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WebAPI/SimplePush: Difference between revisions
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"It's" is a contraction of "it is" and not a possessive!
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SimplePush is a way for application developers to send messages to their web applications. Rather than have applications continuously poll your server for the latest information, you can take advantage of the SimplePush API. This is a very low cost service that | SimplePush is a way for application developers to send messages to their web applications. Rather than have applications continuously poll your server for the latest information, you can take advantage of the SimplePush API. This is a very low cost service that lets servers tell clients "Hey, there's something interesting over here! You ought to do something about that." | ||
== Definitions == | == Definitions == | ||
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== Use Cases == | == Use Cases == | ||
<b>An App wishes to be notified when new email arrives</b>. A User installs an <i>App</i> on a mobile device which notifies her when someone adds a note to her bulletin board. The <i>App</i> calls the Registration function, which returns an <i>EndPoint</i>. The <i>App</i> sends the <i>EndPoint</i> to the <i>AppServer</i> using some mechanism not dictated by the protocol. For example, it could use XMLHttpRequest or send an SMS to a special number. The <i>AppServer</i> stores the <i>EndPoint</i> in the User's information. When a new note is added, the <i>AppServer</i> fetches the <i>EndPoint</i> and PUTs a new version value to it. The PushServer then notifies the UserAgent, which wakes the <i>App</i> and sends a "push" event. This causes the <i>App</i> to refresh | <b>An App wishes to be notified when new email arrives</b>. A User installs an <i>App</i> on a mobile device which notifies her when someone adds a note to her bulletin board. The <i>App</i> calls the Registration function, which returns an <i>EndPoint</i>. The <i>App</i> sends the <i>EndPoint</i> to the <i>AppServer</i> using some mechanism not dictated by the protocol. For example, it could use XMLHttpRequest or send an SMS to a special number. The <i>AppServer</i> stores the <i>EndPoint</i> in the User's information. When a new note is added, the <i>AppServer</i> fetches the <i>EndPoint</i> and PUTs a new version value to it. The PushServer then notifies the UserAgent, which wakes the <i>App</i> and sends a "push" event. This causes the <i>App</i> to refresh its messages (again using XHR or some other medium out of the scope of this protocol), and User gets a screen full of adorable kittens. | ||
<b>An AppServer wishes to notify Apps of an update</b>. Since a server doesn't want to be deluged by millions of pings from devices every hour, the developers wisely decide to opt for a Push mechanism. Much like the other example, an <i>App</i> registers with SimplePush, gets an <i>EndPoint</i> which it relays to <i>AppServer</i>. <i>AppServer</i> then PUTs a '0' version to the <i>EndPoint</i> which triggers a "push" event for the App, which silently acknowledges that all is well. At some later time, <i>AppServer</i> PUTs '1' to the <i>EndPoint</i> which SimplePush relays to <i>App</i> which then updates itself. | <b>An AppServer wishes to notify Apps of an update</b>. Since a server doesn't want to be deluged by millions of pings from devices every hour, the developers wisely decide to opt for a Push mechanism. Much like the other example, an <i>App</i> registers with SimplePush, gets an <i>EndPoint</i> which it relays to <i>AppServer</i>. <i>AppServer</i> then PUTs a '0' version to the <i>EndPoint</i> which triggers a "push" event for the App, which silently acknowledges that all is well. At some later time, <i>AppServer</i> PUTs '1' to the <i>EndPoint</i> which SimplePush relays to <i>App</i> which then updates itself. | ||