November 2018 Summaries

A Joomla community volunteer has created a ready-to-use extension for integrating Twilio's communication platform with Joomla websites, allowing small and medium-sized organizations to add a simple communication channel to their site. The extension includes a click-to-call button and SMS chat functionality, requiring no coding skills to implement. The package can be downloaded from the GitHub repository and configured through the Joomla admin menu, using account credentials and phone numbers provided by Twilio. Once set up, users can send SMS messages or initiate calls with customers, providing a basic communication solution for Joomla websites.

In this article, the author demonstrates how to create a custom ITwilioRestClient using Dependency Injection (DI) in ASP.NET Core 2.1, which allows for customization of HTTP requests to the Twilio REST API. The custom client is created by injecting an HttpClient into its constructor and adding a custom header to all outgoing requests. The custom client is then registered with the DI container, allowing it to be injected into any class that requires an ITwilioRestClient. The author also shows how to test the API using Postman by sending a JSON request to the controller. This technique can be used for various purposes, such as testing classes, extending the CustomTwilioClient further, or injecting it into other services.

Here's a neutral and interesting summary of how to call the Twilio API from Java programs on the commandline: To run Java programs that use the Twilio Java helper library to make Twilio REST API requests, you need to have a Java runtime environment (JRE) installed on your computer for running Java class files. You also need to download and include the Twilio Java helper library JAR file in your compilation. The compilation command includes the Twilio helper library JAR file, while the run command includes the Twilio helper library JAR file and the current directory where the class file is located. Optionally, you can create scripts for compiling and running your Twilio Java programs to make it easier to execute them. With these methods, you have a quick way to compile and run Twilio Java programs with minimal setup, which is handy for testing and managing programs on remote computers or without a GUI.

The article provides an overview of Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) services, focusing on the benefits and functionalities of using third-party providers like SendGrid. It explains that SMTP services facilitate email delivery from one server to another, highlighting SendGrid's role as a third-party service that improves email delivery through features such as data collection, engagement tracking, and offering dedicated IP addresses for higher deliverability rates. The text also addresses who should use SMTP services, suggesting that individuals and companies sending large volumes of emails would benefit from such services, especially if they lack their own server infrastructure. Additionally, the article covers common questions related to SMTP services, such as server connections and message processing speeds, noting that SendGrid assists with integration and supports scaling businesses in managing their email communication needs effectively.

To add voice calls to a Yii2 PHP app, developers can use Twilio Programmable Voice. The process involves setting up a Yii2 basic application, installing the Twilio PHP SDK, and creating endpoints for TwiML, which is Twilio's Markup Language for building SMS and voice applications. For outbound calls, an example endpoint is created to notify a restaurant of an order, while for incoming calls, an endpoint is created to handle user inputs and process orders. The application can also make outgoing calls using the Twilio PHP SDK. To receive incoming calls, developers need to set up a webhook and enable receiving POST data from external sources, which allows the app to receive and process the call.

The ability to send non-Latin characters, including emojis, in text messages is crucial for creating content that suits users from all over the world. To achieve this, developers can use UTF-8, a variable-width character encoding standard that represents over 100,000 characters from 146 languages. C# and .NET provide convenient escape sequences to include UTF-8 non-Latin characters in programs, such as using \u followed by hexadecimal notation for specific characters. The Twilio Programmable SMS service can be integrated with C# and .NET to send text messages with Unicode characters, including emojis, allowing developers to reach a larger audience with their products or services.

To add view animations to an iOS application using Swift 4 and Auto Layout, developers can use the Animation API provided by Apple. The animation process involves specifying the duration, delay, options, and animations closure for each property being animated. With these basics covered, animating appearance properties like color and alpha values is straightforward, while animating position and size requires more complex code to handle Auto Layout conflicts. By chaining animations using completion closures, developers can create more sophisticated animations that move views around the screen while changing their size and color. The end result is a beautifully animated view that responds to user interactions, showcasing the power of Swift 4 and Auto Layout in iOS development.

Twilio has developed an integration framework for its contact center platform, Twilio Flex, that allows it to integrate with any CRM system, whether on-premises, cloud-based, or custom-built. This integration enables businesses to tightly link their customer relationship management (CRM) and contact center operations, providing a seamless customer experience. The framework provides various methods for integrating CRMs, including out-of-the-box integrations with Salesforce, the ability to build custom integrations through the Flex Plugin Framework, and partnerships with CRM providers such as ServiceNow and Microsoft Dynamics. Additionally, Twilio Flex can integrate with custom-built CRM systems, allowing businesses to leverage their existing investments while still benefiting from the platform's flexibility and scalability. By integrating CRMs with Twilio Flex, businesses can streamline their operations, reduce average handle time, and enhance customer engagement.

