June 2019 Summaries

The author created a smart baby monitor using a Raspberry Pi, Python programming language, Twilio SMS API, and peripheral sensors. The IoT app will use the Raspberry Pi to live stream video over the WiFi network, take temperature readings from a DS18B20 sensor, and send text messages if the temperature falls above or below a threshold. The author provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up the hardware and software components of the smart baby monitor, including configuring the Raspberry Pi, connecting peripheral devices, enabling the Web Cam Interface, installing the Twilio client, and writing Python code to read temperature data from the sensor and send text messages.

Asynchronous JavaScript programming is crucial for complete programmers to handle asynchronous tasks effectively. The post "Organizing Callbacks for Readability and Reusability" aims to show how to write and organize JavaScript callbacks to maximize readability, maintainability, and reusability. It starts by explaining the problem with nested callbacks, which can create complex code that's hard to read and debug. To address this issue, the post introduces a technique of encapsulating callback functions into separate functions, reducing nesting levels from six to three. This approach makes the code more readable, maintainable, and debuggable, and also improves reusability. The post provides a step-by-step guide on how to refactor nested callbacks into more modular and reusable code, using real-world examples and best practices.

The JavaScript runtime environment is a single-threaded, non-blocking event loop that provides concurrency by using events and callbacks to handle asynchronous requests. This allows JavaScript programs to execute asynchronously without blocking the execution of other code on the stack. The callback queue plays a crucial role in this process, allowing external APIs to communicate with the JavaScript engine and providing a mechanism for asynchronous functionality. By understanding how the event loop and callback queue work together, developers can build JavaScript applications that make use of external APIs without freezing their application while waiting for an API response. The post demonstrates how to use callbacks to perform complex series of data queries from remote sources, showcasing the power of asynchronous programming in JavaScript.

The most common reason to put the username and password fields on different pages is to support both single-sign on (SSO) and traditional username/password login, but this design can be confusing for users. Separating these fields onto different pages may provide additional security benefits, such as making credential stuffing attacks more cumbersome and allowing conditional security checks. However, this approach may not be worth the added complexity unless it also supports SSO use cases. There are several options for handling both SSO and traditional login methods, including separating the fields into two distinct pages, using a single-page application lookup, or making the password field optional. Each of these approaches has its advantages and disadvantages, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for designing the perfect login form.

The application allows users to create spoiler messages and register phone numbers, which are then sent out via Twilio's Copilot feature for bulk messaging. The application uses Laravel as its backend framework and integrates with the Twilio API to send SMS messages. A custom command is created to trigger sending the spoiler messages, and a job is used to handle dispatching the spoilers to all registered phone numbers.

A modern RESTful API using Laravel PHP was built from scratch, covering the basics of building a CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) API. The API endpoints were created to allow for the creation, reading, updating and deletion of student records. A Student model was created along with a migration file to interact with the database. Validation was added to ensure that only valid data is sent to the API. Request validation and API security were not covered in this tutorial but would be an important next step to implement. The API endpoints were tested using Postman, and the results were confirmed to return the expected responses.

HTTP headers play a significant role in modern web security by providing browsers with specific instructions to adhere to certain security rules, instructing them to respond to various attacks and prevent sensitive data from being accessed. Headers such as HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), X-Frame-Options, Content-Security-Policy (CSP), referrer-policy, Cache-Control, Feature Policy, and X-Content-Type-Options can be used to defend against man-in-the-middle attacks, clickjacking, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, information leakage, and content sniffing. By adding these custom headers to server responses, developers can improve the security of their websites and protect sensitive data from being accessed by attackers.

A decade ago, the first SMS was sent in the UK, revolutionizing personal communication. This led to asynchronous messaging via mobile phones, which grew exponentially with interoperability between carriers in 2002. Today, 16 million text messages are sent every minute, totaling 23 billion per day. The emergence of Application-to-Person (A2P) Messaging has seen growth, as businesses use messaging for customer updates and notifications, recognizing its value for differentiating customer experience. Carriers have been working on adding new products to handle A2P messages at higher volumes with lower filtering. Twilio was one of the first companies to provide text-messaging over long codes through a simple-to-use API, launching short codes in 2011 and picture messaging in 2013. The company is now working closely with carriers to enable access for its customers as the ecosystem makes the shift from P2P to A2P messaging, which will be a year of transition in 2019.

