MDP JavaScript Container : container

Container Team Updates: 04/24/2008

Donny Mack (DM) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:19:00 GMT

Hello all, we rolled a few additions and updates this morning - here is a summary.

Lightweight Calls

We’ve added some lightweight calls so you don’t have to get huge extended person objects.

Note: id can be owner or viewer and the opt_params parameter is currently not used.

Indicators

[edit: proper way to access]

MyOpenSpace.DataRequest.newFetchIndicatorsRequest(id, opt_params)

Moods

[edit: proper way to access]

MyOpenSpace.DataRequest.newFetchPersonMoodRequest(id, opt_params)

Status

[edit: proper way to access]

MyOpenSpace.DataRequest.newFetchPersonStatusRequest(id, opt_params)

Note: The enums that are currently used to access the results may change, but we'll give ample notice before any change is made and will remain backwards compatible for a time before removal. example: MyOpenSpace.Group.VIEWER_STATUS

Post To

We made a few bug fixes and added callback functionality

Example Code for All

Thanks Chris!!!

var osContainer;

var dataReqObj;

var param;

function init(optResponse) {

osContainer = opensocial.Container.get();

param = {};

}

function getIndicator(stuff){

if (typeof(stuff) === 'undefined'){

dataReqObj = osContainer.newDataRequest();

dataReqObj.add(MyOpenSpace.DataRequest.newFetchIndicatorsRequest(opensocial.DataRequest.PersonId.VIEWER, param));

dataReqObj.send(getIndicator);

} else {

var result = stuff.get(MyOpenSpace.Group.VIEWER_INDICATORS).getData();

dumpProps(result);

}

function getMood(stuff) {

if (typeof(stuff) === 'undefined'){

dataReqObj = osContainer.newDataRequest();

dataReqObj.add(MyOpenSpace.DataRequest.newFetchPersonMoodRequest(opensocial.DataRequest.PersonId.VIEWER, param));

dataReqObj.send(getMood);

} else {

var result = stuff.get(MyOpenSpace.Group.VIEWER_MOOD).getData();

dumpProps(result);

}

function getStatus(stuff) {

if (typeof(stuff) === 'undefined'){

dataReqObj = osContainer.newDataRequest();

dataReqObj.add(MyOpenSpace.DataRequest.newFetchPersonStatusRequest(opensocial.DataRequest.PersonId.VIEWER, param));

dataReqObj.send(getStatus);

} else {

var result = stuff.get(MyOpenSpace.Group.VIEWER_STATUS).getData();

dumpProps(result);

}

function dumpProps(obj, parent) {

for (var i in obj) {

if (parent) { var msg = parent + "." + i + "\n" + obj[i]; } else { var msg = i + "\n" + obj[i]; }

if (!confirm(msg)) { return; }

if (typeof obj[i] == "object") {

if (parent) { dumpProps(obj[i], parent + "." + i); } else { dumpProps(obj[i], i); }

}

function postBlogCallback(){

var os_token = MyOpenSpace.MySpaceContainer.OSToken;

var message = opensocial.newMessage("I am a blog post");

message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.TITLE, "About Testing");

message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.TYPE, MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.BLOG);

osContainer.postTo(os_token, message, null, ptCallback);

}

function ptCallback(someVal){

if (someVal == MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Result.ERROR) {

alert('callback gave error')

}

else if (someVal == MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Result.CANCELLED) {

alert('user cancelled PostTo')

}

else if (someVal == MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Result.SUCCESS) {

alert('WE ARE MEETING WITH GREAT SUCCESS!!!')

}

else {

alert('Unrecognized response: ' + someVal)

}

init();

</script>

<h1>Indicator, Mood, Status</h1>

<button onclick="postBlogCallback()">Blog post with callback</button>

Encoding URLs in makeRequest

Chad Russell — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:21:00 GMT

Hello everybody, this is a request to everyone out there using the makeRequest function.

Inside the container we are encoding all URLs and post parameters, so please don't encode them yourselves. This will result in a double encode which will get mangled by the proxy.

If you have noticed an issue with your makeRequest function, this may be the cause.

Good:

gadgets.io.makeRequest("http://myurl.com?p=yay");

Bad (for two reasons!):

opensocial.makeRequest(encodeUriComponent("http://myurl.com?p=yay"));

The second one is bad because it: a) encodes the URL and b) uses the deprecated opensocial.makeRequest call, which is specific to OpenSocial 0.6, please update your code to be 0.7 friendly!

Thanks,

Chad

Introducing Post To

Donny Mack (DM) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:14:00 GMT

In a nutshell, Post To enables you to provide your application users the ability to post things to MySpace. In our initial launch we’ll be offering the following Post To targets:

-    Posting to the viewers profile
-    Posting a bulletin
-    Posting to the viewers blog
-    Adding a comment
-    Sending a message

Each of the targets can accept different levels of text and markup. For instance, some will accept HTML while others don’t and this is sometimes controlled by the end users privacy settings. Because of this we recommend thoroughly testing your applications.

This should go without saying but, SPAM will not be tolerated!

Overview

Post To is one of our first features that will enable you to not only help your users communicate with friends but also to start virally spreading news of your application. With just a few lines of code you can start pushing content to your users profile and friends.

Post To works by allowing you to pass a few parameters to a JavaScript function that then displays an overlay over your application (see screenshots below) . The user can then perform different actions based on the target invoked and then submit or cancel the action.

Finally, Post To is currently only available on Canvas pages.

