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In addition to the app development APIs, we also make available a very rich set of administrative and management functions. Every single feature available in Backendless console, is also available via specialized REST API. Whether it is performing a data import/export, setting up database schema or retrieving application’s analytics – all of these can be done with a REST call. These APIs are available for any customer who upgrades to Backendless Plus or the Cloud Enterprise plans. When you decide to upgrade, contact us and request your Admin API manual.

Previously I wrote how to change user’s password using Backendless console. Additionally, there are ways to change user’s password using the API. In this post I review the API which can be used to change the password IF a user can login. A different scenario is possible when a user cannot login for the reason that he/she forgot the password. That scenario will be reviewed in a separate post.

Backendless supports two ways for deleting a user: using the API or using the console. The API approach is described using the code below. The code retrieves a user object by ID and then subsequently deletes it:

In my post yesterday I wrote about support for multiple environments for your apps’ mBaaS backend. These could include development, testing, staging and/or production. As backend advances through its stages, an obvious question is how to migrate the backend’s data from one environment to another. Backendless provides a very advanced facility for backend migration between the environments. Take a look at the following interface:

As application is progressing through its lifecycle, there are different teams involved in interacting with the app and its backend. These teams include developers, testers, security auditors, system administrators ultimately customers and the users of the app.

Traditionally, application goes through the stages of development, testing, staging and production. Each stage has its own group of users. It is important that each stage has its backend with all the data, security policies and business processes in an isolated from other stages environment. Backendless provides support for multiple app environments through a feature called Versioning.

One of the hidden gems packed with features is Backendless REST Console. It is a part of Backendless console and is located in its own tab on the Data screen. The console does exactly what it sounds like – lets you run REST requests against your data tables. Let’s review how fetching your data (AKA running HTTP GET requests) works in REST Console:

1. Login to Backendless Console, select an app and click the Data icon.
2. Select a table that has some records.
3. Click the REST Console tab.
4. The table you selected in step (2) is the context of all subsequent operations in REST Console. Try clicking another table and notice the change in the Request URL field. Make sure a table with at least one record is selected.
5. Click the GET button. REST Console makes an HTTP GET request to the server, receives the response and renders it in the Response Body area. You can also see the request headers if you click the show headers link.
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In my previous post I reviewed the user registration API. Now that you know how to use the registration API and have a registered user, the next step is to review the login functionality. The video below focuses on the apps’ login screen and the Backendless Login API.

In the previous post I described how to obtain file’s public URL using the Backendless developer console. Even though one may obtain a public URL for a file or directory, it is very easy to change the permissions to restrict file download for anonymous (not authenticated) users. To restrict access:

1. Login to the Backendless developer console, select an app and click the Files icon.
2. Navigate to the file or directory for which public access should be denied.
3. Click the lock icon to switch to the Security screen.
4. Click the Roles Permissions menu.
5. Click the checkmark icon in the cell at the intersection of the row for NotAuthenticatedUser and the Read column until you get a red X icon as shown in the screenshot below:
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Any file in the Backendless File storage is also accessible through a public URL. This functionality can be restricted by changing security settings. Public file URL can be built using the following format:

where <application id>   <path> and  <filename> should be replaced with the specific values. Another way to obtain file’s public URL is by using Backendless console:

In the video below I review the code for the User Registration screen of the RestaurantToGo sample app. Additionally, I discuss the usage of the Backendless Registration API. In the previous post and video, I reviewed the process of setting up the development environment for the application.