In the world of software development, one of the most valuable skills is the ability to break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable components. This process, known as problem decomposition, enables developers to tackle large projects more efficiently and effectively. In this blog post, we will discuss the steps you can take to develop this essential skill and apply it to your own software development projects.
1. Understand the Problem
Before diving into the actual problem-solving process, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the problem at hand. Read the problem statement carefully, and make sure you grasp the requirements and objectives. If there are any ambiguities or uncertainties, seek clarification from your team or the project stakeholders. A solid understanding of the problem will serve as a strong foundation for the rest of the process.
2. Identify Key Components
Once you have a clear understanding of the problem, begin by identifying the key components or functionalities involved. These components are the smaller, more manageable parts of the problem that you can tackle individually. For example, in a to-do list app, you might identify user authentication, data storage, user interface, and API endpoints as the main components.
3. Create a Hierarchy
After identifying the key components, organize them into a hierarchy or structure that outlines their relationships and dependencies. This will help you visualize the overall architecture of your solution and determine the order in which you should tackle the components.
4. Divide and Conquer
With a clear hierarchy in place, focus on solving each component independently. By addressing one component at a time, you can maintain your focus and make the problem more manageable. Once you have solved all the individual components, you can combine them to form the complete solution.
5. Use Abstraction
When breaking down problems, think in terms of abstractions rather than concrete implementations. This allows you to focus on the overall structure and logic of the problem, making it easier to identify and address the underlying components. For example, consider the general concept of data storage and the operations required, rather than focusing on a specific database implementation.
6. Iterate and Refine
As you work through the components, be open to iterating and refining your breakdown. You may discover new subcomponents or realize that some aspects can be further simplified. Don’t be afraid to revisit and adjust your initial decomposition as you gain a deeper understanding of the problem.
7. Test Each Component
As you implement each component, make sure to test it individually to ensure it works as expected. This will help you identify and fix issues early in the development process, making your final solution more robust and reliable.
8. Practice
Like any skill, mastering problem decomposition takes practice. Work on a variety of projects and challenges to build your problem-solving abilities and become more proficient at breaking down complex problems.
Conclusion
Problem decomposition is an essential skill for software developers, allowing them to tackle complex projects more efficiently and effectively. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can develop this skill and apply it to your own development projects. With practice and experience, you’ll become more adept at breaking down problems and creating elegant, efficient solutions.
Creating a Full-Stack MERN Application and Deploying it on an NGINX VPS
Overview of MERN Stack
MERN stands for MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js. MongoDB is a NoSQL database, Express is a web application framework for Node.js, React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, and Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine.
Prerequisites
Node.js installed on your local machine
A code editor (e.g., VS Code)
A VPS with root access for deployment (e.g., DigitalOcean, AWS, or Linode)
Basic knowledge of JavaScript, React, Node.js, and MongoDB
Your full-stack MERN application should now be deployed and accessible via your domain. Remember to follow best practices for security, performance, and production readiness as mentioned earlier in the guide.
With these code examples, the backend and frontend should now be functional. You can run both locally using npm start for the frontend and node app.js for the backend. Make sure to follow the previously provided steps to deploy the full-stack MERN application on an NGINX VPS.
The Linux distribution CentOS is an official fork of RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Because it’s community-driven, it has always been popular among developers who liked the stability and mandate of enterprise-class software without paying for it. After RedHat announced that they would be ending their support for CentOS 8 and instead focusing on their own built in stream version, this left everyone involved in an uncomfortable situation.
A Little History
The history of CentOS is that it started in 2004, and from early on each release of the commercial product Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) used to create a corresponding version of CentOS. The availability of open source CentOS Linux meant that anyone could rapidly install a free version of CentOS for any use, including development and production applications.
What Happened to CentOS?
The CentOS project has announced that their long term support will end as of 2020. We are past that time now. This means that users can no longer receive full updates
for the CentOS 7 operating system, now users will receive only maintenance updates. CentOS 8 will not receive any updates anymore as of December 21st, 2021.
CentOS was originally created as a free and open source alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is based on the same codebase and is compatible with most Red Hat software. Many businesses choose CentOS for their servers because it is a stable and reliable platform. The end of long term support may cause some businesses to reconsider using CentOS in the future.