Twilio is a cloud communication platform that helps protect its customers from getting penalized for violating global telecommunications regulations. The company offers different types of phone numbers, including local numbers, toll-free numbers, mobile numbers, national numbers, and multi-function numbers, each with varying meanings in different countries. Twilio also supports short codes, which are pre-approved by carriers and allow high throughput, but not all countries offer SMS messaging through these numbers. To send messages internationally, customers can use sender IDs, which allow them to send messages using alphanumeric characters instead of a phone number. Sender IDs come with varying requirements, such as registration with local authorities in some countries, and have different usage guidelines depending on the country. When choosing between phone numbers or sender IDs, customers must consider their specific use case, taking into account factors like high-volume messaging, time-sensitivity, and message deliverability.

This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide on building an SMS-based product verification application using Laravel, MySQL, and Twilio's Programmable SMS. The application allows users to check the authenticity of a product via SMS, utilizing Twilio's webhooks for incoming message processing. To set up the application, developers need to create a new Laravel project, install the Twilio SDK, and configure their database with MySQL. They also need to generate dummy products using seeder classes and add routes to access the verification logic. The application uses ngrok to expose the local server to the internet for remote access. Finally, developers test the application by sending SMS messages to the active phone number and verifying the product authenticity.

elmah.io is a cloud-based error logging and uptime monitoring service for .NET web developers that monitors websites for crashes and outages, alerting users in real-time when an event happens. The service can be integrated with ASP.NET Core applications to send SMS notifications of errors using Twilio, providing instant alerts on mobile phones. To set up this integration, developers need to register for a free trial account on elmah.io and Twilio, configure the API keys and Log IDs, and modify their ASP.NET Core application's Startup.cs file to include the elmah.io integration. The integration can be tested by throwing an exception in the application, which will trigger an error log on elmah.io and send a text message to the configured Twilio phone number. This setup provides a valuable tool for developers to monitor their website's performance and respond quickly to errors, ensuring the reliability and uptime of their applications.

Twilio’s Messaging Service simplifies the process of sending messages, allowing users to send many thousands of messages per day without needing to write programming logic. The service handles phone number allocation, load balancing, and other use-case specific features through its Copilot features. To configure a messaging service, users must select phone numbers based on their needs, such as country-specific nuances and message volume requirements. Key considerations include choosing the right type of phone number, selecting a suitable short or long code, and configuring API requests to replace the from parameter with a messagingServiceSid parameter. The Copilot features include Sticky Sender, Alpha Sender ID, Scaler, Geomatch, Fallback to toll free / Short code reroute, Smart encoding, MMS converter, and others, which can be combined to achieve specific use-case requirements.

Twilio's Messaging API allows developers to send and receive SMS messages with ease. To authenticate, developers need to provide their Twilio Account SID and Auth Token, along with the recipient and sender phone numbers. The API has various features such as webhooks, TwiML, and message logs, which can be used to handle incoming and outgoing messages, as well as track delivery status. However, sending a large volume of messages quickly can cause throughput issues, and developers should use Twilio's Copilot service or implement their own queuing system to manage this. Additionally, the API has rate limits in place to prevent abuse, and developers should be aware of character encoding limitations when sending SMS messages.

To ensure the safety and comfort of their community, event organizers need to have a code of conduct in place, including processes for reporting and responding to incidents. A suitable technology solution can help facilitate this process, such as an SMS integration with Twilio Studio and Slack, which allows for accessible, secure, fast, scalable, and robust reporting mechanisms. This setup enables users to report incidents via text message, with the option to follow up with the sender's phone number, while also providing a response success and failure mechanism to keep users informed. The solution can be easily configured and integrated into an existing workflow, making it easier for organizers to manage code of conduct incidents effectively.

Nathaniel Okenwa, a self-proclaimed fan of the Power Rangers and kickboxing enthusiast, transitioned from competing in National Championship matches to coaching new fighters and eventually sharing knowledge with others. He found similarities between his experience in kickboxing and coding, where each challenge is a puzzle to be solved using the right tools and techniques. As his passion for sharing skills grew, Okenwa became involved in leading workshops, organizing hackathons, and giving talks at meetups, but also noticed a pattern of underrepresentation of black people in tech. He now advocates for Diversity and Inclusion in Tech, aiming to inspire young developers from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue their goals.

