Rodger, I don't think your expectations towards Neo4j team are fair, and you wouldn't find this level of details on most FAQ/howto pages on any more advanced technology. Java world is a very big and complex ecosystem and people writing docs have to make assumptions about the current experience/knowledge of people reading it. Time is a limited resource so think about it this way - if neo4j developers spent time writing the details of how to setup maven/spring/jdk/whatever, then they'd have no time left to write about their own stuff. They make an assumption (and a fair one in vast majority of cases) that people picking up Neo4j are familiar with standard Java tools. The format they've chosen (snippets) also helps to focus on what's important (examples can get quite long otherwise and it's easy to miss the bit that is crucial).
Personally I would recommend you spend some time getting familiar with a few base technologies before jumping straight into Neo4j world - that might save you a lot of frustration and mistakes. Doesn't need to be 400 pages book (well, on Spring it actually might help to read something proper) - but even just basic familiarity, a few example hello world projects and knowing why/what for the tool is being used will REALLY help you. These would definitely be Maven and Spring - basic dependency injection, plus most likely you'll need/want Spring Data Neo4j. I don't have any particular pointers for the books or websites, I learnt Spring from "Pro Spring" ages ago and it was good, but I have no idea if that's the best book for it at the moment. The only thing to avoid would be the "recipes" books as they might be great as an "introduction to..." - they are more problem-focused whereas you'll need a bigger picture. You can try to go ahead straight into Neo4j examples (as Dave mentioned, full source code of example projects can be downloaded), but honestly I think that will be a rather painful way of learning for you. There will be too many moving parts that you won't understand. I'd start with Maven as it's the most basic component, then a little bit of plain Spring dependency injection, and only then move into combining that with Neo4j (and potentially Spring Data Neo4j). Good luck in your journey, I hope you find it rewarding :) On Sunday, July 27, 2014 3:11:57 AM UTC+1, Rodger wrote: > > Dear NEO4J documentation staff: > > > I'm just a java newbie. Last year, I completed a two months Java > intensive course, so I'm not totally uninformed. > > > > In the NEO4J docs, I keep seeing snippets of code, but have no clue where > they are to go. > > > > ie: > http://docs.neo4j.org/chunked/stable/tutorials-java-embedded-setup.html > > > With Maven, it would be very helpful is you would specify that the typical > file to modify is pom.xml and where that file might be found. > Once I have the exact filename, it's a big start. Often, I can search my > Linux hard drive, find a similar file as an example. > > > Yet, on the same page, I see that for Ivy, the docs specify the file: > ivysettings.xml. Hmm. > > > ---- > > > Even the HelloWorld example, found at: > > http://docs.neo4j.org/chunked/stable/tutorials-java-embedded-hello-world.html > > does not have a fully working program, just snippets. > > > You can see some of my NEO4J and java struggles here: > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/neo4j/gp6D-Rnpl5E > https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/neo4j/EWl2p4xMF2U > > > ---- > > I would characterize such documentation as good for people who have > already done these tasks before. And just need a quick reminder, say on > syntax. > > However, for someone like myself, just beginning to write embedded NEO4J > in Java, this is inadequate. > > > I learn best from a "simple example that works". Once I have the simple > example, I can usually modify it, and get it to work. > > > Please provide more simple and complete java programs, and all the > specific steps required to get them to work. > > > Thanks a lot! > > > > BTW, on my blog, you will find that after I've solved many technical > issues, for the reader, it's often just a case of simple copy and paste the > solution. > http://rodgersnotes.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/getting-domainname-to-work > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Neo4j" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neo4j+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