Cutting it shorter, it means that RedHat has decided to focus their energy on their other project, which is CentOS Stream (read further below) instead of working on keeping CentOS stable for production. Essentially, this means they are ending CentOS and it can no longer be used as a production environment.
What Was It Like Before The Announcement?
Before RedHat announced the end of life for CentOS as we know it, we had a cycle of rolling releases. What does it mean, actually? It means that before the announcment, RedHat Enterprise Linux is developed from Fedora through CentOS Stream. So, RHEL was developed from the upstream – Fedora, and then RHEL downstreamed to CentOS as we knew it.
Now, the situation is a little bit different. The main and most crucial difference is that now CentOS is becoming CentOS Stream, which is a development area, that is designed to develop and test new features for RHEL.
If you understand this right, your mind should scream a big no when you think of setting up CentOS Stream as your production operating system. If you are further intersted in this, then read more about it below.
What Should You Do?
If you’re using CentOS, you need to be aware that your system has reached its end of life. That means that there will be no more security updates or support for the operating system. So what should you do? The best option is to switch to a different operating system, and the sooner the better. But if you can’t or don’t want to do that, you can continue using CentOS, but you’ll need to be extra careful about security. Be sure to keep your software up to date and run a good antivirus program. Personally, we would advise you to move to a new and supported operating system.
What Are Your Options?
If you’re running CentOS 7, you may be wondering what your options for when it will reach its end of life. You can either switch to a different Linux distribution, or you can continue using CentOS 7 but without support or security updates. If you choose to stay with CentOS 7, you should take some steps to protect your system.
However, we do not recommend staying in an unsupported system. You have options to keep up your work without moving to RedHat Enterprise Linux, and we’re here to lay them out for you.
The cPanel Option
If you choose to move forward to a new and supported operating system, you should know your options. If you are using cPanel at the moment, we would recommend an operating system that is backed and recommended by cPanel, which is AlmaLinux.
AlmaLinux – almalinux.org
AlmaLinux is a community-driven project that picks up where CentOS left off. It is fully compatible with all of the existing CentOS software and infrastructure. AlmaLinux also offers Long Term Support for users who need stability and security. Bonus fact for cPanel/WHM administrators – It is backed by cPanel, and if you need to migrate from CentOS 8 to AlmaLinux 8, you’re in luck because cPanel has released a documentation to help you with that. If you’re not a cPanel user and you still like AlmaLinux, you can also migrate from CentOS 8 to AlmaLinux 8 easily enough with their migration guide. I know I did with my own production (Yes, the one hosting this site).
The Non-cPanel Option
Mainly, there are many alternatives to replace CentOS’s job as an operating system. We’re here to give you the most voted, backed and stable. For those of you who are not using cPanel, you can use Rocky Linux.
Rocky Linux – https://rockylinux.org/
Rocky Linux is a CentOS alternative that has been gaining traction lately. It was created in response to the end of life for CentOS. It was founded by Gregory Kurtzer, who was also the co-founder of CentOS. Rocky Linux aims to be binary compatible with CentOS so that users can easily transition to it. So far, Rocky Linux has been well-received by users and developers alike. Similarly to AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux also has its fare share of backers, between them you’ll find Google Cloud, arm, vmware, Microsoft Azure and many more.
The CentOS Stream Option
If you need to consider your options for a production environment, skip this part.
CentOS Stream is a new distribution that is used as a development platform for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It is based on Fedora, but with some modifications. CentOS Stream is designed to be used by developers who want to test new features before they are integrated into RHEL. It is also useful for users who want to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the Linux world.
Wrapping Up
The end of life for CentOS 7 is approaching. In January 2024, support for the operating system will officially end. That means that users will no longer receive security updates or patches. For those who rely on CentOS for their servers, this can be a major problem. Thankfully, there are a few options available. One is to upgrade to a newer version of CentOS, such as CentOS Stream. Another is to switch to a different Linux distribution altogether. The important thing is to plan ahead and make sure your servers are still supported after January 2024.
Choosing the right database for your application is not an easy task, but it is vital to the success of the application. MariaDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL with additional features and better performance. Learn how to install or upgrade mariadb on CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 in this post!
