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Searching with Solr

Do what your database can't: faceted navigation, result highlighting, fuzzy queries, ranked scoring, spell correction, and more. Eric Pugh from OpenSourceConnections will give us some insights he obtained while writing one of the first Solr books to hit market.

So you're building a website and want a terrific search experience for your users. How are sites like Netflix.com and Zappos.com doing it?

Solr, the open-source enterprise search server is the answer. Solr bridges the technology divide between databases and document/web search engines (e.g. Google). Each has its uses but do not overlap.
Chances are you have some structured data, probably in a database, and perhaps some related text documents. When you bring this data into Solr, you'll be able to deliver amazing features. Users will be able to navigate search results by filtering on aggregated attributes (so- called “faceted search”). Furthermore, various features like spell- correcting, auto-completing of search text, boosting records based on various rules, become possible. Solr does not tie you to a particular programming language or computing platform. And whether you have a thousand records or millions and many requests per second, Solr can scale to meet your performance needs. Furthermore, as an open-source solution, Solr doesn't ask you for more money when you want more out of it.

We'll look at the thriving Ruby ecosystem that has grown up around integrating with Solr. From Ruby gems that integrate with Solr like solrb and rsolr, to general search solutions like acts_as_solr and sunspot. We'll also look at a complete "shrink wrapped" catalog solution for Solr using BlacklightOPAC.

You'll lean the basics of getting started with Solr, and an understanding of what Ruby solutions are available to simplifying adding great search to your site!

As usual, food and beverages will be provided.

Social networking and Web 2.0 are the buzzword rage, and while many of us have social media accounts, we might not be using them to their fullest capacity to improve our personal and corporate branding. Join Jason Hull of OpenSource Connections and Jennifer Till of The Bridge as they discuss best ways to leverage social media for brand building and improved work productivity. Among the topics that they will cover are:

The use of social media tools to project a personal brand
How to use social media tools to make yourself more valuable at work
Selling using Web 2.0 without becoming a used car salesman
Web 2.0 productvitity tools

If there are other or different topics that you would like for us to cover, please send your requests to jhull@opensourceconnections.com or shoot me a DM on Twitter, http://www.twitter.com/hull_j.

As always, food and drinks will be provided.

JeffMo has been working on a Ruby library for exploring genetic algorithms. His presentation will include a brief background on genetic algorithms and when they can be useful. He will also show his work in progress on generating Ruby Golf solutions using GAs. (Code golf is a kind of exercise or game where you show off your code-fu by solving problems using the fewest number of keystrokes.)

As always, food and drinks will be provided.

Two presentations for February!

As modern web user interfaces rely more heavily on JavaScript, the functionality slips farther away from being testable in Rails’ conventional automated test frameworks. Client-side logic can be tested in a browser using Selenium. When combined with Polonium, in-browser automated tests can be driven from a Ruby test framework within your Rails application. Rob Lineweaver will discuss the architecture behind Selenium, when and how to use it, and demonstrate writing in-browser automated tests using Selenium & Polonium in Rails.

Ra'Shaun Stovall has recently created an application written in rails which will be used by a local company servicing thousands within the Shenandoah Valley for over 40 years. Ra'Shaun will do a case study through the application development process ending with front end functionality.

As always, food and drinks will be provided. Speaking of which...

Please note the change in venue. The fine folks at TransitionPoint have offered the use of their offices, which will afford us more room that the ever shrinking conference rooms at Rosetta Stone. Another bonus. we can consume beer there as long as everyone behaves. So stop by Calley's on your way in and fill up your growler with your choice of brews.