Newbie question: Want to call an API url (using GET method) and process the answer I get - vb.net

I'm new to this site (as a writer. I'm a long time silent-reader..), and doing my first steps in writing simple VB.NET winform/console applications, using VS 2010 system.
I want to start with writing a simple program that will use an API I have access to, for sending SMS messages.
AFAIK, I have to send a GET request, and I should get back a string from the service telling me "Success" or an error code.
I'm sure the idea of sending an URL call is simple and probably asked before me many times.
But nevertheless - I'll appreciate help to start this from scratch and making this to work.
Many thanks at advance!

A lot of the Api's have documentation that'll tell you specifically what languages can interact with their api's. More than likely, vb.net isn't on that list, but you can use another language, (probably something like python) to nail down a small script, then use vb to interact with the output.

Related

Integrate an API into a vb.net service app to execute

I have a vb.net service app running on a work network server, which runs a job on a repeating timer. I'd like to be able to call an API to tell this service to run, possibly with input parameters, but I can't seem to search for the right thing to get started on this.
I'm not looking for a full explanation on how to do it (unless someone's feeling very generous), but rather tips on where to look, what to search for, or if it's even possible. Thanks!
Use a online search enginge to search for vb.net windows service api
Pick an entry like Tutorial: Create a Windows service app | Microsoft Docs
Read and stumble upon ServiceController
Profit!

How to set up a server for my app

At the moment I am making an app. I am relatively new but have experience with a lot of different languages like PHP and SQL. My app needs to communicate with a server to post/retrieve data for everyone to see. People also need to be able to login and register. Right now I am using parse because it gives a lot of the requirements in an easy package but parse is retiring soon and I have no experience with setting up my own server.
I was thinking of making my own 'server' from an old computer but not use parse because it will no longer support push notification. Then of course the app needs to communicate with this server. I started looking online and found a lot of terms but not a real clear explanation on how to proceed. I need it to be able to communicate with iOS and Android. Furthermore I was wondering how to execute a script on the server itself. I want to do something with time, once someone uploads something it needs to disappear after 48 hours, but of course it also needs to do this even if the app isn't active on a smartphone
Can anyone tell me how I need to proceed, what to use and where i can find useful info.
My plan for now is creating my own server with something like MongoDB but then i still need something called a backend and different SDK's to communicate with the apps. Maybe its possible to install parse on my own server and add something so i can still use Push and run a script on the server itself.
All help would be very much App-reciated ;)!
The reason of a backend service or framework is to let developer focus on front end app development. Maybe you can check other options like firebase, meoter, or even leancloud. Don't be hurry jump to the decision to make your own backend.
Parse Server is already supporting Push Notifications. I think should keep using Parse. It will become the best framework for backend and API development in a short time. You can also use services like https://www.back4app.com that helps you in all process of configuration of your server.
Do you mean by create your own server running a personal derver pr you mean create your own back end application?

Xcode - Web services and my confusion

I am having a problem here. I am totally new to this concept of servers and web services and being able to get data uploaded and retrieved on different devices, but I want to learn it, say if I want to create an app like Instagram.
But that is EXACTLY what I dont want, a link to a long tutorial on the internet on how to create the most complex app ever, I want to start slow. After doing extensive power searches on Amazon there are basically no books that will help me. So I want to start slow, here is my goal:
Get a great understanding of how web service backends and servers work and be able to apply it in other app ideas I have and want to start developing
I would like to start by being able to create an app that allows a user to enter some text into a field, it uploads to the server, another device can press a button to retrieve the text and display it in a text view.
I do not know php, and every single tutorial I have entered on this website is literal mindeff, the reason for this is because everyone has a different solution, sync web service backend with Core Data, MySQL, parse, Rails and it truly overwhelms me because I do not know which one to pick! And even worse some people provide code but I have no understanding whatsoever, and its like looking at a totally new language!
I am not asking for code, in fact that is the exact opposite. I am asking for someone to really lay out their knowledge, how does it all work? What is the best tool? Some resources and links. Nothing too complex...
I hope you can truly understand my extreme confusion and frustration. I think the reason might be is I might not be ready yet for all this, but I want to push forward and carry out my app idea!
Thank you...
Update:
I have finally decided on a web service I would like to use, it is the Amazon S3 web service, I am still not fully comprehending the full process though, any help or ideas!?
Since you wanted to create an Instagram-type app, look at this: http://www.raywenderlich.com/13511/how-to-create-an-app-like-instagram-with-a-web-service-backend-part-12
This is a good link to servers: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC71D7CFB6AF935E6&feature=plcp. Watch the list to get an understanding of servers.
Maybe you want to read up on sql. Understanding sql will help.. Again: http://www.youtube.com/course?list=EC32BC9C878BA72085&feature=plcp. Watch the list to get an understanding of sql...
I can pass you the link and you got to do the work....
Hope this helps...

Automatic notification without an API

My school is using a website to manage grades, homework and communication with teachers. Because there is no way to get automatic notification, most students have to use it daily to check manually if there's an update (new message, new grade, etc). Since their service has no API, what should I do to get automatic notifications.
Is there any tools available that automatically notify you (by email or rss feed) of any change in a page by authentifying and checking if the value of a specific field changed?
Should I code my own script?
Is there any tool or library out there that could make this task easier?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
https://www.changedetection.com/
Not sure if it works for secure websites, though.
I just found something interesting. It's called Scrapy. It's an application framework that makes data-mining and structured data extraction easier.
Has anyone experience with Scrapy? Could it solve my problem?

Set instant messenger display message programmatically

Would a script that sets display messages for instant messengers be simple or complex? After some searching, there doesn't seem to be any information about this at all.
For the sake of an example, if I had a text file of quotations, would it be possible to have the google talk display message change to a different quotation hourly?
Depends on which client you're using. As far as I know, Google's client doesn't offer any interface for plugins, but the open source instant messenger Pidgin does. I think there already is a plugin for what you want to do, but you can write your own using the documentation and examples they give you.
The complexity of writing something like this is based on how much C or Perl you know, since you can program in either of those for Pidgin. Reading code from other people's plugins, you should be able to figure out the Pidgin API.
You can use Kik API to programmatically send rich content and files between mobile applications. It is available for iPhone and Android platforms and takes only about 5 lines of code to integrate into your app. There is more info at the API website: http://www.kik.com/dev
Disclaimer: I'm on of the developers behind Kik API :)