Mike Willbanks gave a presentation on leveraging Zend Framework for push notifications. He discussed the benefits of push notifications over polling for mobile apps and provided overviews of push notification services for Android (C2DM), Apple (APNS), and Microsoft (MPNS). He demonstrated how to implement push notifications in mobile apps and servers using the Zend_Mobile_Push component of Zend Framework. BlackBerry push was also briefly discussed though support is not fully implemented. The presentation concluded with questions.
New from BookNet Canada for 2024: BNC CataList - Tech Forum 2024
Leveraging Zend Framework for Push Notifications
1. MinneBar April 7, 2012
Leveraging
Zend Framework
Sending Push Notifications
By Mike Willbanks
Software Engineering Manager
CaringBridge
2. Housekeeping…
• Talk
Slides will be online later!
• Me
Software Engineering Manager at CaringBridge
MNPHP Organizer
Open Source Contributor (Zend Framework and various others)
Where you can find me:
• Twitter: mwillbanks G+: Mike Willbanks
• IRC (freenode): mwillbanks Blog: http://blog.digitalstruct.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/mwillbanks
2
3. Agenda
• Overview of Push Notifications
• Overview of Zend_Mobile [_Push]
• Android Push Notifications (C2DM)
• Apple Push Notifications (APNS)
• Microsoft Push Notifications
• BlackBerry Push Notifications
• Questions
Although you can bring them up at anytime!
3
5. What Are They
• Push Notifications…
Are a message pushed to a central location and delivered to you.
Are (often) the same thing at a pub/sub model.
In the Mobile Space…
• These messages often contain other technologies such as alerts, tiles,
or raw data.
5
7. Benefits of Push Notifications
The benefits of push notifications are numerous; the
question is if you have an app and you are running services
to poll; why would you do such a thing!
10. Battery Life
• Push notification services for mobile are highly efficient; it
runs in the device background and enables your application
to receive the message.
• The other part of this; if you implemented it otherwise you
would be polling. This not only wastes precious battery but
also wastes their bandwidth.
NOTE: This is not always true; if you are sending data to the phone
more often than a poll would do in 15 minutes; you are better off
implementing polling.
10
12. Delivery
• When you poll; things are generally 15+ minutes out to save
on battery. In a push notification these happen almost
instantly.
We’ve generally seen within 1-3s between sending a push
notification to seeing it arrive on the device.
• Additionally; push notifications can be sent to the device
even if it is offline or turned off.
• However, not all messages are guaranteed for delivery
You may hit quotas
Some notification servers only allow a single message to be in
queue at 1 time (some group by collapse key), and others remove
duplicates.
12
18. Overview of Zend_Mobile_Push
• Created Zend_Mobile component in November because I
was irritated with the other libraries that currently existed.
• More fluid way of sending push notifications.
• Requires Zend Framework 1.x
Committed in the ZF trunk; waiting for 1.12 release.
• Handles sending push notifications to 3 systems
APNS, C2DM and MPNS
• Library is located in my GitHub account & ZF Trunk
https://github.com/mwillbanks/Zend_Mobile
http://framework.zend.com/svn/framework/standard/trunk/libra
ry/Zend/Mobile/
18
19. Setting up the Library
• svn checkout from ZF OR through github
• Adjust your include_path (likely set in index.php)
• You’re ready to rock!
• Once you upgrade to 1.12 after it is released you won’t
have anything more to do.
19
21. Understanding C2DM
• It allows third-party application servers to send lightweight
messages to their Android applications.
• C2DM makes no guarantees about delivery or the order of
messages.
• An application on an Android device doesn’t need to be
running to receive messages.
• It does not provide any built-in user interface or other
handling for message data.
• It requires devices running Android 2.2 or higher that also have
the Market application installed.
• It uses an existing connection for Google services (Through the
Google Market)
21
22. Registering for C2DM
• First things first – you must sign up to actually utilize C2DM
http://code.google.com/android/c2dm/signup.html
C2DM only works on Android w/ Google Market
• Basically excludes: Amazon Kindle Fire.
22
24. How the Application Works
• We must update the Manifest file to state additional
permissions.
• We will then create a broadcast receiver that will handle
the messages and registration.
24
26. Handling the Registration (or Unregistering)
• Registration / Registration Updates and Unregistering.
• Registration is generally on app start up.
• Be nice and allow your users to unregister from the push
notification service
26
27. Example Receiver
More at: http://bit.ly/bxOoMO towards end of article.
27
28. Implementing a Server
• Some limitations
200K messages per day by default; use them wisely however you
may request more.
1K message payload maximum.
You must implement incremental back off.
28
32. Understanding APNS
• The maximum size allowed for a notification payload is 256
bytes.
