Blog

We just made available the Twilio SMS API plug-in. This means if you need to send SMS messages from your mobile app, you can quickly use the Twilio SMS API plug-in. We will show you how to add the plug-in but you do need to sign up for free Twilio account. You will will get a Twilio phone number and you will also need to verify at least one phone number (where you would like to send SMS messages). If you go with a paid plan, you will be able to send SMS messages to any number.

From Appery.io builder, select Create New > From Plug-in:

Open Communication, then select Twilio SMS API:

Click Import selected plug-ins button. You will then see a prompt to enter the Twilio Account SID and Twilio AuthToken:

Both are available from the Dashboard:

If you don’t enter these values during the import step, you can always enter them by going to Project > Services > TwilioSettings.

Open TwilioSMS page. The UI is ready, there is a service and mapping (not shown) all completed. Everything is ready to go. You can of course change the UI to fit your application.

Note: when you import a plug-in, the current app theme will be used in the imported page (so your theme will probably be different).

Click the Test button and you should see a page like this:

AT&T is hosting DevLab event in Mountain View, CA, on September 25. It’s a one-day, hands-on programming workshop, featuring deep dives into the latest services and tools for mobile app development. AT&T is offering Appery.io users free registration when you use the code MUSEUM. To learn more and sign up, go to http://www.2012devlab.com/

Buddy is a cross-platform mobile “backend as a service”. In Appery.io app builder you can easily use any 3rd party REST API, including Buddy API. Every API is different and here is how to setup Buddy API. Buddy adds the actual action to invoke in the URL, after the ?, followed by any additional request parameters:

http://webservice.buddyplatform.com/Service/v1/BuddyService.ashx?UserAccount_Profile_Create&BuddyApplicationName=….&BuddyApplicationPassword=….

When setting up the service in Appery.io REST editor, set the URL to:

http://webservice.buddyplatform.com/Service/v1/BuddyService.ashx

then define all other request parameters as usual:

Once you setup all the request parameters you will be able to test the service.

If you want to use SQLite database, get data from the database and be able to use Appery.io visual data mapper, this post shows how to do it. It uses a Generic Service to get data from the database.

We just published a new step-by-step tutorial on using the File API and User Management. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Earlier we blogged on how to eliminate flickering on Android when navigating between pages. This is a follow up post with additional tips.

There are plenty of different questions/solutions on how to resolve the flickering problem. We think the following is a pretty good general solution.

In the original post we mention Android but have heard since then that it also happens on iOS devices.

To resovle the flickering problem, add this JavaScript to your app (Project > Create New > JavaScript):

$.mobile.defaultPageTransition = 'none';
$.mobile.defaultDialogTransition = 'none';

Just in case you need to target a specific OS, you can modify the code like this (shown for Android):

if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Android") != -1) {
   $.mobile.defaultPageTransition = 'none';
   $.mobile.defaultDialogTransition = 'none';
}

Once you add this code, you need to use only the Default transition for navigation. If you use any other transition effect, you will get back the flickering.

The next thing you can try is to hide the Ajax loader (shown on service invocation and page transitions). Project > Create New > CSS and enter this code:

#ajaxBusy {display: none !important;}

This should make transitions even smoother.

Lastly, you can also try what jQuery Mobile team suggests (see Important section in yellow).

Let us know if these workarounds work for you.

Read David Schoenbach’s article on how developers can make money:

Developer Revenues: The Dilemma and the Opportunity of In-app Purchase and Carrier Billing

We just released some really awesome features in Appery.io!

App Builder Database Integration

In early July we launched Appery.io Database where you can store app data. Now we have launched database integration in our app builder. This means you can point to a specific database, select the collection(s) you want to use and automatically generate all the REST services.  To create a services from database, select Create New > Database Services:

Next select the database:

Once the database is selected, you can select the services for which you want to generate REST services.

The first section creates REST services for User management.

The second section lists all the collections you have in current database. You can then select which actions (Create, Delete, etc) you would like to create for a particular collection:

When you click Import selected services button, the following REST services will be generated:

For example opening the service for creating a new message looks like this:

The request and response parameters are also generated.  Here is a screen shot of request parameters to create a new messsage:

Isn’t this awesome?

File API

We continue to add new features to Appery.io Backend Services by adding File API. You can now easily store files in the database. When you open any database, you will see a new Files tab:

Read more about the File API.

Project Export/Import

Our users have been asking for this feature for a long time and it’s now available. You can export and then import a project. To export a project, go to app options page (Export Backup):

To import an app from backup, click From Backup when creating a new app (you get to this screen by clicking More Options link, see next section):

Even easier way to create a new app

Last, but not least, it is now even easier to create a new app. Right from Apps page, enter a new app name and click Create. That’s it.