Twilio has joined the Enterprise Cloud Coalition (ECC) as a founding member, alongside other cloud-based companies including Box, Dropbox, Okta, Slack, Workday, and Zendesk. The ECC aims to educate policymakers about cloud computing, promote innovation, and ensure customer data protection while encouraging growth of enterprise cloud providers. As a founding member, Twilio is part of a broader effort to participate in public policy issues affecting the Internet and cloud-based communications, with the goal of protecting consumers from unwanted messages while promoting innovative communication methods.

The tutorial discusses how to send domain renewal and expiry notifications using Namecheap API and Twilio SMS in PHP. The prerequisites for the tutorial include having a PHP installed, a Twilio account, a Namecheap sandbox and production accounts, Composer, and setting up the Namecheap API access. The code uses the Namecheap PHP SDK by Maksym Karazieiev to interact with the Namecheap API. The application creates virtual domain names in the sandbox environment to simulate how the API calls would work in production. It includes functions for checking domain name availability, registering a domain name, renewing an expiring domain, getting contact information of the requested domain, sending SMS notifications using Twilio API, and sending all notifications. The code is tested by creating domains in the Namecheap sandbox account and testing the notifications by hitting the URL base_url/index.php in the browser.

The Java Streams API is a powerful tool for processing data in a functional style. It allows developers to write more concise and readable code by passing a series of objects through a chain of operations, transforming them into a new Stream. The API provides various Intermediate Operations such as filtering, mapping, and flattening, which can be chained together to create complex transformations. Streams are lazy, meaning they only execute when necessary, making them efficient for processing large datasets. They also provide Terminal Operations like Collectors, forEach, count, and reduce, which turn the Stream back into a Collection or compute a value from it. The API is designed to work seamlessly with existing Collections, allowing developers to easily convert between Streams and Collections. It can be used for various tasks such as data processing, filtering, and transformations, making it an essential tool in Java development.

The Authy API has been updated to allow two-factor authentication (2FA) to be implemented on websites without requiring users to provide their phone number. This change removes the need for websites to collect and share personal information, increasing user privacy. The new method uses a QR code that contains unique data tied to the user's Authy account but not personally identifiable, allowing users to enable 2FA without sharing sensitive information. With this update, developers can now implement 2FA on their websites without collecting or sharing phone numbers, providing a more private and secure authentication experience for users.

The article guides developers in building a phone number validator to verify users' phone numbers and check if they are cellphones or landlines before sending SMS using the Twilio service. The tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to install the Twilio PHP SDK, configure the client application, and create controller methods to process Twilio requests. It also includes examples of form validation, phone number verification, code verification, and sending SMS. The article concludes by highlighting the ease of use and versatility of the Twilio service for building communication-based projects.

JavaScript Deep Dive: Building Scalable and Secure Microservices with Node.js` is a series of four posts by Akamai Senior Software Engineer Maciej Treder, covering the basics of building microservices on Node.js, securing them with two-factor authentication, sharing data between services with a cloud-based persistence layer, and protecting them with JSON Web Tokens and Twilio Authy. The posts aim to provide an extensive education on building scalable and secure microservices with JavaScript and Node.js. Maciej Treder is also the author of @ng-toolkit and has written numerous posts for the Twilio blog on JavaScript and Angular development and security.

Twilio.org offers credits and discounts to help nonprofits get started with building social good projects. Benefits Data Trust (BDT) is a national nonprofit that helps people enroll in benefits like SNAP, securing over $7 billion in benefits and services for those who need it most since 2005. BDT uses data science and behavioral economics to target eligible individuals, informing them of their eligibility through mailed letters, phone calls, and text-based communications powered by Twilio. With the help of Twilio's Impact Fund, BDT expanded its SMS engagement to serve more beneficiaries with greater efficiency and convenience, improving people's quality of life and reducing healthcare costs. BDT aims to integrate all existing channels into a seamless omni-channel outreach and engagement platform to provide dignity to those in need at scale.

Deploying a Xamarin mobile app requires more than just coding and pressing F5, as it needs to be tested and debugged on a device running a mobile operating system like Android or iOS. To deploy on Visual Studio for Mac, target either iOS or Android emulators almost out of the box, with the iOS simulators built-in. For Windows users, deploying to Android is fairly straightforward but iOS requires some work due to Apple's license agreement that requires using "Xcode Build Tools" to compile iOS applications, which are only available on Mac. Running your Xamarin app on an Android emulator is much simpler than targeting iOS, and you can deploy to a physical device once it's configured for development by enabling USB Debugging or connecting wirelessly via WiFi if the device is accessible.

