Simple Ways to Keep Rails Database Optimized

Database is the most crucial component to every Rails application. Each visit to the Rails app can cause one or even hundreds of database queries. On top of that considering the number of visitors per day and the number of pages each visitor hits, it can be concluded that database optimization is very crucial to Rails web-app hosting. Here I have mentioned some simple steps to optimize Rails database.

Reducing the number of queries:

One of the easiest ways to optimize Rails database is by reducing the number of queries it uses. If it is possible to remove codes which aren’t necessary or performing tasks in one query instead of two, can improve the web-app’s response time to a great extent. Rails even makes it easier by providing the ‘include’ option in ActiveRecord.

Proper Database Indexes

Having proper database indexes for the tables will assist in improving the performance when searching, grouping and sorting. By default rails adds indexes to the primary keys where as the rest indexes are added manually. Indexes can be added to all foreign keys, type columns that are searchable. 

Implementing ActiveRecord

Rails framework is featured to make it easier for the programmer to develop Ruby apps efficiently and with much ease. The Rails database library, ActiveRecord, offers numerous options which can be set to improve certain queries. Optimizing individual queries can be tough and time consuming but it offers better performance than optimizing all queries at a time. Some time Rails generates database queries that are too complex and needs improvement. In such cases ‘SQL explain’ command should be used to see which queries are slow and why. Then the queries can be re-written with raw SQL statements, avoiding the ActiveRecord.

Every Ruby on rails developer should consider database optimization as crucial and take necessary steps to curve any such issues.

Fingerprint identification might be the Siri for next-gen iPhone

Apple’s next generation iPhone is expected to be an upgrade like the 4S and 3GS so presumably the next phone would be a 5S. Rather than being a complete renovation like the iPhone 5, the upcoming iPhone 5S will likely feature minor changes in the OS and some new hardware components. Apple will be introducing some new features that will convince Apple fans to upgrade their iPhone5 handset. Siri had prompted iPhone 4 owners to buy the iPhone 4S. New reports suggests that the next iPhone’s “Siri” will be a new fingerprint scanner that apple will integrate directly into the hardware.

 

Topeka Capital Market analyst Brian White stated “We believe fingerprint identification technology will be part of the iPhone 5S and this is likely to be the major new feature used to market the iPhone 5S, similar to what Siri was to the iPhone 4S”. He also pointed that Apple’s iPhone 5S will feature an improved camera and the buttons on the left will be arranged differently, and regarding the much rumored cheaper iPhone Apple plans to launch this year, White believes it will be debuted alongside iPhone 5S. An earlier report from KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed that Apple’s next iPhone will include fingerprint scanning technology.

He quoted “Our general takeaway around Apple is that a lower-priced iPhone and the iPhone 5S will be announced together in June and launched in July. Despite recent reports to the contrary, our research indicates that a lower-priced iPhone is in the works,” and “Essentially, this confirms our previous thinking. Strangely enough, the lower-priced iPhone is still being called the ‘iPhone mini’; however, the general consensus was that this new device would actually have the same screen size as the iPhone 5”

He also added “The ‘iPhone mini’ will have a curved back casing made of colored plastic and will be thicker than the iPhone 5. We also learned the pricing could be a bit higher than our recently raised expectation, reaching as high as $400. As such, we are now projecting a $350 to $400 price point for the ‘iPhone mini.’ We believe this price point will provide relief for those investors concerned that Apple would be sacrificing too much margin or brand to serve the lower price band of the Smartphone market.”

iphone application developer are waiting for the update. They are also eager about the OS update which will give them new opportunity to build more exciting and colorful apps for a vibrant display.

Cloud Management is Becoming Increasingly Popular Among Businesses

Companies around the world are now leveraging cloud technology for the past several years to boost their businesses. It has facilitated them by increasing the server performance and introducing new opportunities to expand operation as well as reducing investment. Cloud management services have enabled organizations by delivering multiple competitive advantages over their competitors. However, cloud was unable to offer all the advantages of hosted services. Hence the businesses were advised to monitor cloud to minimize problems such as performance and security issues. A recent TechTarget report has said that cloud often disguises the same challenges that traditional data center services could look after. Hence, using cloud monitoring tools should be a must in private sectors.

Monitoring cloud is becoming more crucial when big data are involved. With the growing number of workloads migrating to the hosted services are implying more pressure on the infrastructure’s capacity. It has forced the decision makers to seek solutions that provide insight into how servers and other tools are operating. TechTarget pointed that when management of public or private clouds comes into picture the companies more concerned about lifecycles of workload and not just the term virtual machine.

