error in ‘/myApplication’ Application. 

 

Parser Error 

Description: An error occurred during the parsing of a resource required to service this request. Please review the following specific parse error details and modify your source file appropriately.

Parser Error Message: Expected “}”.

Source Error:

Line 204:        </p> Line 205:    </section> Line 206:</section>