Blog

How We Make Our Customers Happy

Appery.io has a lot of cool features for developing apps, but which parts of Appery.io help our Apppery.io Services customers the most? To figure this out, we have interviewed our customers to find what made them the happiest in getting work done on our platform using our services. Here’s what our customers singled out.

Pricing

Interviewees indicated that they benefited a lot from our scaleable pay-as-you-go approach. Many thousand-hour projects start with a single Advisory Pack or Flex Pack (five- or forty-hour assignments). After working with us, they become confident enough in our professional services to move forward with us even faster. (Some of our customers have said that acquiring professional services with us is like ordering food from a menu at a restaurant.) Of course, if five hours of help is all you need, we have you covered there, too.

Process

Because of the ease-of-use support built into the platform, our customers can do the initial prototyping themselves and seamlessly hand off the project to Appery’s professionals to finish. Our clients are excited to be able to to stay focused on the business requirements for their apps while leaving the challenging implementation details to us – all within the same development environment.

Transparency

Many of our customers mentioned the transparency aspects of the platform in getting the most out of Appery Services. Many people are used to sticking notes on their refrigerator, so they find our platform’s online collaboration board very easy to use. The board consists of three columns: “to-do”, “in progress” and “done”. Moving a note from one column to another represents a developer’s progress with the task. In addition to this, enterprises can benefit from sophisticated reports to track progress, identify potential bottlenecks, and determine future performance.

More than 400,000 Appery.io customers already enjoy having the option to use our services to easily and efficiently augment their benefit from the platform. Join the club!

Our February 2017 newsletter.

Learn What’s New in Our March Platform Update

In early March we rolled out a second platform update for 2017. The update includes these features and benefits:

• Improved Autocomplete in App Builder for Ionic
• New Ace Editor in Server Code
• Instantly Import Any Database Service into an App
• Better Developer Experience for Testing APIs inside the App Builder and API Express
• API Express Autogenerated Services Now Support Sorting by Multiple Parameters
• API Express Database Connection Now Supports Custom Properties
• Cloud Database Upgrade

Learn more about these new features and benefits in our blog post.

22 Things You Need to Know about Appery.io Server Code

Appery.io Server Code allows you to write app logic with JavaScript that is executed on the server. Custom app logic is placed inside a Server Code script which is then invoked as a REST API from a mobile app. In this post, you will learn everything you should know about Appery.io Server Code.

Video Tutorial: How to Call the WordPress REST API

Watch this short video to learn how to call the WordPress REST API from an Appery.io app. The video shows two approaches to invoking the API. First, it shows how to invoke an API using API Express. Second, it shows how to invoke an API from Server Code.

New Step-by-step Tutorials

Our friends at WEALL published two great step-by-step tutorials on how to build apps with Appery.io. Check them out:

• How to build Emoji Chat application using AngularJS and Ionic
• How to build a Hashtag Messaging mobile and web application

Learn How Dyjit Launched Their App for a New Hospitality Platform Using Appery.io

Dyjit’s vision is to make life better by introducing digital experiences where they do not yet exist. Dyjit’s first product, knowye (know what you eat), is a hospitality platform that transforms the traditional paper menu into a digital marketing channel and enables restaurants to cater to and market to shifting consumer needs. Learn how this app was built.

Enkr8ia was formed with the purpose of developing technology to enable people to achieve their personal goals. The name is derived from the ancient Greek word “enkrateia” that stands for “In power of self”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Learn about our March platform update.

Improved Autocomplete in App Builder for Ionic

Autocomplete is one of the most-loved developer features. You don’t need to remember the variable name, can quickly insert it from the autocomplete list and more importantly it reduces errors. The App Builder for Ionic now has an improved autocomplete feature, it is now available for any property in the Property panel. Simply click Ctrl+Space to see the available values.

New Option to Specify Custom Database Connection Properties in API Express

New Ace Editor in Server Code

Appery.io Server Code source editor has been upgrade to the poplar Ace editor. The new editor provides the following benefits:

• Improved code snippets to help you write code faster by inserting common code snippets with just a click.
• Advanced and more powerful code assist to help you write your code faster.
• Big performance upgrade when working with large source code files.
• Better error reporting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dyjit’s vision is to make life better by introducing digital experiences where they do not yet exist. Dyjit’s first product, knowye (know what you eat), is a hospitality platform that transforms the traditional paper menu into a digital marketing channel and enables restaurants to cater and market to shifting consumer needs.

• Filter the menu to items that meet your preferences. For example, if you are a vegan or looking for a gluten-free dish, your personal menu with additional ingredient related details will be shown.
• Select items for your order.
• Estimate your bill, calculate the tip, split with your group.
• Add items to your wishlist or favorites.
• Keep your menu and selection history.

The Dyjit team selected the Appery.io lowcode platform to build and launch their first mobile app.

The Appery.io visual App Builder allows building the app UI 3-4 times faster than using traditional tools.

The Appery.io platform also provides out-of-the-box, integrated backend services such as a cloud database, Server Code for app logic and Push Notifications. This means you don’t need to look for any other backend services and can build and test the entire app quickly and with less resources. The platform enables building a complete mobile app fast, without needing to have a traditional development team.

The app UI was quickly built using the Appery.io App Builder for jQuery Mobile. On the backend, the app leverages the Appery.io Database and Server Code for custom app logic. Running the app on the Appery.io platform will enable the Dyjit team to easily scale the app to any number of backend API calls without lifting a finger. And that’s precisely the reason why the Dyjit team selected the Appery.io platform – it enables them to spend time building their product without worrying about app infrastructure and tooling.

Knowye is available in the Apple and Android app stores and piloting at Heartland Brewery in New York’s Port Authority. Follow knowye’s progress on their Facebook page.

