DEV Community: Suparna Ganguly

Everything You Need to Know about Open-Source Predictive Analytics Platform MindsDB

Suparna Ganguly — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 16:40:34 +0000

Looking for an open-source predictive analytics platform to create forecasts? Try MindsDB. What’s MindsDB? This article takes you through what MindsDB is, how it works, and which benefits you get using MindsDB. Read along.

What’s MindsDB?

The data in your database is vital. MindsDB is an open-source tool that allows you to make use of your data and make predictions based on them. It speeds up your ML development process by adding machine learning to your database. Using MindsDB, you can simply build, optimize, deploy and train, and your ML models. And you don’t need to rely on any other platforms for this purpose. For the forecasts, query ML models and your data.

How MindsDB Works

MindsDB allows you to make forecasts using tables in your database. Then it displays them via your BI tool using SQL. You are able to perform data pre-processing within your database and use ordinary SQL to enter the data into an ML model.

You can create beautiful representations of your forecasts using MindsDB. It provides a predictive data-driven experience that helps you achieve your goals faster. MindsDB is able to handle a vast range of complicated problems.

Benefits of Using MindsDB

There are several benefits of using MindsDB. MindsDB simplifies your project and makes the model creation process faster. MindsDB keeps your models flexible through powerful automation.

MindsDB can handle problems like Multivariate Time-Series that were impossible to solve earlier. Using the same technologies you are on, you can encourage others to apply predictive analytics. By including forecasts in your dashboard, you can access new levels of information. Apart from that, you can either make comparisons between projections with your current tables or, you can create a new table with the latest forecasts and your pre-existing data.

Conclusion

And that’s about MindsDB. I hope you find this write-up useful.

Top 3 Most Popular APIs at RapidAPI

Suparna Ganguly — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 11:33:40 +0000

As per this news article, RapidAPI gets more than 400 billion API calls per month. In this article, let’s talk about some of the popular APIs at RapidAPI. This write-up is for you if you’re finding APIs to integrate with your mobile apps or website. So, let’s begin!

Skyscanner Flight Reach

Skyscanner is a free meta-search engine similar to Google Flights. Skyscanner is a one-stop shop when it comes to individual flight plans and prices. It aggregates all the information in one place so that you don’t have to visit from site to site to look for various flight information. It gives information regarding flight routes, hotels, car rentals, and much more.

OpenWeatherMap

OpenWeatherMap is a service that gives you weather information including historical data and forecasts. OpenWeather Ltd owns this API service. OpenWeatherMap offers access to forecasts and weather maps of multiple cities throughout the world. OpenWeatherMap is fast and precise. It provides minute-by-minute hyperlocal forecasts of precipitation for any location.

API-Football

API-Football is one of the most popular RESTful APIs on RapidAPI for various sports data. It provides information regarding football, baseball, volleyball, rugby, Formula-1, hockey, handball, and basketball. You can get live match scores, event information, pre-match odds, historical data, standings, line-ups, stats, and lots more with API-Football.

Conclusion

That’s about RapidAPI APIs. I hope you find this article interesting and I'll see you next time.

Everything You Need to Know about No-Code Development Platforms in 2022

Suparna Ganguly — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 16:45:43 +0000

Are you curious to know about no-code development platforms? This article provides a guide to no-code development platforms. So, let’s read on!

What is a No-Code Development Platform?

A No-Code Development Platform, in short NCDP, lets you build an application software using GUIs (graphical user interfaces) and configuration and you don’t need any computer programming. NCDP, like the low-code platforms, speeds up the development process. In NCDP, you create applications leveraging the prebuilt templates. NCDPs can serve you well when you have a mobile workforce and a shortage of software developers.

Advantages of No-Code Development PLatforms

Some of the advantages of using No Code Development Platforms include:

Access More than 50% of business-to-employee mobile apps are developed using no-code tools. As a result, there is an increasing growth in app creators.

From the coders to anyone having an internet connection and functional business acumen.

Agility
No code platforms offer templated user interface along with the user experience functionality that fulfills standard requirements, such as workflows, forms, and data display.
Richness
At some point, NCDPs were considered only during the creation of basic application functions. However, today, they provide feature-richness and integrations. Now, no-code developers can design, develop, and deploy software apps to meet their business-specific needs.
Security
Security features provided by NCDPs are secure API endpoints, secure code with plugins, platform access control, security audits, compliance, single sign-on, authentication, application access control, etc.

Concerns Regarding No-Code Development Platforms

You might face challenges if you are building a no-code app that stores consumer data. Proponents of NCDP claim custom code bears higher security risk than platform code which is validated by its continuous usage over various applications. No-code solutions let you mask up all that is happening behind the scenes. Hence, users are free to change or modify a field when fixing certain security-related errors.

Your Handy Guide to Making Windows Apps Compatible with Linux

Suparna Ganguly — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 15:36:38 +0000

Want to run Windows applications on Linux? Yes, that’s possible. With WINE, you can use many Windows applications seamlessly on a Linux desktop. What about WINE? So, this article explains what WINE is about and how you can run Windows apps on Linux. So, let’s get started!

What’s WINE?

WINE is an open-source software project that allows you to run Windows applications on your Linux system. WINE is an acronym for “Wine Is Not an Emulator”. WINE transforms Windows API calls into POSIX calls unlike an emulator or virtual machine that simulates internal Windows logic. It removes the memory and performance penalties of any other methods. As a result, you become capable of integrating Windows apps into your Linux PC.

