Parse.com being discontinued

amirfarazmand · January 30, 2016, 11:47am

Is there a free substitute for backend cloud with parse.com being discontinued?

I got started on using Google Spreadsheet as data server but having trouble reading cell values in json. I am fairly sure Corona’s json is not working fine:

local json = require "json" local myText = display.newText("(Waiting for response)", display.contentCenterX, 120, native.systemFont, 16) local function networkListener( event ) if ( event.isError ) then myText.text = "Network error!" else myText.text = "See Corona Terminal for response" local test =&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ["test1"] = "tst11", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ["test2"] = "tst22" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;} &nbsp;&nbsp; local tables = json.decode(event.response)&nbsp; &nbsp;for key,value in pairs(tables) do print(key,value) end --print ( "RESPONSE: " .. event.response ) end end local spreadsheetID = "1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o" local url = "https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/" .. spreadsheetID .. "/od6/public/values?alt=json" -- Access Google over SSL: network.request( url, "GET", networkListener )

This works fairly easy with an HTML equivalent below, just make an html file and run on your browser to see the results:

\<!DOCTYPE\> \<html\> \<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js"\>\</script\> \<head\> \</head\> \<body\> \<ul id="nav"\> \<li\>\<a href="#"\>Home\</a\>\</li\> \<li\>\<a href="#"\>About\</a\>\</li\> \<li\>\<a href="#"\>Contact\</a\>\</li\> \</ul\> \<div class="results"\>\</div\>&nbsp; \<script type="text/javascript"\> &nbsp;// ID of the Google Spreadsheet &nbsp;var spreadsheetID = "1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o"; &nbsp;// Make sure it is public or set to Anyone with link can view&nbsp; &nbsp;var url = "https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/" + spreadsheetID + "/od6/public/values?alt=json"; &nbsp;$.getJSON(url, function(data) { &nbsp; var entry = data.feed.entry; &nbsp; $(entry).each(function(){ &nbsp; for (var prop in this["gsx$name"]){alert(this["gsx$name"][prop]);} &nbsp; &nbsp; // Column names are name, age, etc. &nbsp; &nbsp; $('.results').prepend('\<h2\>'+this.gsx$name.$t+'\</h2\>\<p\>'+this.gsx$age.$t+'\</p\>'); &nbsp; }); &nbsp;}); \</script\> \</body\> \</html\>

Develephant · January 30, 2016, 7:46pm

Hi,

If you are a new sign up for Amazon Web Services you can get 12 months free and run Coronium Cloud as an option.

We are currently looking at the Parse closure, and what we can do to alleviate transition woes for our Corona developers.

Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Chris

mbrennan · January 30, 2016, 8:05pm

Hope that includes fixing the luasec plug-in so we can use non-HTTP/S based cloud solutions on AWS. TLS 1.0 is just not secure anymore. Need TLS 1.2.

Develephant · January 30, 2016, 8:58pm

Hi @mbrennan

I’ll forward your TLS message to core engineering. Can you share an example or link that is a “non-HTTP/S based cloud”, I assume you mean something with a direct socket connection?

Cheers.

mbrennan · January 30, 2016, 9:59pm

Socket TCP/UCP based protocols like SFTP, SMTPS, SSH, MQTT, IRC, IMAP, LDAPS and other socket based protocols. My backend provider (which runs on AWS or Azure) blocks anything less than TLS 1.2 at this point, due to the many known security issues with TLS 1.0.

Perry_Clarke · January 30, 2016, 10:59pm

@amirfarazmand said

having trouble reading cell values in json. I am fairly sure Corona’s json is not working fine

Your sample code works fine for me. I changed your line:

for key,value in pairs(tables) do print(key,value) end

to

print("tables: ", json.prettify(tables))

and I get a bunch of data:

