PubNub Announces BLOCKS to Simplify Realtime App Development
PubNub, the world’s leading Data Stream Network for mobile applications, today announced the release of BLOCKS, a set of customizable microservices that give developers a simple way to add code and deploy features for realtime apps.
PubNub BLOCKS executes business logic directly on the data streaming through PubNub’s network without splitting it off to an intermediary server controlled by the customer. This revolutionary approach streamlines app development, reduces endpoint-to-endpoint latency, and allows apps to better leverage the enormous scalability of PubNub’s Data Stream Network.
The Challenge
Traditionally, developers have expended significant time and effort to collect streaming data onto their own servers to filter, transform, and otherwise process that data, only to push that data back to the network for delivery. This approach is both costly and complex, requiring in-house expertise in distributing computing and many servers to run relatively simple business logic.
PubNub BLOCKS is the Solution
Using PubNub BLOCKS, developers can accelerate product development and reduce deployment costs by selecting from a catalog of microservices (such as BLOCKS for GPS location tracking or sensor data filtering and alerting) that developers can deploy, modify, and even create their own from scratch. PubNub BLOCKS executes directly inside the PubNub Data Stream Network across 15 global points of presence to deliver specific business functionality for realtime apps.
The initial rollout of PubNub BLOCKS will include the following customizable microservices:
- Chat Routing and Escalation – Transfer a chat session to another chat user or helpdesk rep
- Spammer Throttle - Filter out messages according to pre-defined spam rules
- Sensor Anomaly Detection - Alert a user when a sensor reading passes a threshold
- Vote Count - Count votes as they pass through the network to display live results
- Leaderboard - Rank users or entities according to a key/value pair
- Geo Notification - Create an alert when a user is within a certain distance of another
- Bitcoin Market Prices – Tap into a bitcoin API to get the latest price
- SMS - Connect with a SMS vendor to send alerts
- Email - Connect with an email vendor to send email notifications
Key Benefits:
- Rapid Innovation — BLOCKS execute business logic within PubNub’s Data Stream Network to accelerate features from prototype to production.
- Minimal latency — Developers can offload work from intermediate servers by deploying customizable microservices in the network. Fewer server hops mean significantly reduced endpoint-to-endpoint latency, reduced server cost, and easier development.
- Maximum flexibility — Developers can choose from a catalog of pre-existing BLOCKS or build their own from scratch, providing infinite flexibility for how they manage their data streams within the PubNub network.
- Reduced time to market — BLOCKS speak JavaScript and SQL so developers can customize and build microservices in languages they already know.
- Global Scalability — PubNub BLOCKS is instantly replicated to 15 global points of presence, ensuring that stream logic happens at the point closest to any device’s location.
“Building realtime apps shouldn’t be anywhere near as difficult as it is today, which is why BLOCKS are a developer’s dream come true,” said Stephen Blum, CTO of PubNub.
“They give engineers who are trying to solve difficult yet common problems an easy way to ship their features quickly while reducing their overall costs.”
PubNub BLOCKS early access will be available in January 2016. To request early access to PubNub BLOCKS, please visit https://www.pubnub.com/blocks/
About PubNub
PubNub is a secure global Data Stream Network (DSN) and easy-to-use API that enables its customers to connect, scale, and manage realtime applications and IoT devices. With over 70 SDKs for every platform, 250ms worldwide data transfer times, and scalability for hundreds of millions of devices, PubNub’s unique infrastructure provides the ability to easily connect and operate world-class realtime applications and IoT devices. PubNub is headquartered in San Francisco.
Visit PubNub online at http://www.pubnub.com/
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