0.4.0

v0.4.0, released March 31, 2010

Cloudera Desktop 0.4.0 is a significant update from the previous version 0.3.0. This release introduces the Cloudera Desktop SDK, a way to plug in your own applications that leverage the Cloudera Desktop environment. Another new feature is Beeswax, a front-end application for interacting with Hive. It also represents many bug fixes and a re-working of the “Job Browser” and “File Browser” applications.

NEW FEATURES

  • Beeswax, a UI for Hive

    Beeswax is an application for managing and using Hive. It allows users to create tables, load data, and query the warehouse, all from their browser.

  • The Cloudera Desktop SDK

    It is now possible to add your own applications into Cloudera Desktop, integrated with the windowing system and the other applications. To get started, see the SDK documentation.

  • File Editor

    It is now possible to edit (small, text) files directly from the File Browser. This is particularly handy for editing small configuration files.

  • “About” Application

    Reachable by clicking the Cloudera “feather” in the upper lefthand corner, the about application displays the current configuration.

IMPROVEMENTS

  • File Browser

    The File Browser has been re-architected on top of the SDK. Changing permissions and changing file ownership is now possible. Performance on large directories is improved.

  • Job Browser

    The Job Browser has been re-architected on top of the SDK. There have been several performance improvements in handling large jobs.

  • Job Designer

    You may register for e-mail notifications when jobs you submit have completed.

  • Session Restore

    Windows that were open when you last logged out are opened again automatically when you log back in.

  • Support for privileged ports and SSL.

    You can now run Desktop on port 80, and, optionally, with SSL (see the FAQ).

  • Cleaner SDK Model for “JFrame”

    Most requests within Cloudera Desktop are now, under the covers, simple GET and POST requests which return HTML.

  • SDK-Friendly Build System

    The build system has been adapted to support third-party applications and dependencies gracefully.

  • Users can now change their own passwords.

  • Keyboard Shortcuts

    A list of available shortcuts is available in the top right corner (click the “command” icon).

  • Usage without Hadoop

    Cloudera Desktop will run if Hadoop is unavailable, though some applications will be limited in functionality.

  • Frontend Javascript Performance and Compatibility

    Many improvements in windowing performance.

KEY BUG FIXES

  • Creating a “home directory” while creating the user in the user manager no longer produces an error.

  • Dates and times are now displayed in a specific timezone, which is configurable.

  • Inactive users are not able to login.

  • The Job Designer appropriately configures hadoop.tmp.dir; this fixes some permissions denied errors.

  • File upload is more robust.

KNOWN BUGS

  • After a successful upload with Linux's flash player (which may warn you about hanging your computer), the upload screen does not clear. Click the red (x) button to clear it.

  • Configuring the web server to listen on port 80 does not work if you are using the RPM or Debian packages. This is due to the init scripts improperly dropping root privileges before calling the supervisor. This has been fixed in release 0.4.1.