Empower Apps

Previous EpisodesEpisode 7 - Apple 2019Episode 6 - Project Estimation EpisodeDefine Whether You Do Need Cloud or Backend ServicesYou Do Not Need If…Privacy-Sensitive DataNo Cloud Backups NeededAlready Storing Using a Third Party APIsExample App Developed by BrightDigit - CE GeniusYou Do Need If..Multiple Devices In Sync Cloud Backups NessecaryExample App Developed by Shiny Frog - BearWhat To Consider When Deciding How To Store Data?MVP vs EnterpriseWhat is an MVP? Most Viable ProductStart With the User - Project Estimation EpisodeWhat Devices Does the App Support?How Complex is the Data and Queries?Are Outside Jobs Needed? Such as Cron Jobs, Backups, Push Notifications, etc…Consider Prices - Bandwidth and StorageConsider Developer Team’s Comfort LevelDevelop Abstracting User Experience From Data LayerBuild a Custom Web AppVirtual Machine OptionsAmazon EC2LinodeDigital OceanWeb App OptionsKubernetesDockerHerokuDatabase OptionsMySQLMariaDBPostgreSQLMongoDBRedisProgramming OptionsPHPNode.jsC#and ASP.NET Web APIsRubyElixirSwift OptionsVapor - ReviewKituraPerfectServer Software OptionsIISNginxApacheOther Software ConsiderationsCloudflareNew RelicSupervisorMobile Backend As A ServiceParseCloudKitFirebaseUsing Multiple Services REST API vs GraphQLMusic by Roman Bulakhov from FugueFull Transcript[00:00:00] Erik Gillespie (Host): Hi Leo, it's me. Again. [00:00:01] Leo Dion (Host): Hey, Eric. Glad to have you on to help host this episode. So today we're going to talk about back-end and cloud services for your IOS app. And I think first we should talk about when you should need a back-end or cloud service because I don't think it's needed in every absolute case when it comes to an IOS app or any mobile app.[00:00:25] Erik Gillespie (Host): Yeah, I'm really curious to hear what your ideas are on this. [00:00:27] Leo Dion (Host): So one thing to consider is there's a lot you can get away with without even doing cloud services. The thing with an IOS app is if you're storing your data in something that is like iCloud or in a lot of cases people really don't need the cloud to store their data. They can just sort on their phone itself. I think often times when we think about building an app that's something to think about is like do you really need this stored in the cloud and if you maybe can provide a manual mechanism to backup the data into some sort of iCloud storage as a file that saves a lot of trouble and saves you a lot of time and money quite frankly when you're building your mobile app. And then that way you don't really need a cloud service or a back-end service in a lot of cases. [00:01:15] Erik Gillespie (Host): What are some situations where you think it's okay to go with a back-end service or on the flip side choose to only or mostly store things directly on your users phones. [00:01:27] Leo Dion (Host): I think anything that's privacy sensitive. I think you should definitely just store on the phone locally because that's a whole other headache you having to deal with if you're worried about that stuff being stored in the cloud and if it's very simple stuff if it's things that they just need on their phone and if they lose it, it's not the end of the world I think it's totally legitimate to only store that stuff on the phone. Also, if you're using any third party apis in other words. Like let's say you're using Twitter or YouTube or some other API where you're not really storing data. Data that's being stored is essentially being stored in this third party structure than it's not really necessary because you can just use that third party API as your database in many ways.[00:02:06] I'll just tell you one case I built an app for nurses and doctors to do continuing education for their career and all that data was just stored in core data, which is essentially a SQL lite database abstraction layer. And so all that stuff was sort of essentially in SQL and it was all sort of locally and there was just a simple option. They don't have the budget for it. They didn't have the timeline for it either. So the simple way we did it is we just have a manual backup process that you can run and it essentially creates a zip file of this data stored as a Json or JavaScript object notation file. And so if they wanted to back up they can just sort it in iCloud and if they ever wanted to restore it they can always restore it back on their iPhone. Where I think a back-end service and a cloud service is really helpful is if you're going to have it available on multiple devices .So for instance I'm a big user of Bear, which is an awesome note taking app that's available on all Apple devices and they use kind of combination iCloud and CloudKit they store their stuff in the back end and then that way if I pull up my notes on a Mac or on my iPad or my iPhone. I always have it accessible because it's all stored in the cloud. I think that's where something like a back-end service is really useful. [00:03:19] Erik Gillespie (Host): Like when you need to synchronize data across multiple devices ...

