December 2018 Summaries

The Channel Metadata API provides insights into the metadata associated with data channels in an Ably app. It overcomes the classic n-squared problem faced when all clients subscribe to receive updates about other clients joining and leaving an app. The API solves three key challenges: 1) Presence and the n-squared challenge, where it minimizes the number of messages sent by having only backend app server subscribe to presence updates; 2) Implementation effort, as developers can now subscribe to metadata changes without repeating work for every participant; and 3) Only publishing when someone is actually listening, allowing publishers to ensure they're only pushing data out when there are consumers. The API enables users to consume data via a pull mechanism using Ably's REST API or a push mechanism by subscribing to updates.

The Open Data Streaming Program (ODSP) is a new initiative that aims to provide free hosting and distribution of open streaming data sources on the API Streamer platform. Under the ODSP, anyone can publish streams of realtime data for free, provided it's made freely available for others to consume and subject to a fair use policy. The program seeks to liberate the many sources of realtime data around the world by enabling producers of open realtime data to publish their streams without worrying about infrastructure, protocols, or APIs. It also pushes this realtime data to consumers as soon as it becomes available using their chosen means of delivery.