Jan 30 14:51:30.293 tables: { &nbsp; "encoding":"UTF-8", &nbsp; "feed":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; "xmlns$gsx":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006/extended", &nbsp; &nbsp; "openSearch$totalResults":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"2" &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; "link":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "rel":"alternate", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"application/atom+xml", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "href":"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/pubhtml" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; },{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"application/atom+xml", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "href":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; },{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#post", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"application/atom+xml", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "href":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; },{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "rel":"self", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"application/atom+xml", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "href":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values?alt=json" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }], &nbsp; &nbsp; "id":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values" &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; "author":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "name":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"amirfarazmand" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "email":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"amirfarazmand@gmail.com" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; } &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }], &nbsp; &nbsp; "updated":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"2016-01-30T12:52:27.096Z" &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; "title":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"Sheet1", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"text" &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; "category":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "scheme":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "term":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006#list" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }], &nbsp; &nbsp; "entry":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "updated":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"2016-01-30T12:52:27.096Z" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "gsx$age":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"Number111" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "title":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"This is first senstence.", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"text" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "category":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "scheme":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "term":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006#list" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }], &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "id":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values/cokwr" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "gsx$name":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"This is first senstence." &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "content":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"age: Number111", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"text" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "link":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "rel":"self", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"application/atom+xml", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "href":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values/cokwr" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }] &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; },{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "updated":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"2016-01-30T12:52:27.096Z" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "gsx$age":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"Number222" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "title":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"This is second sentences.", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"text" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "category":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "scheme":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "term":"http://schemas.google.com/spreadsheets/2006#list" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }], &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "id":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values/cpzh4" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "gsx$name":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"This is second sentences." &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "content":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"age: Number222", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"text" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "link":[{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "rel":"self", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "type":"application/atom+xml", &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "href":"https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds/list/1Sp18\_fOs8SSP\_fwB54lv7IoL42uDaioZM1LTRD4rL8o/od6/public/values/cpzh4" &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }] &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; }], &nbsp; &nbsp; "openSearch$startIndex":{ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "$t":"1" &nbsp; &nbsp; }, &nbsp; &nbsp; "xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/", &nbsp; &nbsp; "xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" &nbsp; }, &nbsp; "version":"1.0" }

amirfarazmand · January 31, 2016, 1:20am

@Perry, that looks much nicer than what I get. I guess have to find a way to get the data cleaner. I dont thin that “alt=json” is doing what I read it does. Not sure if google will send the data in a clean JSON format!

rob · January 31, 2016, 2:51am

Google’s JSON for spreadsheets isn’t pretty. You won’t have any control over it. What you see in Perry’s output is normal for a Google Drive/Docs spreadsheet.

Rob

amirfarazmand · January 31, 2016, 3:24am

@Rob

Do you know why the HTML code I put up there, gets the data fairly easily. Is there any difference with Corona one?

rob · January 31, 2016, 3:41am

You should be able to do just about the same with Corona SDK. In your event listener for network.request() (or network.download()), there will be an event.response entry. This is the JSON encoded string. You can:

local data = json.decode( event.response )

at this point, you can do:

local entry = data.feed.entry for i = 1, #entry do &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; local this = entry[i] &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; print( this["gsx$name"]["$t"] ) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; print( this["gsx$age"]["$t"] ) end

or something like that. It’s unfortunate that Google puts $'s in the middle of their variable names because you can’t use Lua’s simple dot syntax for tables. The $'s force you to use the [“somekey”] format. But as you can see, it’s basically the same as doing it in JavaScript. Get a local handle to the entry table in the data. Loop over each item and get the value for each cell.

Rob

amirfarazmand · January 31, 2016, 4:30am

@Rob, thanks Rob, it works just fine. That should solve my parse data server replacement problem. Now have to find a way to write data to google spreadsheet

rob · January 31, 2016, 4:35am

Don’t know that I can help you much with that. I’ve only messed with reading the spreadsheet in a JavaScript application I’ve done.

Glad you have that working.

Rob

Maciej_C · February 1, 2016, 2:53pm

https://backendless.com/

Looks great but there’s no Corona module for it yet. It’s free and you can install it on your own server if you want. Win for me.

amirfarazmand · February 1, 2016, 9:29pm

@Maciej it seems great, they also have a parse migration seminar https://backendless.com/parse-to-backendless-migration-guide/

Ill give it a go this weekend. Thanks

gains · February 16, 2016, 10:41am

@develephant thank you so much for doing this. I have been using your mod_parse module for a year now and it works great. My app relies heavily to this module. Can you please do a step by step tutorial for complete beginners like me? I have been

amirfarazmand · March 9, 2016, 9:51am

Just in case you need to post data to Google sheet through http you can use this code in Corona. name and comment are your column names in Google sheet.

local json = require "json" --POST to Google Sheet local function getFeatured(event) print(event.response) end local function loadall() &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; headers = {} &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; local params = {} &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; --params.headers = headers &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; params.body = "name=someVal&comment=someOtherVal" &nbsp; &nbsp; network.request( "https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycbxZS9y-d97VEKZw2aaqAD746wspoleBbRN92RT9h-FP3OQmeVwV/exec","POST",getFeatured,params) &nbsp;&nbsp; end loadall()

Your google sheet handles the data through this macro. Follow the instruction between the codes.