Introduction
MariaDB is a free and open source relational database management system. It is a fork of the popular MySQL database system. MariaDB is compatible with MySQL, which means that it can use all of the existing MySQL databases and tools. MariaDB is widely used in both production and development environments.
CentOS and RHEL are two popular Linux distributions. Both distributions use the RPM Package Manager (RPM) to install, update, and remove software packages. MariaDB is available in the RPM repository for both distributions.
In this guide, we will show you how to install MariaDB on CentOS 7 and RHEL 7. We will also show you how to create a new database and user, and how to grant privileges to the user.
Adding MariaDB Repository to Yum
To add the MariaDB repository to yum, you will need to install the MariaDB RPM package from the MariaDB website. You can do this by running the following command:
After running this command you will be able to install the latest version of MariaDB from the official MariaDB repository.
Installing MariaDB Server
Once the repository has been added, you can install MariaDB by running the following command:
yum install MariaDB-server MariaDB-client
How to Enable MariaDB Service to Start At Boot
To enable the MariaDB service to start automatically at boot, you’ll need to use the chkconfig command. You can do this by running the following command:
systemctl enable mariadb
This will enable the MariaDB service to start automatically whenever the server is rebooted.
How to Start MariaDB Service
The first thing you need to do is start the MariaDB service. You can do this by running the following command:
systemctl start mariadb
How to Secure MariaDB Server Installation
It is important to secure your MariaDB server installation to protect your data from being accessed by unauthorized users. One way to do this is to set a password for the root user. You can do this by running the following command:
mysql_secure_installation
Answer the questions the prompt gives you for best experience. You will be prompted to enter a password for the root user, put your password there and make sure you copy it to a safe location, so you will not lose it.
Adding a New Database to The MariaDB Server
Adding a new database to the MariaDB server is a simple process. First, log in to the MariaDB server as root. Then, create a new database using the “CREATE DATABASE” command. For example, to create a new database named “new_db”, you would use the following command:
CREATE DATABASE new_db;
Creating a User And Granting It Permissions
In order to create a new user, log into the MariaDB shell as the root user and running the following commands:
Creating the user “new_user” and the password “password”:
CREATE USER 'new_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
Granting permissions for the new user on the new database:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON new_db.* TO 'new_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
Flushing privileges (saves privileges):
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Conclusion
In this article, we have shown you how to install MariaDB on a AlmaLinux 8 or RHEL 8 server. We also showed you how to create a new database and user, and how to grant the user permissions to access the database. Once you have MariaDB installed and configured on your server, you can begin working with databases and tables. Thanks for reading!
It is that time of year again when we take a look at which Linux distributions are the best to use in the upcoming year. This year there have been some big changes with some of the most popular distros switching to a new desktop environment or releasing a new version. So, without further ado, here are the 20 best Linux desktop distros for 2023!
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux desktop distributions. Ubuntu is easy to use and comes with a wide range of applications. It includes the Unity desktop environment, which is easy to use. It also includes the GNOME desktop environment, which is more traditional.
Ubuntu is available in several different editions, including Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, andUbuntu Gnome. Each edition has its own unique features and applications.
Ubuntu is a collection of operating systems, each with a different desktop environment. Kubuntu is the KDE-based variation, Lubuntu is the LXDE-based variation, Xubuntu is the Xfce-based variation and Ubuntu Gnome is the GNOME-based variation.
Fedora is a popular Linux desktop distribution that is known for its stability and security. It is also one of the most user-friendly distributions, making it a good choice for beginners. Fedora comes with a wide range of applications pre-installed, so you will have everything you need to get started.
Fedora also has a very active community that provides support and helps to keep the distribution up-to-date. There are also a lot of helpful resources available online, such as tutorials and how-to guides.
Overall, Fedora is a great choice for anyone looking for a stable and secure Linux desktop distribution.
Mint is a popular Linux desktop distro for a number of reasons. First, it is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, so it has access to a wide range of software. Second, Mint is very user-friendly and comes with a number of features that make it easy to use, even for beginners. Finally, Mint is highly customizable, so users can tailor it to their own needs and preferences.
Mint is a great choice for anyone looking for a user-friendly Linux desktop distro. It is also a good choice for those who want to customize their desktop environment to their own liking.
