May 2017 Summaries

The tutorial introduces the implementation of HTML cleanup and cross-site scripting (XSS) protection in real-time message streaming using the Neutrino HTML Sanitizer block and PubNub. This process involves removing potentially harmful tags from text inputs to safeguard against security threats and ensure content integrity. The tutorial demonstrates how to set up an Angular 2 web application integrated with PubNub and Neutrino APIs to effectively sanitize HTML and protect against XSS attacks. It highlights the ease of incorporating such functionality using PubNub's BLOCKS and the Neutrino API, which offers additional features like email validation, profanity filtering, and geolocation. The guide also provides a step-by-step approach to obtaining necessary API keys, integrating PubNub JavaScript SDK, and developing a user interface with Angular 2, ultimately creating a secure, real-time application environment.

The final post in a series on advanced programming techniques explores the use of the Functions XHR module for creating a "Search Bot" within a real-time Angular2 web application utilizing the PubNub data stream platform. The XHR module allows developers to make HTTP/HTTPS requests to external web servers, enabling the integration of third-party APIs for retrieving search results and enhancing message events in applications. By setting up a PubNub BLOCK, developers can intercept messages, perform searches via third-party APIs, and return results to be displayed in a user-friendly interface. The tutorial highlights the ease of integrating various web services into real-time applications using PubNub's enterprise-grade features, such as security and data stream capabilities, while also detailing the implementation process in both back-end and front-end code. The article emphasizes the configurability of the XHR module and its potential applications, including natural language processing and sentiment analysis, offering insights into building scalable and efficient serverless applications.

The blog post introduces a serverless approach to building a chat application using PubNub BLOCKS, aiming to integrate weather information into chat messages without the need for server infrastructure. Specifically, it describes the development of an Air Traffic Control (ATC) Chat app that enables operators in different locations—such as Anchorage, Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland—to share weather data alongside regular chat messages. This functionality is achieved by intercepting chat messages, fetching weather information via the Bluemix Weather Company API, and then combining these data streams using PubNub's bi-directional channels for real-time communication. The post provides insights into the orchestration of third-party data with chat messages, highlighting the ease of deployment using BLOCKS while offering a complete source code repository on GitHub for users to explore and implement. Additionally, it encourages users to explore the new Chat Resource Center for further guidance on chat application development.

The third installment of the Advanced Functions programming series delves into the use of Event Handlers in JavaScript, specifically focusing on implementing custom event types within the PubNub platform. Event Handlers enable developers to execute custom logic on messages based on specified criteria and can be categorized into "before publish or fire" and "after publish or fire" event types. The post highlights the use of the "after presence" event type to create a "Welcome Bot" in an Angular 2 messaging application, which processes presence events to greet users. This implementation demonstrates how minimal code and serverless functions can enhance data stream processing and integration with third-party applications. The text also guides readers through setting up PubNub developer keys and configuring the necessary JavaScript and HTML for the application, emphasizing the ease and efficiency of building real-time, interactive applications using these advanced features.

The tutorial outlines the process of building a real-time, multi-user Android to-do app utilizing IBM Bluemix and PubNub, highlighting the limitations of traditional REST-based architectures for modern applications. By leveraging PubNub's bidirectional communication capabilities, the app allows multiple users to collaborate on tasks in real time with features such as task updates and comments, all while minimizing the infrastructure complexity typically associated with RESTful services. This approach replaces the traditional two-tiered server architecture with a simplified single-tier system, streamlining deployment and reducing the overhead for developers. The app's backend is hosted on a Bluemix container and uses IBM dashDB for data storage, with PubNub facilitating secure and efficient messaging through dedicated channels. The tutorial emphasizes the scalability, security, and reduced deployment overheads provided by Bluemix and PubNub, making it a compelling alternative for developers seeking to build responsive and scalable mobile applications without the extensive effort required for REST implementations.

This tutorial explores the deployment of highly secure encrypted data streams using advanced serverless event handling in a real-time Angular 2 web application, emphasizing the importance of encryption across various sectors like healthcare and IoT. The system utilizes PubNub's Data Stream Network, which provides high availability, performance, and security, offering seamless connectivity and rapid message propagation globally. The tutorial highlights the implementation of a message "severity" field to enable actions based on importance levels, taking advantage of PubNub's Functions feature to decorate messages with supplementary data and integrate third-party applications. It details the setup of encryption with PubNub, using high-grade HTTPS/TLS security and 256-bit AES end-to-end encryption, alongside advanced access control via PubNub's Access Manager. Through a step-by-step guide, it demonstrates creating a serverless code block for message processing and a user interface component using Angular2, ensuring the integration of secure, real-time messaging with minimal coding complexity.