Node.ACS allows developers to build fully-featured mobile backends using Node.js on Appcelerator Cloud Services. Some key benefits include: - Using JavaScript for both client and server code through Node.js - Integrating Node.js web servers and networking components directly with ACS' data services - Hosting multiple versions of an app and routing users to different versions The presentation demonstrated sample code for a login API and group chat app using websockets. Upcoming features include background job workers, monitoring, integrations with other services, and more flexible free tiers.

1. Node.ACS
Appcelerator Custom Cloud Services
Wei Kong
Director of Engineering, Cloud Services
Appcelerator Inc.
@baobeimm
wkong@appcelerator.com

2. Appcelerator
Cloud Services (ACS)
as Instant Mobile
Backend

3. The Good
• Easy to use
• Cross Platform (REST Api based)
• Predefined object models
• Custom Objects and Fields
• No Server Code Needed

4. What’s Missing
• Custom Code
• Web Hosting
• Support of Custom URLs
• Can have extra overhead with
the network and battery
consumption

5. Introducing Custom
Cloud Services
(Node.ACS)

6. Node.js + ACS
• Complete Solution to your
Mobile Backend
• JavaScript for both Client
and Server
• Fully Integrated with ACS
JS

7. Node.js in a Nutshell
• Use JavaScript to write
Web Servers
• Based on Google’s V8 Engine
• Event-driven/None-blocking IO
• Lightweight and efficient
• More at http://nodejs.org

8. Why Node.js
• Performance and Scalability
• Easy to Integrate Network
Components
• JavaScript

9. Node.ACS
Architecture

10. ACS Network Layer
ACS

11. The Development Flow
Create a app
Test Locally
Publish to Node.ACS Cloud Unpublish
Set Custom Cname
Ex. http://www.yourapp.com

12. Multiple Versions
your app
Device
(v1) V1
Device
(v2) V2
V3
Device
(v3)
Latest

13. Demo and
Sample Code

14. Web Server
Sample web server to display your
app data stored in ACS

15. What’s wrong?
var user = {
session:"",
};
api.login = function(req, res) {
if(user.session === ""){
ACS.Users.login({login: req.body.un,password: req.body.pw},
function(e) {
if(e.success && e.success === true){
user.session = e.meta.session_id;
}else{
res.redirect(version+'/index?msg='+e.message);
}
}, req, res);
}else{
res.redirect(version+'/show');
}
}

16. Websocket
A group chat app
based on websocket

17. Group Chat
Server Code
websocket.message = function(data, socket) {
socket.broadcast.emit('message', data);
};
Client Code
// Received a message
iosocket.on('message', function(message) {
// Display the message
});
// User types a message
$('#outgoingChatMessage').keypress(function(event) {
iosocket.emit('message', $('#outgoingChatMessage').val());
}

18. Roadmap

19. What’s in Preview
• One free Node.js Worker/app
• 100M Free disk space/app
• Unlimited API calls

20. Coming Soon
• Background job workers
• Node.js Monitoring
• More 3rd party services
integrations
• Web Console
• Flexible free tier
• Auto sleep and reactivation

21. Wei Kong
@baobeimm
wkong@appcelerator.com