SimpleDB is a highly scalable, simple-to-use, and inexpensive database in the cloud from Amazon Web Services. But in order to use SimpleDB, you really have to change your mindset. This isn't a traditional relational database; in fact it's not relational at all. For developers who have experience working with relational databases, this may lead to misconceptions as to how SimpleDB works.

This practical book aims to address your preconceptions on how SimpleDB will work for you. You will be quickly led through the differences between relational databases and SimpleDB, and the implications of using SimpleDB. Throughout this book, there is an emphasis on demonstrating key concepts with practical examples for Java, PHP, and Python developers.

You will be introduced to this massively scalable schema-less key-value data store: what it is, how it works, and why it is such a game-changer. You will then explore the basic functionality offered by SimpleDB including querying, code samples, and a lot more. This book will help you deploy services outside the Amazon cloud and access them from any web host.

You will see how SimpleDB gives you the freedom to focus on application development. As you work through this book you will be able to optimize the performance of your applications using parallel operations, caching with memcache, asynchronous operations, and more.

Gain in-depth understanding of Amazon SimpleDB with PHP, Java, and Python examples, and run optimized database-backed applications on Amazon's Web Services cloud

What you will learn from this book

• Explore several SimpleDB operations with the easy-to-use Boto library on Java, PHP, and Python consoles
• Encode and decode various data types into string data using Lexicographical comparison with precise instructions
• Query, sort, and count data using SELECT syntax
• Store large binary objects in Amazon S3 while using SimpleDB as the metadata store
• Tune SimpleDB queries using the box usage value
• Avoid excessive SimpleDB requests by using a cache
• Optimize your application's performance using parallel operations

Approach

This book is a practical real-world tutorial covering everything you need to know about Amazon SimpleDB. You will come across examples in three languages: Java, PHP, and Python. This book is aimed at transforming you from a beginner to an advanced developer.

Who this book is written for

If you are a developer wanting to build scalable web-based database applications using SimpleDB, then this book is for you. You do not need to know anything about SimpleDB to read and learn from this book, and no basic knowledge is strictly necessary. This guide will help you to start from scratch and build advanced applications.