Nowadays a majority of private sectors are making the shift to cloud management services to avail the unique benefits that will support long term business growth. Despite of the unfamiliarity, executives are bending towards the cloud because the cloud management solutions are similar to the traditional virtualization. With the increasing demand for innovative cloud management solutions many offerings have been made in the market. But all of the services are not as robust and reliable as they should be. It has compelled decision makers to consider integrating multiple solution s together. A number of vendors are providing singular, multifunctional technology capable of monitoring the cloud.

cloud management services are becoming increasingly popular in today’s society. These services provide the visibility and insights into the network which is essential for business success. It is expected that in the coming years these cloud management services market will continue to evolve, and will encourage a number of company to leverage the technology. Along with that cloud technology and cloud monitoring services will also continue to mature into more sophisticated services capable to meet short term and long term demands in the private sectors.

What’s new in PHP 5.5 Beta1 release

PHP 5.5 has been released as beta1 with numerous new features. It implies that no further features will be added till the next PHP release. It has included integration of Zend Optimizer+, array_column function which simplifies the extraction of columns from multidimensional arrays and support for non-scalar iterator keys via the foreach() loop. It has also included the option to modify process titles in CLI/CLI server SAPIs.

The inclusion of Zend Optimizer+ was a recent decision from the developers. It enhances the performance of the ‘bytecode’ which is generated by the interpreter from PHP source code and allows to load PHP applications. This in turn helps to increase the performance and speed of PHP applications. The Zend Optimizer+ was included in the way of Zend opcache extension. Other opcache technologies like APC (Alternative PHP Cache), which used to be the default technology will be dropped. Zend CTO Zeev Suraski had already put forward a proposal of integrating Zend Optimizer+ component into the Open Source PHP distribution. His request for comments (RFC) said, the Optimizer+ offers a better performance than APC with an improvement of 5 to 20% in terms of requests per second. It increases PHP execution speed through opcode caching. It also enhances server performance by storing compiled PHP bytecode in the shared memory, thus the code wouldn’t be read from the disk and compiled when used for the second time.

Other new features added in PHP 5.5 include the support for generators and a new password hashing API. It will facilitate developers to generate a secure salted password hash using Bcrypt. A salt will not be needed as it will be auto-generated by the API and added as a random component to the password. The Bcrypt hash makes longer password difficult to crack as it requires a lot of memory.

Other enhancements in the PHP 5.5 beta version include:

1. Support for try/catch blocks
2. Support for list() in foreach loop
3. Array/string dereferencing
4. ext/intl improvements
5. Facilitates using empty() on the result of function calls and other expressions

A complete list of all the improvements and bug fixes can be availed from the PHP News file on github.

CakePHP Development will now be facilitated with numerous features which would make development processes easier and faster.

Why there is an increase in PHP web app developers

Why there is an increase in PHP web app developers

Google’s Schmidt says Chrome and Android will remain separate

Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt said that they will keep its OSes, Android and Chrome separate. In India, he attended an IT event called Big Tent Activate Summit and said the two operating systems will remain separate and independent products, but there will be more “commonality” among them.

But Schmidt’s current statements seem to contradict his previous comments. Back in February 2011, he told delegates at the Mobile World Congress trades how that Chrome and Android would unite. He had said “We’re working overtime to get those technologies merged in the right way,” and added: “I learned a long time ago, don’t force technology to merge when it’s not ready, wait for the technology to mature to the point when it can be merged.” So basically Chrome and Android will be merged, but also won’t be rushed.

Google’s quasi-desktop OS Chrome and its mobile OS Android would be merged were rumored earlier when head of Android, Andy Rubin, was assigned with other role with Sundar Pichai, head of Chrome and apps. Pichai did not leave his existing duties rather added Android division to his Chrome and apps portfolio, implying merge of both OS.

Chrome and Android remaining independent has much the same emphasis as Schmidt’s comments from two years ago — when he said they would merge, ultimately. It’s likely Google needs to wait for the market to mesh with its mobile centric vision — so growing the Android platform and expanding its reach is one way Mountain View may have been “working overtime”.

The ultimate unification of Chrome and Android is inevitably since the differences between hardware categories are being eroded. Chrome OS was announced in mid 2009, at a time when netbooks were at its pinacle. The launch of the iPad in 2010 created the tablet category for which quickly became widely demanded and started replacing mini laptops, putting the emphasis on touch and mobile computing. And from that wearable smart devices are also on its way. So the ultimate question is not if Chrome and Android will merge rather how soon it will happen.

Apparently Android Application Development will always be a top priority and merger of both OS will bring new opportunities to the developers to build application for future OS fused devices.