Using Webhooks.io and RequestBin for Early Phases of a Rails Application

Earlier today I wanted to use Getstream's real time webhooks feature. To enable the feature, I had to get in contact with their support team and provide my app id, feed slugs and my callback URL for the webhook. But there was one problem, I didn't have a callback URL since I'm only in the beginning phases of using this feature.

I had the option of giving a temporary callback URL. I decided against this because I didn't want to be dependent on contacting them to make the URL change later. Instead, I decided to do some research to see what my alternatives were. Surely, I'm not the only one who has ran into this problem before.

During my research I discovered webhooks.io and I'm glad I did. Webhooks.io can serve as a reliable and scalable proxy for your webhooks. You can set up buckets in order to route the different webhooks your application might consume. For every bucket, you provide inputs and destinations.

Webhooks.io Bucket Configuration

The following shows how I setup my bucket configuration within webhooks.io. Webhooks allows you to create multiple destinations for a single input, but for this example we will be creating a single destination. The input will be the request from get stream and the destination will be a new RequestBin. We are using RequestBin in this example so that we can inspect the getstream payloads. This is temporary since we have not built a callback feature into our Rails application.

Input - New Callback URL

Instead of configuring getstream with:
https://www.MyRailsApplication.com/callbacks/getstream

Get stream will now call:
https://gateway.webhooks.io/v1/getstream/ReallyLongID

Destination - Where to Route The Request

1. Create a new RequestBin at http://requestb.in/
2. Within webhooks.io, create a new destination and set the Endpoint URL to your new RequestBin URL

Now, when a request comes into webhooks.io, that request will be sent to your RequestBin. Now we can inspect the HTTP requests that are being sent from getstream prior to development. We also have the added benefit of using the sample request payloads in our integration tests during development.

But remember, RequestBin is only a temporary solution while developing the callback functionality within the Rails application. Once you have built that feature, you can easily create or modify the destination to point to your Rails application.

Grid Size Display Indicator with a Gem: rails-bootstrap-sass-grid_size_display

Have you ever wondered if you're viewing a col-xs-* or a col-sm-* grid when using Bootstrap? If you're using Rails and the bootstrap-sass gem, take a look at this new gem I wrote: rails-bootstrap-sass-grid_size_display. It adds a bar at the top of the page that changes colors based on the grid breakpoints.

The gem uses the media queries defined in the Bootstrap documentation:

@media (max-width: @screen-xs-max) { ... }
@media (min-width: @screen-sm-min) and (max-width: @screen-sm-max) { ... }
@media (min-width: @screen-md-min) and (max-width: @screen-md-max) { ... }
@media (min-width: @screen-lg-min) { ... }

You can even control when to display the bar using query parameters.

Take a look at the documentation here:
https://github.com/jgdreyes/rails-bootstrap-sass-grid_size_display

I hope you enjoy!

Permutations, Combinations and URL Shortening - Creating random tokens

I have a model, let's call it Post. I want the public URL for a post record to be similar to Instagram's public URLs: https://www.instagram.com/p/BC3HEDGiJrp.

Instead of using post#id as the identifier in the URL, I'll use a token. The token doesn't need to be difficult to guess or secure, but it needs to be unique and URL safe.

Instead of using the often suggested SecureRandom let's follow blog.codinghorror.com's approach on URL Shortening. Towards the end of the article, he asks: "Each new URL gets a unique three character combination until no more are left. How many URLs would that take?"

And it just takes a bit of math to figure it out! Permutations to the rescue. Or wait, is it combinations? Let's have a quick refresher:

If the order doesn't matter, it is a Combination.
If the order does matter it is a Permutation.

For post tokens, order does matter so we will use permutations. Luckily Ruby's Array class defines a few methods that are helpful for this:

• array#permutation
• array#repeated_permutation - allows for character repeats
• array#repeated_combination - allows for character repeats

It is to our advantage that we can generate the set of possible tokens ahead of time. Now, when a new Post is created, we can assign it an unused token. This solves our problem of making sure each token is unique.

Here's the final code:

Benefits of Coworking Spaces for the Individual

I love working out of coffee shops. As a remote software developer, one of the biggest perks I have is the ability to work from anywhere. My top choice would be at a local coffee shop. Why? Because everyone is pretty chill and purchasing one cup of good coffee buys me hours of free WiFi, a good spot to code and unlimited people watching!

There are drawbacks though. For one, who will watch my machine when I have to use the restroom? What do I do if there are no outlets to charge my devices? And the most important question: What if I make the trip all to find that there are no tables?

“What if I make the trip all to find that there are no tables?”

If you’re constantly running into these issues, I highly suggest trying out a coworking space. Coworking spaces are now more accessible and affordable for individuals/freelancers. Many offer day passes so you don’t have to commit to monthly memberships. You can choose when you want to go so you still have that freedom. Some do cater to startups and are solely for monthly members so it’s always a good idea to check the company’s website or call to see if they offer day passes.

If you're in San Francisco and are looking for affordable day passes, try one of these:

• NextSpace SF - $25/day, Book of 10 for 10% off
• Bespoke SF - $35/day

Some may argue that the cost of these day passes don't justify the benefit. For me it does. I enjoy not having to worry about a crazy person coming in and trying to snatch my backpack. The noise levels are decent since most companies have either silent areas and noise policies. And best of all, I know there will be space for me!

Where are some of your favorite coworking spaces?