Speaking
If you would like me to speak at your event, you can choose from the sessions below, or I can customize something for you. Please Contact me for scheduling, questions, etc.
JSON Data Modeling in Document Databases
If you’re thinking about using a document database, it can be intimidating to start. A flexible data model gives you a lot of choices, but which way is the right way? Is a document database even the right tool?
In this session we’ll go over the basics of data modeling using JSON. We’ll compare and contrast with traditional RDBMS modeling. Impact on application code will be discussed, as well as some tooling that could be helpful along the way. The examples use the free, open-source Couchbase Server document database, but the principles from this session can also be applied to CosmosDb, Mongo, RavenDb, etc.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit.Code() | 7/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Pittsburgh Tech Fest | 6/10/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Central Ohio Java Users Group | 9/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| CoverMyMeds (internal) | 1/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| L Brands (internal) | 2/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| THAT Conference | 8/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Tulsa Tech Fest | 7/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Cincy Deliver | 7/26/2019 12:00:00 AM | ||
| GDG Indy | 4/6/2020 12:00:00 AM |
Don't Drop ACID - Transactions in Distributed NoSQL
NoSQL document databases provide unique capabilities of scaling, flexibility, and performance for a wide variety of use cases. However, many developers from relational backgrounds are understandably nervous (for a variety of reasons) about using NoSQL in their next project. This session will address one of those reasons: ACID transactions (or lack thereof). This session will start with some background about why NoSQL databases didn’t (initially) have full ACID capabilities. Next, we’ll look at why lack of ACID may not be a big deal and some of the data modeling and querying techniques to use instead. Finally, we’ll look at the more recent trend of document databases adding distributed multi-document ACID capabilities and show a live demo of a NoSQL transaction. You’ll leave this session with a better understanding of how ACID works and when to use it.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDC Oslo | 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Momentum | 10/13/2021 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Manning Publications Twitch Live | 10/3/2020 12:00:00 AM |
Querying NoSQL with SQL: HAVING Your JSON Cake and SELECTing it too
Until recently, agile business had to choose between the benefits of JSON-based NoSQL databases and the benefits of SQL-based querying. NoSQL provides schema flexibility, high performance, and elastic scaling, while SQL provides expressive, independent data access. Recent convergence allows developers and organizations to have the best of both worlds.
Developers need to deliver apps that readily evolve, perform, and scale, all to match changing business needs. Organizations need rapid access to their operational data, using standard analytical tools, for insight into their business. In this session, you will learn the ways that SQL can be applied to NoSQL databases, and what additional features are needed to deal with JSON documents. SQL for JSON, JSON data modeling, indexing, and tool integration will be covered. This session will focus mainly on CosmosDb and Couchbase, but it will also touch on emerging relational approaches to JSON data.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| DevNexus 2017 | 2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| CodeStock 2017 | 5/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Code PaLOUsa 2017 | 6/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| IT/Dev Connections | 10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| DevIntersection East 2017 | 5/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| KCDC 2017 | 8/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Cincy.Develop() | 7/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| DC Web Components | 8/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Great Lakes Area .Net Users Group | 7/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Lake County .NET User Group | 9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Tulsa Tech Fest 2016 | 8/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | ||
| CodeMash 2018 | 1/12/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| All Things Open | 10/23/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| JavaScript and Friends | 8/14/2019 12:00:00 AM |
Introduction to SQL++ for Big Data: Same Language, More Power
The most popular databases in the world all speak SQL, and almost 60% of Stack Overflow members use SQL. SQL is the query language that dominates when it comes to interacting with data. Data has changed since the 1970s; it’s no longer just stored in flat tables, but as rich, hierarchical object structures like JSON. SQL isn’t dead though, it just needed to evolve a little bit. In this session, you’ll learn about the next iteration of SQL: SQL++. Born from a UCSD research project, SQL++ is backwards-compatible and can work with heterogeneous data, with or without schemas and indexing. It is still the readable, declarative, highly composable language that you’re used to, but with extra super-powers. This session will focus on the enhancements that SQL++ brings, will show some of the databases that are already implementing it (including Couchbase, AsterixDB, Drill), and guidance on why and when to use it. You will enter with SQL skills and leave with big data skills.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tech Watch | 6/29/2019 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Code PaLOUsa | 7/23/2019 12:00:00 AM | ||
| All Things Open | 10/16/2019 12:00:00 AM | ||
| SQL Saturday - Cleveland | 2/1/2020 12:00:00 AM |
Autonomous Microservices
Everybody loves Microservices, but we all know how difficult it is to make it right. Distributed systems are much more complex to develop and maintain, and over time, we even miss the simplicity of old monoliths. In this talk, I propose a combination of Infrastructure, architecture, and design principles to make your microservices bulletproof and easy to maintain with a combination of high scalability, elasticity, fault tolerance, and resilience.
This session will also include a discussion about some microservices blueprints like asynchronous communications, how to avoid cascading failures in synchronous calls, and why you should use different storages according to the use case: Document Databases to speed up your performance, RDBMS for transactions, Graphs for recommendations, etc.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| CodeMash 2019 | 1/11/2019 12:00:00 AM | ||
| QCon New York 2018 | 6/28/2018 12:00:00 AM | ||
| HRNUG | 4/14/2020 12:00:00 AM |
I have a NoSQL toaster
A toaster stores data without SQL and without tables. But making a choice based on what something doesn’t have isn’t terribly useful. “NoSQL” is an increasingly inaccurate catch-all term that covers a lot of different types of data storage. To make more sense of this new breed of database management systems, the buzzword is not good enough. In this session, the four main data models that make up the NoSQL movement will be covered: key-value, document, columnar and graph. How they differ and when to use each one will be discussed.
This session will be looking at the whole ecosystem, with a more detailed focus on Couchbase, Cassandra, Riak KV, and Neo4j.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code PaLOUsa | 6/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| IT/Dev Connections 2017 | 10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| QCon New York 2017 | 6/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Franklin Developer Lunch & Learn | 5/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Troy .NET User Group | 7/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Akron AITP | 9/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| The Windows Developer User Group | 9/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Columbus Code Camp 2017 | 10/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| .NET DC User Group | 8/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | ||
| houston.js | 10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Chicago Geekfest | 9/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | ||
| Momentum | 4/19/2018 12:00:00 AM |
Demystifying NoSQL: The SQL developer's guide
We’ve been using relational databases like SQL Server, Postgres, MySQL, and Oracle for a long time. Tables are practically ingrained into our thought processes. But many organizations and businesses are turning to NoSQL options to solve problems of scale, performance, and flexibility. What is a long-time relational database-using developer supposed to do? Do I just forget about all that SQL that I learned? (Spoiler alert: NO). Come to this session with all your burning questions about data modeling, transactions, schema, migration, how to get started, and more. Let’s find out if a NoSQL tool like Couchbase, CosmosDb, Mongo, etc, is the right fit for your next project.
| Event | Date | Session | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| DogFoodCon | 10/4/2019 12:00:00 AM |
