It is common for developers to build apps where users will have varying access to data and elements within the app based on the user’s role. Being able to limit user access is important to data security, user management, and often, the financial success of the application as user access is commonly tied to how much the user pays. In this article, we are going to show you how you can hide some object properties based on the user’s role. To accomplish this, we will be using Event Handlers.
An event handler is custom, server-side code that responds to an API event. For every API call, Backendless generates two types of events – “before” and “after”. The “before” event is fired before the default logic of the API implementation is executed and the “after” event is triggered right after the default API implementation logic. An event handler can respond to either one of these events. A synchronous (blocking) event handler participates in the API invocation chain and can modify the objects in the chain’s flow. For example, the “before” event handlers can modify arguments of the API calls, so the default logic gets the modified objects. Similarly, an “after” handler can modify the return value (or exception) so the client application that made the API request receives the modified value. For more about Event Handlers, you can read the documentation.
By the end of this guide, you will have a Backendless application with a custom API event handler that modifies objects received from a table and removes restricted properties based on the user’s role.
Amazon Elasticsearch Service (Amazon ES) is a service that can store a lot of data and provide a full text-based search, among other cool features. In this article, we’ll show you how to integrate Amazon ES with your Backendless project.
Save objects to Amazon ES
To save objects to the Amazon ES with Backendless you have to:
- Create an Amazon ES domain
- Create after event handlers in the Backendless console
- Download generated code
- Write JavaScript code to save objects
Today we are kicking off our newest feature called “Backendless Spotlight”. Each week, we will spotlight one published app, available on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, that uses Backendless for their server-side functionality and infrastructure. Our first spotlight will shine on a startup app called YTCount that just recently came to our attention. Read on to learn more about how YTCount has leveraged Backendless to turn a hobby into an app with over 60,000 active monthly users in just 3 years.
Editor’s Note: If you have an app using Backendless for its backend and would like to be considered for a future Backendless Spotlight, please send us an email with a link to your app and a description of how Backendless has helped you be successful.
It is very easy to use Backendless with Xamarin, Microsoft’s open source native app builder. You can try out Xamarin for building apps for free with the Community edition of Visual Studio from Microsoft. In this post, we’re going to create a simple example based on the Xamarin ToDo list sample provided by Xamarin.
One of the most powerful features that Backendless 5 has available is the capability for you to implement your own License Manager for creating and checking licenses for your product/customers. In this article, we will touch on some Backendless services such as data management and Business Logic and we will use one of the Backendless Client SDKs.
Building custom native applications has never been easier thanks to Backendless and Dropsource. With these platforms, you can build a beautiful native frontend and a robust and scalable backend with little or no coding required. On March 19, 2019, we will be hosting an hour-long webinar titled “Codeless Mobile App Development Using Backendless and Dropsource”. You can register here today.
In this webinar, we will walk you through how to set up and build a custom application using a backend built with Backendless and a frontend built with Dropsource. You will see how to connect your frontend (or client-side) with your backend (or server-side) using pre-built APIs by Backendless, how to build data tables to store your users’ information, how to use the Dropsource builder and Backendless console, and much more.
Additional topics to be covered include implementation of chat functionality in your app, implementation of a to-do list within an app including a complete set of database functions, and integration with Stripe for payment processing. Following the webinar, you will have a good understanding of the capabilities of the Backendless platform and a solid
Click here to register for the webinar today.
Dropsource is an online platform for developing Android and iOS applications without coding. The platform also lets you download the source code for your app so you can make any changes to it and subsequently publish into the app store (note: downloading the source code is a paid option). If you’re looking to add support for push notifications to your Dropsource apps, Backendless fits right in with a relatively simple integration. When you add Backendless Push Notifications, you can instantly benefit from the following features:
- Personalized push notification content – each recipient of your push notifications can see customized content.
- Programmable action buttons with support for inline replies.
- Customizable images and icons in the payload and rendering of push notifications.
- Automatic push notification cancellation – self-destructed notifications.
- Dynamic audience targeting – the audience of the published notifications can be customized with a query.
The video below includes a demonstration of an Android Dropsource app integrated with Backendless Push Notifications followed by a detailed overview of the actual integration process. The integration instructions are outlined in detail in this post following the video.
Developing apps can be fun especially if you can do it without knowing how to write code. There is a lot of hype around the no-code and low-code trends, however, very few solutions can actually demonstrate successful examples. Here’s real proof of a mobile chat app built without any coding. The app is built using Dropsource and Backendless. Some companies will quote you thousands of dollars to built something similar, however, with the demonstrated approach, not only you can do it in a matter of hours using a beautiful UI builder right in the browser, you get the extreme scalability with the Backendless mobile backend. The video below demonstrates the app and walks you through the process of developing it:
We are happy to announce the new release of Backendless, version 5.2.0. The new release delivers completely redesigned support for push notifications. With the new release you can create highly visual, dynamic and interactive push notifications for Android and iOS devices. The content in the notifications can be personalized for each individual user, you can greet the users of your apps by name, provide content and information in the context of user’s location or any other related user properties. You can configure your push notifications to include sounds, images, configurable buttons (with inline reply) and custom vibration patterns. You can easily schedule push notifications to be delivered automatically, alternatively you can send them out with Backendless console or using the API. The video below provides an overview and a demo of the new functionality:
The mission of Backendless is to simplify the app development process. We strive to empower software developers to build apps without spending any time on monotonous and repetitive coding tasks. In most cases, a developer working with Backendless should not even think about the server-side and focus entirely on the user experience. We have seen thousands of apps getting built the standard way – that is using code. Whether it is Java, Objective-C, Swift, JS or C#, developers still write, compile, debug and profile code when building the client-side of their mobile apps. Can the process be simpler? Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could build a mobile app without knowing a programming language? Or better yet, how cool would it be if you could get all the boring and annoying parts of creating a skeleton of a mobile app using an easy-to-use and a powerful UI and after that jump into the code to handle more advanced tasks at that level? Yes, that would be awesome. What’s even more awesome is that such a solution is available now and it integrates nicely with Backendless. Welcome to Dropsource – a platform for developing mobile apps without any coding. And if you want to get the code, it will generate a complete Android Studio or Xcode project for you.
As the saying goes, it is better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times. The video below starts with a demo of a mobile (iOS) client-server app built with Dropsource. This is a classic ToDo app which uses the Backendless database to store data and demonstrates a complete set of the database operations (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete – CRUD). Right after the demo in the video, there is a detailed walkthrough showing how to build the app. If you follow the instructions, you will be developing the same app and learn how to use Dropsource and integrate it with Backendless. Enjoy!