Twilio Flex is a cloud-based contact center platform that has been adopted by U-Haul for its ability to scale more economically for seasonal agents. The company's interest in Twilio Flex was driven by the need to overcome limitations of their aging chat platform and to allow developers to build new customer experiences, such as virtual assistants and push notifications. U-Haul has successfully implemented Twilio Flex chat on their website, allowing customers to communicate directly with local offices using the mobile app. The company's collaboration with Twilio has resulted in improved queue wait times and a more efficient contact center experience for agents. U-Haul is committed to changing the way agents work and providing new ways for customers to engage, driving higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a rule giving carriers authority to block unlawful robocalls, with the goal of fighting this issue. However, there is concern that legitimate calls from Twilio's customers could get blocked, as the new rule may not provide clear guidelines for consumers and businesses. To address these concerns, Twilio is advocating for specific conditions, including consumer notification, opt-out options, regular access to call blocking databases, and a process for filing complaints. The company also supports the FCC's goal of combating unlawful robocalls and has built safeguards into its platform to prevent such calls.

Xamarin is a cross-platform mobile development framework that allows developers to create mobile apps using C# and Visual Studio, taking advantage of native APIs and tooling. It provides a shared code base for business logic and UI, with options for Xamarin Native and Xamarin.Forms approaches. The framework supports both C# and F# programming languages and offers day 1 support for new OS releases and features. With the right tools and knowledge, developers can create mobile apps for Android, iOS, and other platforms using Xamarin. The framework also includes a suite of tools and resources to help developers get started with building their first app.

The TwilioQuest team has released an update on their Operator's Manual newsletter, sharing exciting news and updates with the community. The team welcomes Ryan Kubik to their dev team, bringing expertise in web development and game building. New music from the original soundtrack, including a work-in-progress track by Danimal Cannon, is also being shared with the community. The team expresses gratitude for early feedback and participation in the TQ3 preview, indicating that the first release is nearing completion with the help of user input.

In 2019, Gary Hockin, a developer from Swansea, UK, joined Twilio as their Developer Evangelist. He credits his career progression to the power of open source and developer communities, which he has been involved with since 2011. Gary's journey began with contributing to the Zend Framework community and later to the PHP community, where he received support and encouragement from generous developers. As a Developer Evangelist at Twilio, Gary aims to be the voice of both Twilio in the PHP community and the PHP community in Twilio, promoting open source communities and encouraging others to get involved. Gary's personal story highlights the impact that open source contributions can have on one's career, with a single line of code changing his life forever.

Laravel, the popular PHP framework, is being combined with Twilio's communication APIs to create innovative apps that showcase its capabilities. A collection of top tutorials from the PHP community covers topics such as text-to-subscribe apps, real-time polling, role management, and building modals with Vue.js and Tailwind CSS. These tutorials offer a comprehensive platform for developers to build their next PHP-based communication app, whether they're experienced or just starting out.

Twilio Developer Evangelist Tilde Thurium shares their journey from feeling uncertain about their career path to finding fulfillment in the tech industry. They highlight the importance of mentorship, growth mindset, and inclusivity in their professional development. After landing a role at Pinterest, they joined the Atom Editor team at GitHub, where they continued to grow as a developer and eventually transitioned into community organizing for Write Speak Code, an organization that supports marginalized technologists in public speaking, blogging, and open-source contributions. Tilde now serves as a Developer Evangelist at Twilio, connecting with JavaScript communities in the Bay Area and beyond.

The MediaRecorder API is an HTML5 feature that allows web developers to record and save audio or video from users' devices directly in a web browser. To start with the MediaRecorder API, you need a MediaStream, which can be obtained by getting access to a user's camera, microphone, or desktop. The MediaRecorder object initializes with the media stream and an options object, including the MIME type of the recording. The recorder emits events for various reasons, such as when it starts or stops recording, pauses, resumes, or is completed. The most important event is the dataavailable event, which contains a chunk of the recorded audio. By listening to this event, you can collect chunks and then gather them into a Blob object once the recording is complete. The MediaRecorder API has various applications, including real-time video chat over WebRTC, recording audio or video from users directly in a web browser, and playing back recordings using an <audio> element. While it doesn't support saving recordings to the desktop yet, its potential uses are vast, and developers can explore alternatives like IndexedDB or sending recordings to a server.