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Neo4j Treasure Map — Where to find all of the 4.0 resources you need

Jennifer Reif
Neo4j Developer Blog

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*Last updated Feb 19, 2019

With the recent release of Neo4j version 4.0, finding the best and most relevant information you need on the new and updated features might also be a learning process. We have a variety of channels to share knowledge and news, and knowing whether to look on YouTube, the developer blog, the documentation, or someplace else for specific help can be challenging. This article’s goal is to share all of the great content that is currently available (or soon-to-be coming) for the latest and greatest changes in Neo4j.

While this list is constantly growing, we will mention everything that’s been gathered so far and do our best to keep things updated as new content is added in the near future. Let’s get started!

Documentation

Product documentation is always a good place to start, as it is released with the product. Make sure you’re looking at the right version. The reference docs are designed for the specification of a feature and usually give a concise definition and barebones example of how something works and acts (e.g. syntax, config options, or installation instructions). Because of this, it’s probably most useful to more experienced Neo4j users.

There’s not a whole lot of fluff built into the docs, so there won’t be too much behind-the-scenes explanation of topics or particular integration/use-case details, but this can be the perfect thing for getting an idea of what the functionality looks like without any other clutter.

For 4.0, we also have a migration guide that was created to help you upgrade systems from previous versions to Neo4j 4.0 and to help answer questions about differences and impacts.

Developer Guides

The Neo4j Developer Guides explain concepts and contain introductory examples, often including a tutorial or walkthrough of basic usage and application for commonly-used functionality. These are a great resource for getting started with a feature to understand how it functions in a typical environment and the basics for getting it set up and running.

From Cypher to multi-tenancy to Fabric, these guides help introduce major features and tools by providing in-depth concepts with hands-on examples for gaining familiarity in operating and navigating. While there may not be specifics for working with something in a complex system or making customizations, the developer guides are a good place for interacting with and learning to use new tools or features.

Learn how to use Neo4j 4.0 features such as managing multiple databases, sharding with Neo4j Fabric, and using multi-db and Fabric in a multi-tenancy environment. The Neo4j Online Developer Expo and Summit (NODES) conference also gave us a way to show what would be coming in this release. Recordings of that content are also available.

Developer Blog

If you are interested in dealing with functionality in specific environments or optimizing queries and processing, the developer blog on Medium.com provides more content in this area. Our publication on Medium accepts posts not just submitted from Neo4j staff, but everyone in the community wanting and willing to share what they have learned or spread the word for tips and tricks.

The blog channel has a steady stream of new content, as the content source pulls from a variety of authors and experiences. It will tell you what is working now and how to adapt it. Our authors also have a great record of updating older content or publishing the latest changes in another post, so you can find the latest versions of content you need.

Covering ranges of topics for data science, visualization, how-to, import/export, Cloud/container environments, community activities/announcements, and so much more, the developer blog is a great place for keeping up on the latest of what other developers are doing with Neo4j.

Neo4j Expert Blogs

Some expert content is published outside Neo4j-specific channels on personal blogs. Google searches will surface these posts, and they are also featured in the “This Week in Neo4j” (TWIN4J) newsletter. You can monitor a specific author’s activity (following on Twitter, adding to RSS feed, etc) or subscribe to Twin4j to receive weekly updates on what has been published.

Blog post content can give you more tailored information for your needs based on specific topics, environment setups, areas of expertise, etc. Because these articles often also show up in Google searches, it means they can fit closely what you are looking for, if you can find the right search terms. Note, however, that only one person’s perspective or experience comes through an author’s blogs.

Whether you are interested in dumping data from a Docker container, running in multi-tenancy or sharded environments, using a beer or fraud graph to explore Neo4j security, or using Cypher’s post-union processing, blog posts by experts in the field are excellent resources for hashing out specific examples, overcoming uncommon errors, or optimizing solutions for certain problems.

Other Resources

Last, but not least, if you are looking for business resources on the value of Neo4j or keep up on the latest trends and announcements, there are some places to check for the latest materials. Most of this content will be published on neo4j.com/blog and focuses on high-level architecture, features, use cases, and customer stories.

Topics ranging from visualization with Neo4j, starting out with Neo4j and Cypher, implementing Neo4j for specific solutions, or more about the industry are available for guidance. There are also videos on the Neo4j YouTube channel from conferences, customers/partners, and developers.

Happy learning!

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Jennifer Reif
Neo4j Developer Blog

Written by Jennifer Reif

795 Followers
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Jennifer Reif is an avid developer and problem-solver. She enjoys learning new technologies, sometimes on a daily basis! Her Twitter handle is @JMHReif.