The tutorial discusses how to send SMS reminders using Laravel Lumen and the Twilio API. It covers creating a subscribers table, seeding data into it, defining relationships between models, sending SMS reminders, and scheduling a command to run daily. The code includes various classes such as `EventReminderClient`, `SendSmsReminderCommand`, and `SubscriberTableSeeder`. The tutorial also provides guidance on how to use the Twilio API to send messages and how to schedule a command to run at regular intervals.

The Swift programming language has made it easier to work with JSON data, thanks to the Codable protocol introduced in Swift 4.0. This protocol allows developers to create structs that can encode and decode JSON data without using external libraries like SwiftyJSON or Alamofire. The example code provided demonstrates how to use Codable structs to parse a JSON string from NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day API. It also shows how to use SwiftyJSON and Alamofire, two popular third-party libraries for working with JSON in Swift, to achieve similar results.

Azure Functions and Twilio SMS are used together to send text messages with daily weather forecasts, specifically asking if it will rain that day. The code uses environment variables for Twilio credentials, a Timer template to run once per day, and an HttpClient to fetch the weather forecast from a website. The HtmlAgilityPack library is used to parse the HTML response and extract the relevant information. The code then sends a text message with both the question and answer.

SendGrid's Event Webhook provides robust analytics and tracking capabilities by notifying users of nine key email events that occur as emails are sent and recipients interact with them. These events—processed, dropped, deferred, bounce, delivered, open, click, spam report, and unsubscribe—offer insights into the email delivery process, engagement, and potential issues. SendGrid enables users to create dashboards, query data, and respond to events in real-time to optimize their email programs. While not all projects require monitoring every event, each provides valuable information that can help improve email delivery success and engagement rates. For further exploration of the Event Webhook and its applications, SendGrid offers a free plan and detailed documentation in their Knowledge Center.

Today we have successfully developed and deployed an Angular 7 application on AWS Lambda. You learned how to introduce routing, modules, and services in Angular 7 with server-side rendering for SEO optimization purposes. These techniques enable you to deploy your Angular application on the web in a way that's accessible to search engines while minimizing operational costs. With AWS Lambda, you pay only for the compute time required to serve visitor requests instead of paying for each minute the server is online. You can find all the code up to this point in a GitHub repository which you can clone: git clone -b tutorial1_step4 https://github.com/maciejtreder/angular-seo.git angularSeo cd angularSeo/ npm install npm run build:serverless:deploy

This app will use three Twilio APIs: Functions, Lookup, and SMS. The app will send a text message to its own phone number with the phone number of the incoming message. The Functions API will then perform a Lookup on the received number using the Lookups API, which will return the caller's name if available. If the number is valid but no caller name is found, the app will respond with a message indicating that it couldn't associate a name with that number. If the number is invalid, the app will respond with an error message asking the user to try sending the number again.

Valet is a Laravel development environment for Mac users that allows for quick setup of local WordPress environments without relying on Vagrant or Docker. To set up Valet, users need to install Homebrew and PHP7.2, then run the `valet` command to access the installation menu. Users can create a database using MySQL and then install WordPress, which can be accessed through a custom URL created by Valet. The process is designed to be efficient and repeatable, allowing users to quickly set up multiple local WordPress environments.

Twilio became aware of an incident regarding Voxox, a wholesale SMS provider, in which an unsecured database was accessible to the internet and exposed details of SMS messages and the companies that sent them. The vulnerability was uncovered by security researcher Sébastien Kaul. Trust is a top priority for Twilio, and upon learning of this incident, they triggered their incident response process to examine its impact on customers. The investigation found that the Twilio API had no direct connection to Voxox and that no messages submitted via the Twilio API were routed directly through Voxox. However, due to downstream SMS routing, it cannot be guaranteed that no customer's SMS message did not traverse the Voxox service. Twilio considers trust a top company priority and invests significant effort in ensuring their infrastructure and SMS vendors are secure and reliable. The incident is part of their commitment to transparency, and they encourage customers with questions or concerns to contact them.