Elementary OS is a great Linux desktop distro for those who want an operating system that is both easy to use and looks great. Elementary OS is based on Ubuntu, so it is very stable and comes with a lot of pre-installed software. The Elementary OS interface is very clean and user-friendly. It also has a built-in app store, so you can easily find and install new software.
Zorin is a great Linux desktop distro for beginners. It is based on Ubuntu, so it is easy to use and has a lot of the same features. Zorin also comes with a lot of software pre-installed, so you don’t have to go and find it yourself.
Zorin is also a very lightweight Linux distro, so it will run well on older computers. It is also very customizable, so you can change the look and feel of your desktop to match your personality.
Overall, Zorin is a great Linux desktop distro for beginners. It is easy to use and comes with a lot of software pre-installed. It is also very lightweight and customizable.
Solus is a Linux desktop distribution that is designed for ease of use. It comes with a simple, yet powerful, set of tools that make it easy to get started with Linux.
Solus comes with a variety of pre-installed applications, such as a web browser, office suite, and media player. It also includes a software center that makes it easy to find and install new applications.
Solus is available in two editions: Budgie and GNOME. The Budgie edition is designed for beginners, while the GNOME edition is more advanced.
Overall, Solus is a great Linux desktop distribution for beginners and advanced users alike. Its simple design and powerful tools make it easy to get started with Linux.
Manjaro is a great choice for those who want an easy-to-use Linux desktop distro. It is based on the popular Arch Linux distro and comes with all the same features. Manjaro is also suitable for beginners, as it is very user-friendly.
Personally, I recommend the Plasma desktop environment for Manjaro, it’s beauty and user experience is exceptional.
Deepin is a Linux desktop distribution that is based on Debian. It is one of the most popular Linux distributions and is used by many people around the world. Deepin comes with a beautiful user interface and a wide range of features. It is a great choice for people who want a powerful and user-friendly Linux desktop.
If you’re looking for a Linux desktop distro that’s user-friendly and comes with plenty of features out of the box, Pop!_OS is a great option. This distro is based on Ubuntu, so it’s relatively easy to use. It comes with a variety of applications pre-installed, including a web browser, office suite, media player, and more. Pop!_OS also has a custom desktop environment that’s designed for productivity.
Pop!_OS is a great choice for both beginners and experienced Linux users. If you’re new to Linux, you’ll find that Pop!_OS is easy to use and comes with all the apps you need to get started. If you’re an experienced Linux user, you’ll appreciate the custom desktop environment and the overall focus on productivity.
Peppermint is a lightweight Linux distribution that is based on Ubuntu. It is very user-friendly and comes with a variety of pre-installed applications.
Peppermint is ideal for users who want a fast and lightweight operating system. It is also perfect for users who want to use a variety of applications without having to install them separately.
Peppermint has a very active community that provides support and help with using the operating system. The community also releases new versions of Peppermint regularly, which keep the operating system up-to-date.
Overall, Peppermint is an excellent choice for users who want a fast, lightweight, and user-friendly Linux distribution.
Linux Lite is one of the best Linux desktop distros for a number of reasons. First, it’s lightweight and easy to use. It’s also very stable and comes with a wide range of software pre-installed. Additionally, it’s available in over 50 languages, making it a great choice for multilingual users.
Another great thing about Linux Lite is that it’s free to download and use. You can also get support from the community if you need help with anything. Overall, Linux Lite is a great choice for anyone looking for a lightweight and easy-to-use Linux desktop distro.
Ubuntu is a great all-around Linux distro that is perfect for beginners and experienced users alike. It is user-friendly and comes with a variety of features that make it a great choice for anyone looking for a good Linux desktop distro.
Mint is another great option for those looking for a good Linux desktop distro. It is based on Ubuntu, so it shares many of the same features. However, it also has a few unique features of its own that make it worth considering.
Elementary OS is a beautiful and user-friendly Linux distro that is perfect for those who want something that looks good and is easy to use. It doesn’t have as many features as some of the other options on this list, but it does have everything you need to get started with Linux.
Fedora is a great option for those who want a powerful and feature-rich Linux distro. It comes with a wide range of software and features, making it a great choice for anyone who wants to get the most out of their Linux experience.