I am pleased to announce that Spring Data GemFire now has support for Apache Geode.

What is Apache Geode?

In a nutshell, Apache Geode is the open source core of Pivotal GemFire. Geode was recently accepted into the Apache incubator after being submitted by Pivotal to the Apache Software Foundation as part of the BDS open sourcing effort.

Technically, Apace Geode is an in-memory, distributed database (a.k.a. IMDG) enabling new as well as existing Spring/Java applications to operate at cloud scale with high availability and predictable latency without sacrificing consistency. Applications are able to transact and analyze Big Data in realtime to achieve meaningful and impactful business results.

While that may sound complicated, Spring Data GemFire delivers on Spring's promise of enabling developers to effectively build highly-scalable applications with Apache Geode, or alternatively Pivotal GemFire, using Spring's comprehensive and powerful programming model to abstract away the complexity.

Get Started

To start building Spring applications with Apache Geode, just include the Spring Data GemFire dependency in your project Gradle build file, or Maven POM, like so...

build.gradle

dependencies {
    compile "org.springframework.data:spring-data-gemfire:1.7.0.APACHE-GEODE-EA-SNAPSHOT"
}

pom.xml

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-data-gemfire</artifactId>
    <version>1.7.0.APACHE-GEODE-EA-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <scope>compile</scope>
</dependency>

Spring Data GemFire artifacts are available in the Spring libs-snapshot repository...

<repository>
  <id>spring-libs-snapshot</id>
  <name>Spring Maven libs-snapshot Repository</name>
  <url>https://repo.spring.io/libs-snapshot</url>
</repository>

Version 1.7.0 coincides with the first version of SDG to offer Apache Geode support and includes all the latest developments in SDG as of 1.7.

The APACHE-GEODE-EA-SNAPSHOT version qualifier distinguishes SDG builds for Apache Geode from SDG builds for Pivotal GemFire, 1.7.0- BUILD-SNAPSHOT.

So, why announce a "snapshot-like" release when traditional Spring release announcements center around milestones, release candidates and final GA?

Mainly because Apache Geode has no official releases yet. But more importantly, we want to give developers a chance to try out Apache Geode in Spring-based applications using Spring Data GemFire in order to get feedback as soon as possible.

While the Spring Data GemFire version with Apache Geode support is stable enough for development purposes, it is not quite ready to be integrated into master given technical differences between Apache Geode and Pivotal GemFire. Essentially, Pivotal GemFire must converge with Apache Geode to support both on the same Spring Data GemFire branch.

If you are familiar with developing Pivotal GemFire applications using Spring Data GemFire, then you already know how to use Apache Geode. If not, the Spring Data GemFire reference guide and examples are a good starting place as is the Guides on spring.io. In particular, check out Accessing Data with GemFire and Caching Data with GemFire, or Accessing GemFire Data with REST.

Try things out. If you have any feedback, I welcome your ideas and questions in JIRA and on StackOverflow as well as any contributions by submitting PRs on GitHub.

Get Involved

In addition to building Spring applications with Apache Geode, now is the perfect time to get involved in the Geode community and contribute to a growing Apache project from the ground up. There are many ways you can participate.

Conclusion

Apache Geode was a significant contribution to ASF given the only features of Pivotal GemFire not available in Apache Geode were Continuous Queries (CQs) and multi-site, WAN replication. To gain a better understanding of Apache Geode, check out the Getting Started page.

If you are in the area, you can also learn more by attending a session on Apache Geode during this Meetup at the Pivotal Labs office in Toronto, ON, Canada on Wednesday, June 24th, 2015, 6:30 PM.

Finally, Luke Shannon and I will also be talking about Apache Geode and Spring Data GemFire in our session, "Building Highly-Scalable Spring Applications with In-Memory, Distributed Data Grids" at SpringOne again this year.

Don't miss it!

#SpringOne 2GX 2015 is around the corner! Book your place at SpringOne2GX in Washington, DC soon. Super Early Bird Price expires June 12th! It's simply the best opportunity to find out first hand all that's going on and to provide direct feedback.

#Discounts

• The Super Early Bird price tier ($300 discount) expires June 12th. The Early Bird price tier (June 13th - August 14th) is discounted $150.
• Register 4 and get the 5th pass free. Contact us with the names of your first 4 registrants for your complimentary pass code (conference admission only).
• Alumni, contact us for your discount code ($150 off any option).