• It allows third-party application servers to send lightweight
messages to their iPhone/iPad applications.
• Apple makes no guarantees about delivery or the order of
messages.
• An application on an iPhone/iPad device doesn’t need to be
running to receive messages.
• Message adheres to strict JSON but is abstracted away for us in
how we will be using it today.
• Messages should be sent in batches.
• A feedback service must be listened to.
32
33. Preparing to Implement Apple Push Notifications
• You must create a SSL certificate and key from the
provisioning portal
• After this is completed the provisioning profile will need to
be utilized for the application.
• Lastly, you will need to install the certificate and key on the
server.
In this case; you will be making a pem certificate.
33
35. How the Application Works
• Registration
The application calls the registerForRemoteNotificationTypes:
method.
The delegate implements the
application:didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken:
method to receive the device token.
It passes the device token to its provider as a non-object, binary
value.
• Notification
By default this just works based on the payload; for syncing you
would implement this on the launch.
35
38. Implementing the Server
• Some Limitations
Don’t send too many through at a time; meaning around 100K
• Every once in a while use a usleep
Max payload is 256 bytes
38
42. Microsoft Push Notifications
Well, I am not certain if they will find the market share yet
but hey; some people need to build apps for it!
43. Understanding MPNS
• It allows third-party application servers to send lightweight
messages to their Windows Mobile applications.
• Microsoft makes no guarantees about delivery or the order of
messages. (See a pattern yet?)
• 3 types of messages: Tile, Toast or Raw
• Limitations:
One push channel per app, 30 push channels per device, additional
adherence in order to send messages
3K Payload, 1K Header
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff402537.aspx
43
44. Preparing to Implement MPNS
• Upload a TLS certificate to Windows Marketplace
The Key-Usage value of the TLS certificate must be set to include
client authentication.
The Root Certificate Authority (CA) of the certificate must be one
of the CAs listed at: SSL Root Certificates for Windows Phone.
Stays authenticated for 4 months.
Set Service Name to the Common Name (CN) found in the
certificate's Subject value.
Install the TLS certificate on your web service and enable HTTP
client authentication.
44
52. Understanding BlackBerry Push
• It allows third-party application servers to send lightweight
messages to their BlackBerry applications.
• Allows a whopping 8K or the payload
• Uses WAP PAP 2.2 as the protocol
• Mileage may vary…
52
54. Application Code
• They have a “Sample” but it is deep within their Push SDK.
Many of which are pre-compiled.
Documentation is hard to follow and the sample isn’t exactly
straight forward:
• Install the SDK then go to BPSS/pushsdk-low-level/sample-push-
enabled-app/ and unzip sample-push-enabled-app-1.1.0.16-sources.jar
Completely uncertain on how to make it all work…
54
55. Preparing to Implement
• You need to register with BlackBerry and have all of the
application details ready to go:
https://www.blackberry.com/profile/?eventId=8121
• Download the PHP library:
NOTE: I am not certain if any of these actually work…
Updated to be OO; non-tested and a bit sloppy:
https://github.com/mwillbanks/BlackBerryPush
Original source: http://bit.ly/nfbHXp
55
56. Implementing BB Push w/ PHP
• Again, never tested nor do I know if it works.
• If you do use BlackBerry push messages; please connect
with me
I would like to allow us to get these into the component.
56
58. Next steps
• ZF 2
A new version will eventually come that is more inline with where
Zend Framework 2 is going. However, there are bigger fish to fry
at this point.
• BlackBerry
There is a need for a quality implementation in PHP but RIM’s
documentation and how they work with developers makes this
increasingly difficult.
• Register, Forums and bad documentation… all for?
58
59. Resources
• Main Sites
Apple Push Notifications:
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Con
ceptual/RemoteNotificationsPG/Introduction/Introduction.html
Google C2DM (Android): http://code.google.com/android/c2dm/
Microsoft Push Notifications: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/ff402558(v=vs.92).aspx
BlackBerry Push Notifications:
http://us.blackberry.com/developers/platform/pushapi.jsp
• Push Clients:
Zend_Mobile:
• https://github.com/mwillbanks/Zend_Mobile
• http://framework.zend.com/svn/framework/standard/trunk/library/Zend/Mobile/
BlackBerry: https://github.com/mwillbanks/BlackBerryPush
• Might be broken but at least better than what I found anywhere else
59
60. Questions?
These slides will be posted to SlideShare & SpeakerDeck.
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/mwillbanks
SpeakerDeck: http://speakerdeck.com/u/mwillbanks
Twitter: mwillbanks
G+: Mike Willbanks
IRC (freenode): mwillbanks
Blog: http://blog.digitalstruct.com
GitHub: https://github.com/mwillbanks