December 2014 Summaries

Presence detection refers to the process of tracking the online or offline status of users and devices, which is essential for applications like chat rooms, multiplayer gaming, and sensor networks. The tutorial outlines a straightforward six-step method to integrate presence functionality into applications using PubNub API by installing the API, inputting publish/subscribe keys, subscribing with presence events, unsubscribing, and detecting users in the channel. Additionally, the tutorial highlights other PubNub core features such as Pub/Sub Messaging for various apps, Storage & Playback for message retrieval, and Access Manager for controlling data stream permissions, along with extra resources for implementing presence detection across different platforms like JavaScript, PHP, and IoT devices.

The tutorial provides a comprehensive guide to setting up and sending iOS push notifications using the Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) through a step-by-step process that includes configuring App IDs and SSL certificates, and utilizing the Cordova Push Plugin with PhoneGap or its open-source counterpart, Cordova. It emphasizes the importance of patience due to the potentially complex Apple requirements and illustrates how to simulate an Internet of Things application that sends notifications when a room temperature exceeds 80°F. The guide further details how to bypass setting up a server by leveraging the PubNub Mobile Push Gateway to send push notifications directly from a web application, using JavaScript and the PubNub API, thereby simplifying the process of delivering platform-specific notifications.

Lydia Katsamberis, a JavaScript Engineer at Craigslist, explores the concept of impostor syndrome in the context of the Node.js community, highlighting how the prominence of major Node projects like npm, express, and socket.io can lead developers to feel inadequate or like novices. She emphasizes that engaging with Node doesn't necessarily require contributing to its core or developing large frameworks; instead, involvement can also mean using Node for learning, automating workflows, or creating small web applications. Katsamberis shares her personal experiences and lessons learned from the Node community, encouraging new and existing developers to recognize their value and contributions regardless of scale.

This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide on how to send Android push notifications from web apps using JavaScript without setting up a dedicated server, by leveraging the PubNub Push APIs alongside PhoneGap. The process involves setting up Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to receive notifications on Android devices, creating an Android app using Cordova to register devices with GCM, and developing a web interface to send notifications via PubNub's Mobile Push Gateway. The tutorial includes a practical demo where a simulated Internet of Things desktop controller sends push notifications to an Android device when the room temperature exceeds a certain level. It emphasizes the ease of using PubNub to handle server-side tasks and provides simplified code samples for easier understanding, with full source codes available on GitHub for further exploration.

The blog post provides a tutorial on building a web application for Google App Engine using the PubNub Go Programming Language SDK, focusing on real-time Pub/Sub messaging capabilities. It guides users through the process of subscribing to and publishing messages on a PubNub channel, using both the PubNub Golang SDK and the PubNub JavaScript SDK. The tutorial includes prerequisites such as installing the Eclipse IDE, Google App Engine SDK for Go, and the Golang plugin for Eclipse, alongside cloning the PubNub Go SDK library. Users are instructed to configure and run the application on a local development server, enabling bidirectional data communication between devices. The tutorial also details the necessary setup for using encryption, SSL, and custom UUIDs, and provides links to the complete code and additional resources for further exploration.