August 2016 Summaries

This blog post provides a comprehensive guide on developing a Pokémon Go map app using PubNub Android push notifications and an unofficial Pokémon Go API hosted on GitHub. The tutorial involves setting up a remote server with Ngrok, requiring frequent updates to the Ngrok URL in the Android file, and navigating complex setup processes such as enabling mobile push notifications through the PubNub Developer's console. Key components include configuring the Android Manifest file with necessary permissions, integrating Google Play Services, and managing JavaScript within a WebView to display content from the Ngrok server. The guide also details the implementation of Android push notifications using Google Cloud Messaging by creating Java classes like GcmBroadcastReceiver and GcmIntentService, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a wake lock during operations. While the API used is no longer maintained, the tutorial encourages adaptation and exploration of similar projects using available resources like PubNub’s Project EON, highlighting potential challenges with API keys, server setups, and dependency installations.

Lizzie Siegle's summer internship at PubNub was marked by engaging one-on-one interactions with company leaders, challenging projects, and a supportive work environment that fostered her growth as a developer and evangelist. Her journey began with a series of behavioral interviews that highlighted the importance of communication and teaching skills for a role in developer evangelism. Throughout the internship, Lizzie worked on diverse projects that involved creating applications across different platforms like iOS, Android, and web, using PubNub's technology, and concluded with blog posts aimed at educating other developers. She attended and hosted meetups, led workshops, and gave tech talks, all of which honed her communication skills and deepened her passion for sharing knowledge. The company's culture, characterized by accessibility to executives and a collaborative atmosphere, significantly contributed to her positive experience, alongside perks like stocked kitchens and gym discounts. Despite the demanding schedule, Lizzie felt invigorated and inspired by the challenges, mentorship, and the opportunity to explore various technological fields, leaving her eager to continue her journey in tech and maintain connections with the PubNub team.

Stream Conference, held on September 28 at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco, brings together industry leaders, software architects, innovators, and developers to discuss the management, scaling, security, and monetization of always-on data streams. The event includes conversation tracks focusing on the impact of data streams on software architecture, which is shifting towards new technologies like microservices, serverless architectures, and fog computing to meet the demands of real-time applications. Attendees will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by these changes, with insights from industry veterans on monetization opportunities and technology strategies. The conference provides a platform for sharing first-hand experiences from pioneers in data-stream-based technology and aims to offer valuable takeaways for thought leaders, investors, and developers on adapting to the emerging landscape of data stream technologies.

Integrating cloud services and webtail vendors with digital identity platforms like Google+ or Facebook is commonly achieved using three-legged OAuth, which provides a more secure authentication method by removing the need for applications to manage third-party user credentials and allowing users to control access. This method involves an application requesting a protected resource from an identity provider like GitHub, which redirects the user for authentication and authorization, ultimately granting an access token. In real-time solutions, additional components such as a Security Authority (SA) are needed to manage user permissions dynamically through channels, as exemplified by the HubBub server's node-based express app interacting with PubNub's Access Manager. Setting up this security framework involves creating PubNub keysets, registering the application on GitHub, and configuring the HubBub server to act as the SA, which can be adapted to work with other identity platforms that support OAuth 2.0.

PubNub has announced that Microsoft Power BI users can now integrate PubNub data streams into Power BI's data visualization platform, offering real-time data visualization that supports rapid decision-making through easy-to-understand dashboards. The public preview of Power BI's real-time dashboard capabilities is now available, with an official launch planned for Fall 2016, enhancing productivity and efficiency across various applications such as monitoring factory processes or social media accounts. This integration promises sub-second data visualization latencies without the need for additional server infrastructure, complementing PubNub's open-source Project EON and D3.js tutorials. Interested developers can sign up for a free PubNub account to access the real-time Power BI preview and explore the tutorial provided by the Microsoft Power BI team.

The JavaScript SDK has been upgraded to version 4, offering a complete rewrite to enhance performance, reduce its footprint, and introduce easier-to-use APIs, including features like isomorphic JavaScript compatibility with platforms such as Node, Web, and React, alongside unified presence, message, and status notifiers across multiple V4 SDKs. This version includes ES6 native classes, reworked cryptography for a lighter footprint, verbose logging options, and new reconnection policies for better handling of mobile client connectivity issues. Key changes in APIs include the adoption of an event emitter pattern over callbacks, the ability to handle multiple channels with arrays during subscription, and additional parameters in the publish function for enhanced functionality. The SDK can be used on the web through a script tag or installed via npm for Node.js, with the choice between ES5 and ES6 code integration, and users are advised to refer to the JavaScript SDK v4 Documentation for further details on the differences from version 3.x.