Architecting HBase Applications

Foreword

Throughout my 25 years in the software industry, I have experienced many disruptive changes: the Internet, the World Wide Web, mainframes, the client–server model, and more. I once worked on a team that was implementing software to make oil refineries safer. Our 40-person team shared a single DEC VAX—a machine no more powerful than the cell phone I use today.

I still remember a day in the early 90s when we were scheduled to receive new machines. The machines being replaced were located on the third floor, and were large, heavy, washing machine–sized behemoths. A bunch of us waited inside the “machine room” to see how they would heave the new machines up all those flights of stairs. We imagined a giant crane, the street outside being blocked off…in short, a big operation!

But what actually happened was quite different. A man entered the room carrying a small box under his arm. He placed it on top of one of the old “washing machines,” switched some cables around, did some tests, and left. That was it? Wow. Things change!

That is the joy of being part of the tech industry: if we are willing to learn new things and move with it, we will never be bored, and will never cease to be amazed. What seemed impossible just a few years ago is suddenly commonplace.

Big data is such a change. Big data is everywhere. The revolution started by Google with the Google File System and BigTable has now reached almost every tech company, bank, government, and startup. Directly or indirectly, ...