how to go about an exchange app?

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

Hi Guys,

Firstly thank you for the forum and any help that might be extended.

We are a new startup country in a small country called Bhutan, we are trying to create a exchange app but not sure which technology would suit it best.

The app is a simple mobile based app that should run on android and ios phones, it should simple provide the exchange rate of the day.

Questions:

What kind of app is best in this case native, hybrid or web app? 

How to pull data from an existing db?

Any security issues.

thanks a million.

#2

The kind of app depends on your requirements.  Corona seems like it good fit for this project. But if native feel is not important and you want to do it quick and cheap you might as well make a web app for a mobile browser.

If you go with Corona I recommend that you create an API for your exchange rate web server that returns JSON. Of course there are plenty of those already available if you don’t want to do that. 

Then you interact with the web service using network requests. See example using PHP and mySQL on server: http://coronalabs.com/blog/2012/11/20/how-to-download-json-data-from-mysql-using-corona-sdk/

#3

The kind of app depends on your requirements.  Corona seems like it good fit for this project. But if native feel is not important and you want to do it quick and cheap you might as well make a web app for a mobile browser.

If you go with Corona I recommend that you create an API for your exchange rate web server that returns JSON. Of course there are plenty of those already available if you don’t want to do that. 

Then you interact with the web service using network requests. See example using PHP and mySQL on server: http://coronalabs.com/blog/2012/11/20/how-to-download-json-data-from-mysql-using-corona-sdk/

#4

Hi Scanbhutan, 

after some research I have managed to get a list of all available exchange rate JSON APIs together - which one to use really depends on your requirements and budget, I’ll list them depending on price:

HIGH BUDGET

There are several gold-standard APIs like:

  • Oanda API - daily refreshed rates, or live raw data-feed
  • XE API - refreshed daily or every minute, returns XML JSON and CSV
  • Xignite API - refreshed in real-time, returns XML JSON and CSV

Most of them source their data directly from the forex market - this is why you’ll be paying between $1000 and $12000 a year, depending on how up-to-date your exchange rates are.

LOW BUDGET / FREE

You’re building an app, so you and any startups / online businesses would most likely be better advised to take a look at one of the following two services:

1. currencylayer API (https://currencylayer.com)

They are offering a  Free Plan  that lets you make 1,000 requests a month using hourly updates. Paid subscriptions offer higher usage allowances and more features, and start at around $10 / month.

Specs:

  • simple JSON REST API
  • suitable for businesses (reliable data sources)
  • 168 currencies & precious metals 
  • refreshed hourly, every 10 minutes or every 60 seconds
  • well-documented API

The API is called via a simple URL structure, and returns a lightweight JSON response:

 { [...] "timestamp": 1432808468, "source": "USD", "quotes": { "USDAUD": 1.305773, "USDCAD": 1.24895, "USDCHF": 0.945965, "USDEUR": 0.913659, "USDGBP": 0.652842, } }

2. Free Currency Converter API  (http://freecurrencyconverterapi.com)

Entirely free service, additionally offering a web-interface to convert currencies or to try out their API. They are an Open-Source service for developers aiming for developers to get an idea about how currency conversion can work using a JSON API

3. Open Exchange Rates API

Similar to the currencylayer API, they also offer a Free Plan, but I have found their User Interface to offer less functionality (e.g. up- or downgrading, etc). Paid subscriptions start at $12 / month.

Specs :

  • JSON API
  • 165 currencies
  • refreshed hourly or every 10 minutes

Hope I could help!

#5

Hi Scanbhutan, 

after some research I have managed to get a list of all available exchange rate JSON APIs together - which one to use really depends on your requirements and budget, I’ll list them depending on price:

HIGH BUDGET

There are several gold-standard APIs like:

  • Oanda API - daily refreshed rates, or live raw data-feed
  • XE API - refreshed daily or every minute, returns XML JSON and CSV
  • Xignite API - refreshed in real-time, returns XML JSON and CSV

Most of them source their data directly from the forex market - this is why you’ll be paying between $1000 and $12000 a year, depending on how up-to-date your exchange rates are.

LOW BUDGET / FREE

You’re building an app, so you and any startups / online businesses would most likely be better advised to take a look at one of the following two services:

1. currencylayer API (https://currencylayer.com)

They are offering a  Free Plan  that lets you make 1,000 requests a month using hourly updates. Paid subscriptions offer higher usage allowances and more features, and start at around $10 / month.

Specs:

  • simple JSON REST API
  • suitable for businesses (reliable data sources)
  • 168 currencies & precious metals 
  • refreshed hourly, every 10 minutes or every 60 seconds
  • well-documented API

The API is called via a simple URL structure, and returns a lightweight JSON response:

 { [...] "timestamp": 1432808468, "source": "USD", "quotes": { "USDAUD": 1.305773, "USDCAD": 1.24895, "USDCHF": 0.945965, "USDEUR": 0.913659, "USDGBP": 0.652842, } }

2. Free Currency Converter API  (http://freecurrencyconverterapi.com)

Entirely free service, additionally offering a web-interface to convert currencies or to try out their API. They are an Open-Source service for developers aiming for developers to get an idea about how currency conversion can work using a JSON API

3. Open Exchange Rates API

Similar to the currencylayer API, they also offer a Free Plan, but I have found their User Interface to offer less functionality (e.g. up- or downgrading, etc). Paid subscriptions start at $12 / month.

Specs :

  • JSON API
  • 165 currencies
  • refreshed hourly or every 10 minutes

Hope I could help!