Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 11
Spring Data Neo4j
This chapter will focus on using Spring Data Neo4j as well as creating a working application that integrates the five
graph model types covered in Chapter 3. As with other languages that offer drivers for Neo4j, the integration takes
place using a Neo4j server instance with Spring Data Neo4j (SDN) API and related libraries (henceforth referred to
collectively as
SDN
. The chapter will be divided into the following topics:
•
Spring Data Neoj4 Development Environment
•
Spring Data Neo4j API
•
Developing a Spring Data Neo4j web application
In each chapter that explores a particular language paired with Neo4j, I recommend that you start a free trial on
www.graphstory.com
or have installed a local Neo4j server instance as shown in Chapter 2.
■
To quickly setup a server instance with the sample data and plugins for this chapter, go to
graphstory.com/practicalneo4j
. You will be provided with your own free trial instance, a knowledge base, and
email support from Graph Story.
Tip
For this chapter, I assume that you have at minimum a good understanding of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and of
Java web application development with Spring Web MVC. You will also need to understand the basics of configuring
the Apache Tomcat servlet container for your preferred operating system. To proceed with the examples in this
chapter, you will need to have Tomcat 7 installed and configured.
Tomcat version 7. The configuration steps of Tomcat are beyond the scope of this topic, but the wiki section on the Apache
Tomcat site provides a detailed guide to guide you through more detailed configuration and optimization techniques.
Do This
I also assume that you have a basic understanding of the
model-view-controller (
MVC) pattern and some
knowledge of Java web frameworks that provide an MVC pattern. Because you are using Spring Data Neo4j, it makes
sense to take advantage of Spring Web MVC and other libraries in the Spring family. This chapter is focused on
integrating Neo4j into your Spring skill set and does not dive deeply into the best practices of developing with Spring
Web MVC or Spring libraries.