FlyoverKit is a Swift library that provides 360° flyover views of various monuments on an MKMapView. It allows developers to create an app that takes users to different locations around the world with the click of a button. The library uses Cocoapods and requires Xcode 10, a Mac, and a physical iOS device for testing. To set up the app, developers need to initialize a new single-view iOS project, add FlyoverKit as an external dependency, and configure the map view in the storyboard. The app can be customized with different map types, such as hybridFlyover, Standard, or SatelliteFlyover. When the user clicks the button, the app generates a random location from a dictionary of famous landmarks and uses FlyoverKit to create a flyover animation of that location. The animation can be configured with settings such as duration, altitude, pitch, and heading step. The app also includes a label to display the randomly generated location. With this library, developers can create an immersive travel experience for their users.

Twilio's product releases are expected to advance nonprofit tech by providing secure donation processing, listening and responding at scale through their Flex contact center platform, creating more effective chatbots with Autopilot, and introducing new connectivity options for monitoring and evaluation through IoT devices. Twilio's Flex platform allows nonprofits to deploy a contact center or helpline at an affordable rate, while Autopilot uses machine learning and natural language processing to build more effective chatbots. Additionally, Twilio has introduced two new IoT connectivity products, the Super SIM and Narrowband SIM + SDK, which make it easier for nonprofits to connect devices in over 180 countries and scale IoT projects affordably.

With a Twilio-powered service, individuals can access air quality updates by texting their zip code to (415) 212-4229. This service is useful for those with limited access to smartphones or the Internet and helps alleviate traffic on overloaded air quality sites during wildfire season. By using this service, individuals can get accurate air quality information without relying on these sites, ensuring they stay safe and informed.

The tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to create an iCal calendar feed using PHP and Laravel Lumen. It covers the basics of the iCal format, setting up a new Lumen project, configuring the database, creating a migration, seeding data into the database, building the iCal object, and creating an endpoint to test it out. The tutorial also includes instructions on how to test the iCal feed on different calendars such as Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar.

For those considering migrating from Mailgun to SendGrid as their email service provider, the transition involves understanding key differences in terminology, API usage, and feature sets. SendGrid offers a robust suite of tools, including dynamic transactional email templates with Handlebars syntax, a marketing campaigns platform with an easy-to-use UI, and extensive API libraries supporting multiple programming languages. Authentication processes differ, with SendGrid requiring API keys and providing granular permissions for security. Webhooks in SendGrid handle real-time events and inbound emails differently than Mailgun, necessitating some adjustments in handling inbound message routing. SendGrid also supports essential features like click tracking, scheduling emails, and managing attachments with Base64 encoding within JSON payloads. The platform facilitates seamless integration through its API v3, which is preferred for new integrations, offering intuitive HTTP methods and supporting marketing campaigns through both UI and API access. Additionally, SendGrid supports enforced TLS and allows recipients to manage their email preferences, enhancing user engagement and compliance.

The intersection of artificial intelligence, innovation, and communications was explored at this year's SIGNAL conference, with a focus on using AI to enhance customer interaction in contact centers. The goal is to create a perfect customer experience while balancing human touch and cost efficiency. Twilio and Google are working together to make customer interactions better for customers and agents alike, with products such as virtual agents, agent assist, and topic modeling that can help optimize routing, improve agent training, and offer personalized experiences. The key to successful AI implementation is understanding the importance of data, human touch, and contextual communication, and how these elements can be combined to create a more effective contact center.

Working with JSON in Python, developers often need to deal with data in various formats, and JSON is a popular format used in web development. The native Python standard library provides an easy-to-use way to encode and decode JSON, but other libraries like simplejson, ujson, and requests offer additional features or speed benefits. For example, the requests library has a built-in json() method on the response object that can be used to parse JSON data returned from HTTP requests to third-party REST APIs. Additionally, Flask, a lightweight web framework for Python, provides a built-in jsonify function to handle serializing data for responses. The choice of which library to use depends on personal needs and the specific use case.

The 2018 Doers Hall of Fame recognizes members of the Twilio community who have driven transformative impact through strategic use of communications. This year's inductees include Streetwide, which created a distributed call center technology to support undocumented immigrants; OpenGov Foundation, which launched Article One to empower congressional offices with technology that allows elected officials to better hear the voices of their constituents; Veterans Affairs, which launched VEText, a national appointment reminder platform to reduce unutilized healthcare appointments; Thinkful, which used Twilio Video for its virtual learning platform; Marks & Spencer, which modernized its customer experience using Twilio; U-Haul, which built a chat app to help customers with moving-related questions; and Joe Previte, who brought TwilioQuest to Phoenix and landed his first full-time gig as a software engineer. The recognition celebrates the innovative use of communications technology by these individuals and organizations.