Droidcon Tunisia 2014 connect your mobile app to your backend
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This document provides information on connecting a mobile app to a backend. It discusses the pros and cons of storing data inside versus outside an app. The document recommends building a backend first to define data structure and layout. It suggests using modern frameworks like Django and Python for the backend, with RESTful APIs and security. The document also provides tips for building the mobile app, including using HTTP clients, Gson for mapping responses, and AsyncTask to keep the app responsive. An example app called Tunibus is described that uses Neo4j and a RESTful API to find transportation routes.
Droidcon Tunisia 2014 connect your mobile app to your backend
- 1. Nacef LABIDIConnect your app to your backend Connect your mobile app to your backend Presented by Nacef LABIDI March 2014
- 2. Who I am ? • System Level Developer @ STMicroelectronics • Co-founder and Technical Manager @ Oceanys • Project Manager @ Evatys • Technical Consultant @ Hewlett-Packard • IT Manager @ US Peace Corps • Global Helpdesk Manager @ Vistaprint
- 3. Who I really am ? ;) • Computer engineer, geek and music addict. • Open Source enthusiast, supporter and contributor. • Android apps developer (when I find some time) • Python fan and supporter. • Speak many programming languages.
- 4. Audience • Beginners in Android development • People wanting to build mobile apps around dynamic content • Building multi-platform mobile apps
- 5. Storing your data inside vs. outside of your app Pros • Decoupling between the app and the data • Keeping the logic on the server side • Makes your apps lighter • Makes your logic consistent and reusable • Evolution of your service relies more on the data than the app itself. • Publish your data to multiple medias : Website, all kind of mobile devices, share your data with affiliates
- 6. Storing your data inside vs. outside of your app Cons • Need to be connected to access the data • This can be improved by caching some of the data locally • Delays in treatment depending on the volume of data and the quality of the connection • May expose your data to some security risks • Again this can be addressed
- 7. How would I proceed ? If you don’t have a backend, start by building one • This will help you define the structure of the data that you want to expose in your app • Designing the data will also help you design the layout of your app • Build a webservice API that will be used to access the data • Secure your webservice
- 8. Building your backend Choose the right tools : modern frameworks • Define your data structures • Use migrations to evolve your data structures without messing with your data • Use RESTful capabilities of your framework to publish your data to your app • Choose the exchange format that suits you most (XML, JSON…) • Use security capabilities to protect your data
- 9. Secure your backend Different security methods : HTTP Basic Authentication Login and password sent with the HTTP request ApiKey Authentication Passing an ApiKey generated on the server side in each HTTP request OAuth Authentication Through a third party authentication service (Google, Facebook, Yahoo, OpenID …) Create your custom authentication system Public/Private RSA keys …
- 10. My personal choices Python language • http://www.python.org Django framework https://www.djangoproject.com • Provides Model classes • Supports many DB backends (Relational & NoSQL) • Migrations: through South module http://south.aeracode.org • RESTful API: through Tastypie module http://tastypieapi.org
- 11. Build your app Use Apache HTTP Client classes Use Google Gson to map API responses to your local objects • https://code.google.com/p/google-gson Use AsyncTask to keep your app responsive while retrieving your data from the server Goodies : You should try RoboGuice to have a nicely architected app • https://github.com/roboguice/roboguice
- 12. Retrospective Tunibus : An android app allowing users to find their way through the Tunis public transportation (Bus, Metro, Train …) Neo4j Graph database representing stations and edges representing transportation lines connecting the stations. http://www.neo4j.org RESTful webservice that returns the possible paths between two points Android app that connects through the API to the Graph DB Crowdsourcing web app to enhance the data quality
- 14. Thank you ! Questions ?