Bon appetite!

Appery.io Server Code allows you to write app logic with JavaScript which is executed on the server. Custom app logic is placed inside a Server Code script which is than invoked as a REST API from a mobile app. In this post you will learn everything you should know about Appery.io Server Code.

1. Server Code is a server-side component in the Appery.io cloud platform.
2. The code (logic) is placed inside a script which is executed on the server.
3. You can write any custom app logic (you have access to most JavaScript APIs).
4. The language used to write the Server Code script is JavaScript.
5. A script is invoked as a REST API from a mobile app.
6. A script can be tested (invoked) inside the Server Code dashboard.
7. A script can depend on one more more libraries. A library is a reusable script (JavaScript code also).
8. A script can connect and query the Appery.io Database.
9. A script can send, manage and schedule Appery.io Push Notificationsa.
10. A script can connect and invoke any 3rd party (external) REST API.
11. A script can be secured with a username and password.
12. A script can be scheduled as Job to run periodically and on schedule.
13. A script can invoke another script.
14. You can create versions of a script.
15. A script has very fast cache called In Memory Data (data lives for 20 minutes).
16. A script can be invoked from Appery.io API Express service flow.
17. The script editor comes with Snippets, small reusable code which can be quickly inserted into a script.
18. Server Code comes with Plug-ins. Plug-ins are scripts and libraries that can be quickly inserted and provide specific functionality such as integration with 3rd party APIs.
19. A script has a Trace page where you can view console and error messages from script execution.
20. A script has a Statistics page where you can view various statistics about a script such as how many times a script was invoked.
21. A  script has a description field which can be invoked via a separate REST API for documentation purpose.
22. The JavaScript engine used for Server Code is Nashorn.

Want to build your first app? Sign up for a free trial account in seconds.

Watch the Server Code YouTube playlist to learn more.

Our January 2017 newsletter.

Big Platform Upgrade: iOS 10, Cordova Update, Automatic APIs Sync and More

At the end of January we had a big platform update with new upgrades and benefits:

• iOS 10 Support
• Apache Cordova Upgrade
• Automatically Sync Backend Services Changes with the App Builder
• Organize with Folders Inside the App Builder
• Backend Services APIs Are Now Placed in Folders for Easier Organization
• Improved Media Manager
• Improved Synchronization Between App and Server for Apps with Offline Support
• New Page to Test API Express Services and Offline Support
• New Auto-login with Offline Support

Learn more about this platform update from our blog.

Exposing a SQL Database via REST APIs: A Video Guide for Developers

Many organizations that are building mobile apps need to connect to and reuse existing internal systems. One of the most common such system is a relational (SQL) database. The following two videos show how to connect and expose a SQL database via REST API using API Express:

• Autogenerating the REST APIs
• Creating a custom service for a REST API

Appery.io + Pollfish: How to Integrate a Pollfish Survey into Your App

Our friends at Pollfish, a survey platform company, created a guide to help you monetize Appery.io apps with Pollfish surveys. Integration takes only a few minutes and can boost your revenue up to 20x more compared to any other traditional advertising format out there. Check our the easy-to-use integration guide.

Learn How Appery.io Ensures API Express and Server Code On-demand Deployment

Read this awesome (and technical) blog post by our Dev Ops Engineer Ruslan Kusov on how he ensures API Express and Server Code support on-demandhttps://blog.appery.io/author/rkusov deployment and can be scaled instantly for any platform traffic.

Can You Build a Conference Room Booking App Using Appery.io in 16 Hours?

Yes. We built a Conference Room Booking App using Appery.io in 16 hours. This app helps with the well-known problem of double-booking conference rooms and then looking confused when someone is there when you need to have an important meeting. Learn more about this app.

Many organizations that are building mobile apps need to connect to and reuse existing (internal) systems. One of the most common system is a relational (SQL) database.

We have prepared two short videos that will show you how to do that using Appery.io API Express.

API Express connects to a relational database and exposes the database tables via REST APIs. Once the APIs are created, the mobile app can easily consume the APIs.

There are two approaches exposing a database:

• Autogenerating the REST APIs
• Creating a custom service for a REST API

The first approach automatically generates CRUD-like APIs to work with a database table. In many apps, this is close to 80% of what an app might need. This automatic approach also comes with very sophisticated offline support. In other words, you app can work offline and sync data with a remote database when a connection is reestablished.

With the second approach, you get full control as you write the actual SQL query (or Stored Procedure) that will be executed. With this approach, you can use a visual service editor to orchestrate the REST API. In addition to the SQL component (connector), you can use connectors such as Web Service (WSDL), REST  and others.

Check out the API Express video playlist to learn more.

Our friends at Pollfish, a survey platform company, created this guide to help you monetize Appery.io apps with Pollfish surveys. Integration takes only a few minutes and can boost your revenue up to 20x more compared to any other traditional advertising format out there.

Check out the steps below to create a Pollfish app and integrate it with Appery.io Ionic app.

Read the rest of this entry »

Appery.io had a strong 2016 and inches closer and closer to 400,000 developers. At the same time, the constant platform updates we roll out add more benefits, services, features, and options. Even without the constant updates, supporting a platform with so many developers would not be a simple task. Our platform has to be ready for continuous updates, increased load, and new user requests and requirements.

We want to provide high SLA level services and avoid unexpected slowdowns and downtimes for customers’ apps even during peak hours. To provide the required scalability and resilience, we rely on industry leader Amazon Web Services and its various features such as Auto Scaling, Launch Configurations, and CloudWatch.

In this blog post you will learn how exactly we ensure scalability and resilience for Appery.io API Express and Server Code services.

Read the rest of this entry »