PubNub is a communication platform that provides its infrastructure as a service for developing IaaS and SaaS products. This platform is focused on B2B clients. The functional task of the PubNub platform is to communicate between web and mobile applications and between Internet of Things (IoT) software. The target audience for SaaS and IaaS products is IT entrepreneurs and software and hardware developers.
According to the expert opinion of our partner from Dworkz, this is a UI UX agency in San Francisco that is engaged in providing services to customers in the implementation of PubNub technology in the structure of a digital business: PubNub as a service allows you to exchange messages (read it as data exchange) between devices that thus form global (more than 200 such networks, including the most famous – Internet) or local communication networks.
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For reference
A tool that adapts data exchange between different systems or participants in a communication network is the Application Programming Interface (API). PubNub has an infrastructure consisting of data centers (at least 15 such centers, and it is located in both hemispheres of America, as well as in Asia and Europe) and software for collecting, storing, processing, and interpreting data. The PubNub service is used by more than 300 million devices, which exchange more than 1 trillion messages in one month.
PubNub technology
PubNub uses an asynchronous communication method between services, which is how it works without a server-side architecture and a microservice architecture. This platform also supports all the features of WebSockets, Socket.IO, SignalR, WebRTC Data Channel, and other streaming protocols. PubNub provides an SDK (a set of software development tools in a single installable package) for over 70 different programming languages and frameworks, including JavaScript, iOS, Android, and JavaScript frameworks such as AngularJS, Ember.js, and Backbone.js. PubNub also provides client libraries for paid platforms, including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Texas Instruments, and Microchip.
Features are integrated using custom microservices (blocks) that provide developers with an easy way to add code and deploy features for IaaS and SaaS applications. One of the advantages of template solutions is the quick implementation of new functions to work on cross-platform applications.
PubNub and business idea
Reminder: using data flow technologies, PubNub allows users to prototype the Internet of Things and use hardware sensors to visualize the data generated by various components of communication networks. In English, with the help of PubNub services, developers can collaborate on the same digital product in real time, and users can also use the same services simultaneously. For example, a web application for exchanging reminders between corporate employees can be considered a digital product.
The minimum knowledge and skills required to create an IaaS product:
- Understanding how it works under the hood of a JavaScript library, for example, React (JavaScript library for creating user interfaces.)
- Working knowledge of the npm package manager.
- Experience with the webpack build module to bundle JavaScript and other resources for the browser (works similar to grunt or gulp)
- And basic knowledge of working with the Node.js development environment.
This minimal toolkit allows people, even if they are not deeply immersed in the topic, to create and scale IoT applications and devices in real-time, as in our case, for exchanging short messages in the form of stickers. But the constituent parts of the global and local networks can exchange not only stickers. Instead, any databases formed on the client side can be considered data exchange units, for example, user behavior on the site page regarding their interest in the product.
The functionality of the sticker exchange application:
- The user enters the communication system, the participants of which, for example, are the gaming community.
- As soon as the user enters the name of one of their subscribers, the application shows the last 50 notes, if any. The user profile displays only the stickers of those authors whose publications he is subscribed to.
- The user can respond to each sticker individually and a group of stickers if combined according to some principle.
- The user types a news item, an answer, or a question on the sticker and presses the return key to confirm the submission.
- The new sticker note is displayed along with other messages in your browser and any different browser of all users currently online.
With the help of such an application, gamers can organize game events – attack, defend, and accumulate resources. In PubNub educational projects, the technology allows individual responses to student needs. Moreover, commercial products will enable service and product providers to respond to potential buyers’ behavior in a way that makes them feel that their concerns matter.
How PubNub works under the hood – in short
At the programming level, developers install packages and modules that compile, concatenate, minify, and compress static resources for the interface, run local servers, animate interactive elements, and enable real-time communication.
Next, developers fire up Webpack Dev Server, create React components with ES6, render DOM nodes with data binding, and finally initialize PubNub to instantiate a PubNub object. To get API keys, developers should register on a service that provides PubNub technology tools. This is a partial list of IaaS product development, including creating and animating user interface components.
Conclusion
With the help of a communication platform like PubNub, you can build various real-time applications between which data is transferred. Such responsiveness can be required in chat applications, multiplayer games, and commercial applications, for example, in online stores. Another niche in which PubNub technology still needs to be fully implemented is online education and consulting services.
You can build such an IaaS or SaaS application yourself. This will take a lot of time and effort. The result will be unpredictable. Alternatively, you can use the services of a company like Dworkz. In addition to experience, the developers of this company can offer you ready-made solutions with which you can implement your project within seven to 30 days; it depends on the complexity of your project.
