NeoDB

Neo4J is a graph database (GDB) with its own query language Cypher. With Neo4J it is possible to display and record data quickly and efficiently in a graph structure.

Prerequisites 🐳

You need Docker to be installed at your machine to run this project.

First run 👶

If you have never used this project before, you can run the following command to set everything up from scratch:

$ make all

This will initially create a new docker image of the project. Then you will be asked to follow the instructions for setting up the .env. Once everything is set up, the service will start on its own.

Run 🏃

If everything is set up properly, you can (re-)start a container by using:

$ make run

Run with new Environment-Variables 🔧 👷

To run a fresh container with new environment-variables please use the following:

$ make install

Run NeoDB for development

NeoDB has a Makefile for simplicity. The commands are as follows:

Command	Use	Dependencies
clean_variables	Delete .env
new_variables	Create .env with all necessary variables	clean_variables
build_image	Build the docker-image
run	Runs Neo4J in a docker-container
install	Create new .env and run new container	new_variables, run
all	Does every of those steps above	all above

To do any of those steps run:

$ make <Command>

Notice: No authentication is required for the development mode. However, the NEO4J_AUTH field in .env is set to none.

Environment variables for development

In order for NeoDB to work properly and interact with D-BAS, some environment variables must be set in advance. These environment variables must be specified in the .env and can be installed with the installation script described above. In total, the following variables must be included.

Variable	Use	Value
DB_PW	D-BAS DB Password of the live version	See D-BAS
DB_HOST	The host of the D-BAS DB service	See D-BAS
DB_NAME	Name of D-BAS DB	See D-BAS
DB_PORT	Port of D-BAS DB	See D-BAS
DB_USER	User of D-BAS DB	See D-BAS

Using the real-time data from D-BAS

It is also possible to read the real-time data from D-BAS within the university network.

For this the data for the guest user must be requested. Information about the guest user and the application for a guest password can be traced here.

In addition, the database host DB_HOST must be changed to dbas.cs.uni-duesseldorf.de or dbas.cs.hhu.de.

If all data concerning DB_USER, DB_PW and DB_HOST is available, it must be entered in .env. To do this, run the following command and follow the instructions:

$ make new_variables

After that Neo4J can be started via:

$ make run

Environment variables for production

The file with the environment variables for production should be named: production.env. It is important for NEO4J_AUTH that NEO4J_USERNAME and NEO4J_PASSWORD are separated with a /.

Variable	Use	Value
NEO4J_USERNAME	Name of the Neo4J user	neo4j
NEO4J_PASSWORD	Password for the Neo4J user	choose one
NEO4J_AUTH	Authentication for the User	NEO4J_USERNAME/NEO4J_PASSWORD
DB_PW	D-BAS DB Password of the live version	See D-BAS live version
DB_HOST	The name of the D-BAS DB service	See D-BAS live version
DB_NAME	Name of D-BAS DB	See D-BAS live version
DB_PORT	Port of D-BAS DB	See D-BAS live version
DB_USER	User of D-BAS DB	See D-BAS live version

Configuration

The initial configuration can be found in the conf folder inside neo4j.conf.

The configuration is not bound as a volume, because old configuration values are transferred each time the system is started. This can cause some problems, see also: https://community.neo4j.com/t/cannot-edit-neo4j-conf/643/3 So the image has to be rebuilt every time the configurations are changed.

All basic configurations are stored in neo4j.conf. Additionally some additional configurations are added. These include:

Configuration	Use	Value
browser.post_connect_cmd	Command to start a specific browser-guide while entering the browser	:play https://s3.cs.uni-duesseldorf.de/neo4j/hello_dbas.html
browser.remote_content_hostname_whitelist	Allow :play to fetch data from every kind of URI	*
dbms.security.procedures.unrestricted	Enable external procedures	algo.*, apoc.*

Run NeoDB with Docker 🐳

Run the following command:

$ docker-compose up

To build, run the following command:

$ docker-compose up --build

Docker is supposed to be used for production.

Current status

Currently NeoDB contains only the discussion graphs consisting of the main components: Issue, Argument, Statement and Position. These are connected by the edges CONCLUDES, PREMISE_OF and REGARDING and indicate exactly the discussion graphs.

Usage

NeoDB can be accessed from any client. The common client for a Python application is the Neo4j Python Driver.

Maintainer

• Marc Feger