It functions as a compatibility layer between Windows apps and POSIX-based operating systems, such as BSD, Linux, and macOS. Is there any particular Windows application that’s holding you back from using Linux as your main operating system? WINE ends your worries. WINE has reinvented essential Windows libraries resulting in applications compiled for Windows running on Linux.

WINE doesn’t launch on its own. WINE is a backend application that gets put into action while a Windows application is launched. So, when you launch a Windows app installer, you get to interact with WINE for the first time.

Windows Apps Supported by WINE

You can check WINE Application Database to find out all applications that are supported by WINE. Currently, it has almost 24,000 supported apps rated with various statuses regarding how well they run on WINE. There are mainly five categories of ratings – Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Garbage.

The Platinum-rated apps run flawlessly with WINE. Gold-rated ones work well with WINE with some special configuration being done. Apps get a silver rating if they have minor issues. The Bronze-rated apps contain major issues. And the Garbage ones are simply incompatible with WINE.

Apart from the ratings, reviews, installation manual, the WINE version, and various other useful data have also been mentioned for every application. Of course, the WINE Application Database has been created based on users’ experiences, so you are welcome to try any application on your own and share what results you get.

Install WINE on Linux

Using your Linux distro’s repository, you can install WINE. On RHEL, Fedora, or CentOS Stream, use the following command to install WINE.

sudo dnf install wine

On Linux Mint, Elementary OS, and Debian, type:

sudo apt install wine

Getting Started with WINE

WINE makes use of a virtual drive_c as Windows apps use the drive_c. This virtual drive_c is known as Wineprefix. For this purpose, you need a Wineprefix. To create Wineprefix, go to your Linux terminal and type:

winecfg

The above command creates a Wineprefix and starts a configuration window for WINE. Just close that window for the time being, or you can change the options if you want. Next, locate the virtual drive_c at:

$HOME/.wine/c_drive

Install a Windows Application with WINE

Now, let’s take a Windows-compatible application and install it. TinyCAD is an open-source application that’s used in circuit designing. But, TinyCAD only runs on Windows. It incorporates some .NET elements as well.

First, download the TinyCAD installer. It should be a .exe file. Once the file is downloaded, double-click on it to launch. Select the “Open With Wine Windows Program Loader” option. Follow all instructions that appear on your screen. It’s best to choose the defaults. The WINE environment is self-contained and usually stays hidden in a drive_c directory. Once TinyCAD is installed, the app offers a launch. So, just go ahead and launch the application when you’re ready to test the app.

Launch Your Windows Application

Apart from the post-install launch, you launch a WINE application in a similar manner as you launch any other Linux application. You can use an Activities screen or an application menu or simply type the name of the application into a runner.

What If WINE Fails

Most of the applications run as expected. However, there are exceptions. If you face anything like that, wait for a few months to see if WINE’s dev team manages to make the desired changes. Else, you can reach out to a vendor like Codeweavers to check if they sell support for your application.

Conclusion

So, while using Linux if you require any Windows application for your work or hobby, you can readily do that with WINE. That’s how WINE reminds us just how flexible Linux is. And that’s a wrap! I hope you find this tutorial useful.

How to Disable Unwanted Services on Debian Linux

Suparna Ganguly — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 13:22:17 +0000

Are all the unwanted services on your Debian system bothering you? Disabling unnecessary services helps boost performance and reduce vulnerabilities.

This article explains how to disable all the unwanted services on Debian Linux. So, let’s begin.

Step 1 – Find the Unwanted Services

To find the services causing a performance lag, take a look at all the services running. Type the following code to see the existing programs in the terminal.

sudo service --status-all

A list of programs will appear after executing the above code. Among these identify the running programs by the given plus (+) beside them. The programs having a minus (-) are not active.

Step 2 – Disable the Unwanted Service Using Systemctl Command

Once you have decided on which programs to discard write the syntax given below.

sudo systemctl disable

For instance, if you don’t use apache, simply disable it to enhance the system performance. To disable apache, just type:

sudo systemctl disable apache

After discarding the unused service, check the list executing the following code.

sudo service --status-all

And you’ll find that particular service has been deactivated. Now there will be a minus beside that program instead of a plus.

Another method of checking the disabled service is using the following syntax.

sudo service status

This will give you the current status of that particular service you deactivated.

Step 3 – Managing Services through Systemd

Now, most of the Linux distros use Systemd. It’s a service manager that assigns a cgroup (control group) to each of the services in your system. It also tracks the processes.

Below are the commands to use to perform the respective tasks through systemd.

Manage Services

To manage services, type:

systemctl status

Audit Health of the Device

To audit health of the device, execute:

systemctl --failed

List Unit Files

Unit files are comprised of details about devices, sockets, mount points, swap, and partition. They may contain more information. To list unit files installed, execute:

systemctl list-unit-files

List Running Services

List all the running services with:

systemctl

Start or Stop a Service

Below is the syntax for starting a service.

systemctl start

Alternately you can use:

sudo service start

For stopping a service, just replace “start” with “stop” in the code.

And for restarting, type:
systemctl restart

Show Status of a Service

The syntax for showing the status of a service is:

systemctl status

You can also use the following command syntax to check the service status.

sudo service status

Enable or Disable a Service

To make a service activate every time the system boots, use:

systemctl enable

Similarly, when you want to disable a service, just replace “enable” with “disable” in the command.

The Conclusion

Fortunately, in open source systems, you can delete or disable any service that is not needed. Disabling a service on Debian has the following advantages:

a. It helps boot your Linux system faster.
b. When you disable a service instead of removing its components, the chance of everything being broken permanently reduces.
c. After deactivating you can again reactivate a service in case any essential program stops working.

I hope this article serves your purpose and now you have understood how to disable a service on Debian.