// Usage // &nbsp;1. Enter sheet name where data is to be written below &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; var SHEET\_NAME = "Sheet1"; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; // &nbsp;2. Run \> setup // // &nbsp;3. Publish \> Deploy as web app&nbsp; // &nbsp; &nbsp;- enter Project Version name and click 'Save New Version'&nbsp; // &nbsp; &nbsp;- set security level and enable service (most likely execute as 'me' and access 'anyone, even anonymously)&nbsp; // // &nbsp;4. Copy the 'Current web app URL' and post this in your form/script action&nbsp; // // &nbsp;5. Insert column names on your destination sheet matching the parameter names of the data you are passing in (exactly matching case) var SCRIPT\_PROP = PropertiesService.getScriptProperties(); // new property service // If you don't want to expose either GET or POST methods you can comment out the appropriate function function doGet(e){ &nbsp; return handleResponse(e); } function doPost(e){ &nbsp; return handleResponse(e); } function handleResponse(e) { &nbsp; // shortly after my original solution Google announced the LockService[1] &nbsp; // this prevents concurrent access overwritting data &nbsp; // [1] http://googleappsdeveloper.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/concurrency-and-google-apps-script.html &nbsp; // we want a public lock, one that locks for all invocations &nbsp; var lock = LockService.getPublicLock(); &nbsp; lock.waitLock(30000); &nbsp;// wait 30 seconds before conceding defeat. &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; try { &nbsp; &nbsp; //MailApp.sendEmail("m.hawksey@gmail.com", "data", JSON.stringify(e.parameters)); &nbsp; &nbsp; // next set where we write the data - you could write to multiple/alternate destinations &nbsp; &nbsp; var doc = SpreadsheetApp.openById(SCRIPT\_PROP.getProperty("key")); &nbsp; &nbsp; var sheet = doc.getSheetByName(SHEET\_NAME); &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; // we'll assume header is in row 1 but you can override with header\_row in GET/POST data &nbsp; &nbsp; var headRow = e.parameter.header\_row || 1; &nbsp; &nbsp; var headers = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0]; &nbsp; &nbsp; var nextRow = sheet.getLastRow()+1; // get next row &nbsp; &nbsp; var row = [];&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; // loop through the header columns &nbsp; &nbsp; for (i in headers){ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; if (headers[i] == "Timestamp"){ // special case if you include a 'Timestamp' column &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; row.push(new Date()); &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; } else { // else use header name to get data &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; row.push(e.parameter[headers[i]]); &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; } &nbsp; &nbsp; } &nbsp; &nbsp; // more efficient to set values as [][] array than individually &nbsp; &nbsp; sheet.getRange(nextRow, 1, 1, row.length).setValues([row]); &nbsp; &nbsp; // return json success results &nbsp; &nbsp; return ContentService &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; .createTextOutput(JSON.stringify({"result":"success", "row": nextRow})) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; .setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JSON); &nbsp; } catch(e){ &nbsp; &nbsp; // if error return this &nbsp; &nbsp; return ContentService &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; .createTextOutput(JSON.stringify({"result":"error", "error": e})) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; .setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JSON); &nbsp; } finally { //release lock &nbsp; &nbsp; lock.releaseLock(); &nbsp; } } function setup() { &nbsp; &nbsp; var doc = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet(); &nbsp; &nbsp; SCRIPT\_PROP.setProperty("key", doc.getId()); }

Develephant · March 11, 2016, 6:50pm

Hi amirfarazmand,

Congrats on solving that issue. Well done.

While I believe it could be viable for a small team app, I have to warn that this will not hold up in a production situation.

As I’m sure you’re aware, you can find current quota limits here (click on Quota Limits tab), along with this note:

“Google is under no obligation to continue providing these or any quotas. The quota limits shown above are provided solely to assist you in testing your script. All quotas are subject to elimination, reduction or change at any time, without notice.”

If everything is working for you, then great, but I wouldn’t consider this a viable workaround for storing app data in general, and felt it important to point out to future readers.

Cheers.

amirfarazmand · March 12, 2016, 1:55am

Thanks develphant for letting me the limits. I guess it is only good for testing then. Would you know whether the limits apply to paid google drives?

Develephant · March 12, 2016, 6:49pm

Hi,

Though it’s quite difficult to find information on the Google portal, it appears the only way to lift the “consumer” quotas (as they call them) is by using a cloud account, which shouldn’t be too surprising. You then have access to Drive API, Sheets API, and much more.

https://cloud.google.com/

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Cheers.

Develephant · January 30, 2016, 7:46pm

Hi,

If you are a new sign up for Amazon Web Services you can get 12 months free and run Coronium Cloud as an option.

We are currently looking at the Parse closure, and what we can do to alleviate transition woes for our Corona developers.

Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Chris