Previous Episodes iPhone XrLow-Cost MacsSlowing iPhone SalesChinaSamsung 4th Quarter GuidanceApple’s Precarious and Pivotal 2019 - M.G. SieglerApple Revises Guidance - Accidental Tech PodcastApple's China Problem - StrecheryDecrease in Computer Sales4 Charts That Explain The Decline in PC SmartPhones Plateau / MatureSmartphone Sales Are SlowingApple's Battery ProgramGrowth in ServicesApple's Servies Segment Continues to GrowApple and BusinessHow does Apple balance quality and price in the PC Market?How will Apple tailor their growing services segment for businesses? Apple and DevelopersWill Apple encourage more services in the cloud?Amazon Web ServicesAWS Lambda (Server-Less)Google Cloud PlatformMicrosoft AzureApple CloudKitWill Apple encourage more services for developers?MacStadiumWill Apple offer some sort server-side services?VaporPerfectKitura Thanks to our monthly supporters Edward Sanchez Steven Lipton ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Speculid TalkDevelopment AlternativesIonicReact NativeXamarianCordovaNativeScriptContinuous Integration for iOS OptionsMacStadiumTravis-CIJenkins MacinCloudXcode ServerCircleCIHockeyAppComplete Transcription[00:00:00] Theresa Jasko (Host): I feel like last time we had our podcast you've maybe done a few speaking engagements. [00:00:06] Leo Dion (Host): I spoke at ArborMoon at the Ann Arbor Cocoaheads group about Try! Swift which is the conference, I went to Labor Day week. And then I also talked about Speculid which is a Mac App for developers that I've been working on for building graphics for apps. I just talked about how it works and kind of the guts of the challenges I faced building the app. [00:00:31] Theresa Jasko (Host): Nice, So what is IOS development? [00:00:34] Leo Dion (Host): IOS, of course, is the operating system for iPads and iPhones. So typically it's the process of coding, designing, testing, and packaging an app and delivering it in whatever way a customer would want.[00:00:52] Theresa Jasko (Host): Yeah, so if someone's looking into doing that what kind of factors go into getting a quote for that kind of service.[00:00:59] Leo Dion (Host): So really it depends on the features and kind of the timeline of the app. So faster timeline is going to mean a higher quote then integrating any sort of third party services. So if you're integrating something like Facebook or integrating any sort of special controls or sensors on the iPhone like motion controls then that's going to up your quote. And then the complexity of the data that's being used, especially if it's data that's going to be stored locally or remotely - there's going to be some complexity there and that will take take more time. [00:01:40] Because that's essentially what we're talking about is quality and time the more you pay the more time it will take and the more higher quality will also mean a higher quote for those Services because that quality also takes time of course. So offline capabilities - not a lot of apps necessarily need that but a lot of apps want to have the ability to just having online and offline capabilities so syncing and things like that. Any sort of UI complexity and any UX complexity, chat, the amount or number of screens is a good indicator of how complex an app is going to be and how much the price is going to be. [00:02:26] And then this is much more an issue on Android but as far as iOS is concerned, It's what operating system versions you support. What devices you support. So is this just an iPad app is it just an iPhone app is a support iOS 12, iOS 11 how far down the chain are you going and that usually factors into the price of the quote for developing an app.[00:02:53] And also another thing to mention is in many cases we're thinking a green app, but starting an app from scratch that has its challenges but also picking up an app that's already been developed on has its challenges as well. So that's something to that will weigh into the quote of developing an IOS app.[00:03:17] Theresa Jasko (Host): Yeah, so when you talk about like those factors just now is there like a common app that you could use it as an example of like kind of illustrating some of that stuff? Is there maybe like a weather app or something like when you talk about like UI ux complexity and things like that? I'm having a hard time envisioning what that means in real life.