Cloudant Signup Procedure Is Easy

Cloudant’s signup procedure is a simple form that grants you immediate access to your new databases. One of the options is “Lagoon,” which is their Azure installation.

Although you can use code to create and manage your databases, you can also do so through their handy Website. Here I’m creating a new database called “articles.”

In addition to your own databases, you have access to a whole set of sample databases that help demonstrate the capabilities of Cloudant. Most of these involve replicating the sample databases into your own account using this screen.

The Website includes features for inserting, reading, updating, and deleting your data. These make use of AJAX calls directly to the CouchDB server. However, normally you wouldn’t use these calls in your own app due to cross-site access and security concerns.

Using the Web interface, you can list the elements in your database. The elements appear as JSON structures.

The Web interface also lets you view stats on your databases.Â

The Web interface even lets you manage the indexes of your database. These features give you full access for managing your databases all from within the Web GUI.

Using any IDE, you can write code on your own server that accesses your CouchDB databases managed by Cloudant. This is a sample Node.js app using the Cloud9 IDE.

With the app running (as seen in the middle console window) you can see the output of the app running on your own server (bottom browser window). You can also do some basic REST access (top-left browser window).

Cloudant is also available through the Azure marketplace, although really there’s nothing to install directly from the marketplace. Instead, the entry in the market takes you directly to Cloudant’s Website.