Invoking Post To

Below we’ll go through the basics of using Post To starting with a working out of the box code example. For information on things not covered please see the http://developer.myspace.com/community/myspace/referenceIntro.aspx

Sample Code

var os_token = MyOpenSpace.MySpaceContainer.OSToken;
var osContainer = opensocial.Container.get();

// gets all supported post to targets
var supported = osContainer.getMySpaceEnvironment().getSupportedPostToTargets();
var recipientPerson;

// need a person object for add comment and send message

function init() {

dataReqObj = osContainer.newDataRequest();

dataReqObj.add(osContainer.newFetchPersonRequest(opensocial.DataRequest.PersonId.OWNER));

dataReqObj.send(ownerResponse);

}

function ownerResponse(data) {

recipientPerson = data.get(opensocial.DataRequest.PersonId.OWNER).getData();

loadSupportedTargets();

}

function loadSupportedTargets() {

var temp = "<select id=\"supportedTargets\">";

for (var i = 0; i < supported.length; i++)

{

temp += "<option value=\"" + supported[ i ] + "\">" + supported[ i ] + "</option>";

}

temp += "</select>";

document.getElementById("selectInsert").innerHTML = temp;

}

function invokePostTo(){

var target_is_supported = false;

var target = document.getElementById("supportedTargets").options[document.getElementById("supportedTargets").selectedIndex].value;

var subject = "subject text";

var content = "content text";

// make sure that the selected target is enabled

for (var i = 0; i < supported.length; i++) {

if (supported[ i ] === target) {

target_is_supported = true;

break;

}

if (target_is_supported) {

// create a new message object passing in the content to be posted and then set the subject and target fields

var message = opensocial.newMessage(content);

message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.TITLE, subject);

message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.TYPE, target);

// show post to

osContainer.postTo(os_token, message, recipientPerson);

}

init();

</script>

<br>

postTo

opensocial.Container.get().postTo(os_token, message, opt_person, opt_callback);

os_token: The token string, this gets passed up so we can verify who's sending the request.
Message: an opensocial.Message object. The content to be posted, the message type refers to the target of the post.
opt_person: an opensocial.Person object. An optional opensocial.Person object, used when a recipient is required, e.g. when posting a comment, this person will get the comment.
opt_callback: Callback function, right now just for success/fail. - not yet implemented.

openSocial.Message

Below is the function for creating a new opensocial.Message object:

var message = opensocial.newMessage(body, opt_params);

The Post To opensocial.Message message allows for three fields:

1. opensocial.Message.Field.TYPE

A supported PostTo target type from MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets enum. You can check if a particular target is supported by invoking: opensocial.Container.get().getMySpaceEnvironment().getSupportedPostToTargets()
Currently supported targets:
-    MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.PROFILE
-    MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.SEND_MESSAGE
-    MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.COMMENTS
-    MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.BULLETINS
-    MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.BLOG

Example:
message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.Type, MyOpenSpace.PostTo.Targets.PROFILE);

2. opensocial.Message.Field.TITLE

A title for the post – this is not used in every target

Example:

message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.TITLE, “Hello World”);

3. opensocial.Message.Field.BODY

The content you want to post.

Example:

message.setField(opensocial.Message.Field.BODY, “Hello World”);

Note: Body can also be passed in the constructor.

Target Screen Shots

Below are screen shots of the various targets with links on where you can find the corresponding MySpace feature

Posting to Profile
Posting to the users profile copies functionality found here: http://profileedit.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.interests

Posting to Bulletin

Posting a bulletin copies functionality found here: http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.edit

Posting to Blog

Making a blog post copies functionality found here: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.create&editor=true

Posting a Comment

Posting a comment copies functionality found here: http://comment.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile_commentForm&friendID=20599042

Sending a Message

Sending a message copies functionality found here: http://messaging.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=mail.message&friendID=20599042

Sample Application

Chris has created a handy sample application for you to see Post To in action. You can install it here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=364361327

Container team updates - Prototype removal, AppData limitations and all around useful bits

Signal Loss — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:47:00 GMT

Greetings Developers!

For those who haven't run into me online or at the DevJams, I'm Max Newbould, the product owner/lead developer for the MySpace OpenSocial container.

We are always hard at work and try to make it into IRC and the forums as much as possible, and want to make sure no useful information is only disseminated on a single medium.

Forthcoming bits (I don't like to give dates but I will post when they are live)

Global AppData Store - you will soon be able to create fetch/update PersonAppDataRequests with an idSpec of MyOpenSpace.Group.GLOBAL_APP_DATA to store key value pairs accessible to all instances of your application.

Client Lib Selection - as you may have already read, we are removing prototype 1.5.1.1 as an implicit include on the container. You can still reference it as detailed here: http://developer.myspace.com/Community/forums/t/1330.aspx. This was done to ween applications off prototype without explicit inclusion, as the new client JS toolkit selection functionality is coming.

PostTo - the ability to post to different MySpace areas from inside an application; messages, comments, profiles, bulletins, etc. This is a huge feature and defined as an extension.

Setting the record straight on AppData

We had been getting bug reports regarding either getting stale versions from cache, or an update not being honored when a fetch was sent in the same request.

Behind the scenes, MySpace has a highly asynchronous nature to meet our scaling requirements. An update will persist to databases after being sent, but we cannot guarantee the timing of when that happens. We're talking 300ms - 3s (3s during peak times/issues), but we need developers to understand this limitation and work with it. It's perfectly fine to send an update and use the local copy of the key value pair until a new fetch is absolutely required.

As always, we love to hear from people using our container and make a huge effort to keep everyone in the loop.

Thanks much,

Max