[00:03:38] Leo Dion (Host): Sure. So the way I think about it is a lot of times customers depending on how much they want to do when it comes to getting requirements for an app have a pretty good idea of what screens they want. And so I usually get into the process of asking them - Okay, what does this app do? What are you trying to do? What is your end goal and then figure out - okay, we'll need a screen for this and a screen for that and then the screen will go to that. Then I'll start thinking about like different edge cases because we always have to think like what happens in this case what happens in that case. What I do is in spreadsheet will write out the different screens that an app will need in order for it to essentially work. [00:04:26] For instance, we developed a nurse training app and that uses about four different tabs and probably each of those have different dialogues for adding credits for a nurse. And so we'll have say 12 screens in that app. Just kind of roughly and so that I look at the complexity how much data is being entered is it like one field, 2 fields, 3 Fields? How complex is that data? Is that data dependent on certain variables? Is there a certain range of acceptable values and then that factors into some of the UX that's involved or the user experience because I want to make sure that the user is walked through the app. Easily and knows what they need to do and it's intuitive.[00:05:17] So I kind of rough guess how many hours that's going to be for each screen. We also talked about for instance with a brand new app, there's some setup time usually involved. And then for each screen, there's going to be testing involved say every week or two weeks so that gets added in as well.[00:05:41] And then of course at the end, there's the issue of getting into the App Store assuming it's a app store app and there's always time involved there because you'll always find all sorts of issues when you get into App Store. There's also dependencies for their marketing or graphic design folks to make sure that they have the assets that are needed to get into the App Store.[00:06:02] Theresa Jasko (Host): Hmm. Wow, do you find that when people approach you about getting a quote or something? Do they have a full understanding of the things that you're talking about are usually have to really kind of work with people to even explain that?[00:06:17] Leo Dion (Host): Usually what I like to do is kind of do a rough tree of how the app is going to work. And then from there I'll go ahead and make estimates for each of those things. Sometimes I might do something like an initial consultation for a fee depending on how complex the app is. And then what I like to do early on in the project is have basically an app that doesn't work but at least has the UI and the workflow that they expect out of the app so that way early on in the process they're there confirming how the app is going to work eventually at some point. [00:07:00] Theresa Jasko (Host): What are the things - you know what - let's say someone wants to do a development project and they get let's say three different quotes. What's the reasons you know, if the prices are kind of varying pretty significantly what could be different there? What would you be maybe missing out on if you g...

I'm an Emergency Physician and wanted to talk about Apple Watch's new ECGWatch Faces Infographic and Infographic ModularPrevious EpisodesEpisode 3 : Low-Cost Macs - MacBook Air & Mac MiniEpisode 4 : iPhone Xs vs iPhone Xs Max vs iPhone XrApple Developer VideosDesigning for Apple Watch Series 4Developing Complications for Apple Watch Series 4Using SubscriptionsDesigning for Subscription Success Thanks to our monthly supporters Edward Sanchez Steven Lipton ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Episode 3 - Low-Cost MacsInterview with Kevin Scott on Machine LearningStratechery - The iPhone FranchiseSwift Thoughts on try!Swift NYC 2018Building Apps for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR Thanks to our monthly supporters Edward Sanchez Steven Lipton ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Apple September Event 2015  Daring Fireball - Let’s Really Think About This ‘New Low-Cost Laptop to Succeed MacBook Air’ ThingReddit Threads/r/Apple - Dear Mac Mini Owners... (Three Questions)/r/MacOS - Dear Mac Mini Owners... (Three Questions) /r/iOSProgramming - Dear Developers with a Mac Mini... (Two Questions)/r/Swift - Dear Developers with a Mac Mini... (Two Questions)PlexMacRumors Buyers Guide Thanks to our monthly supporters Edward Sanchez Steven Lipton ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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In this episode, we talk about WWDC 2018 and what it means for the technology industry and businesses. It seemed like a fairly quiet conference for Apple but maybe that's a good thing. Is Apple cleaning house?Will iOS 12 work on your current iPhone or iPad?Why should old people in business and tech like us care about Memoji? (Hint: AR and ML)When is a good time to install the new OSes?What is new with the Mac App Store?What are the new features in macOS Mojave?How is development changing for macOS Mojave in 2019?LinksPokemon Go Memoji WordLensIkea Place Thanks to our monthly supporters Edward Sanchez Steven Lipton ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★