Dimensional Data

procedure TNewFormFrame.BtnRefreshClick(Sender: TObject); begin   inherited;   RESTRequest1.Execute;  // send request to endpoint     var JSONValue: TJSONValue;   var JSONArray: TJSONArray;   var ArrayElement: TJSONValue;     // after using object we just free them within the Lists   RctList := TList.Create;   ImgList := TList.Create;   LblTitleList := TList.Create;   LblDescpList := TList.Create;     try     JSONValue := TJSONObject.ParseJSONValue(RESTResponse1.Content);     JSONArray := JSONValue.GetValue(‘data’);  // articles are stored in the data array in the JSON response       for ArrayElement in JSONArray do     begin         {$region ‘Create news card’ }       RctNewsCard := TRectangle.Create(vrtscrlbx1);       RctNewsCard.Parent := vrtscrlbx1;       RctNewscard.HitTest := False;       RctNewsCard.Fill.Color := TAlphaColorRec.Ghostwhite;       RctNewsCard.Fill.Kind  := TBrushKind.Solid;       RctNewsCard.Stroke.Thickness := 0;       RctNewsCard.Align := TAlignLayout.Top;       RctNewsCard.Height := 400;       RctNewsCard.Width  := 389;       RctNewsCard.XRadius := 15;       RctNewsCard.YRadius := 15;       RctNewsCard.Margins.Top := 5;       RctNewsCard.Margins.Bottom := 5;       RctNewsCard.Margins.Left := 5;       RctNewsCard.Margins.Right := 5;       RctList.Add(RctNewsCard);  // add to the TList instance       {$endregion}         {$region ‘create image and load image from the url’ }       NewsImage := TImage.Create(RctNewsCard);       NewsImage.Parent := RctNewsCard;       NewsImage.HitTest := False;       NewsImage.Align := TAlignLayout.Top;       NewsImage.Height := 225;       NewsImage.Width  := 389;       NewsImage.Margins.Top := 5;       NewsImage.Margins.Left := 15;       NewsImage.Margins.Right := 15;       NewsImage.Margins.Bottom := 5;       NewsImage.HitTest := False;       NewsImage.MarginWrapMode := TImageWrapMode.Stretch;       NewsImage.WrapMode := TImageWrapMode.Fit;       ImgList.Add(NewsImage);         // load images to the newly created TImage component       var MemoryStream := TMemoryStream.Create;       var HTTPClient   := TNetHTTPClient.Create(nil);       var HTTPRequest  := TNetHTTPRequest.Create(nil);       HTTPRequest.Client := HTTPClient;       try         var ImageURL := ArrayElement.GetValue(‘image’);         HTTPRequest.Get(ImageURL, MemoryStream);         MemoryStream.Seek(0, soFromBeginning);         NewsImage.Bitmap.LoadFromStream(MemoryStream);       finally         FreeAndNil(MemoryStream);         FreeAndNil(HTTPClient);         FreeAndNil(HTTPRequest);       end;       {$endregion}         {$region ‘create title and summary texts in the News Card’ }       LabelTitle := TLabel.Create(RctNewsCard);       LabelTitle.Parent := RctNewsCard;       LabelTitle.Align := TAlignLayout.Top;       LabelTitle.Height := 27;       LabelTitle.Width  := 359;       LabelTitle.HitTest := False;       LabelTitle.AutoSize := True;       LabelTitle.Font.Size := 22;       LabelTitle.Margins.Left := 15;       LabelTitle.Margins.Right := 15;       LabelTitle.Margins.Top := 5;       LabelTitle.Margins.Bottom := 5;       LabelTitle.Text := ‘Title: ‘ + ArrayElement.GetValue(‘title’);       LblTitleList.Add(LabelTitle);         LabelDescription := TLabel.Create(RctNewsCard);       LabelDescription.Parent := RctNewsCard;       LabelDescription.Align := TAlignLayout.Client;       LabelDescription.Height := 131;       LabelDescription.Width  := 359;       LabelDescription.HitTest := False;       LabelDescription.AutoSize := True;       LabelDescription.Font.Size := 15;       LabelDescription.Margins.Left := 15;       LabelDescription.Margins.Right := 15;       LabelDescription.Margins.Top := 5;       LabelDescription.Margins.Bottom := 5;       LabelDescription.Text := ‘Summary: ‘ + ArrayElement.GetValue(‘description’);       LblDescpList.Add(LabelDescription);       {$endregion}     end;   finally     RctList.Free;     ImgList.Free;     LblTitleList.Free;     LblDescpList.Free;   end; end;

I have some good news for you, the future of software development has arrived! Well, to be precise, the next possible big thing in the future of software development is here… again. Works anywhere, just add RAM I have this mental block about the name Electron. I’m not entirely sure why it is but whenever I try to remember the name of this ubiquitous web framework my little gray cells shout “Eclipse” and, try as I might, I can’t conjure up the correct name in the appropriate moment during the chatty to and fro of a webinar. I think I have a theory though on why this is happening; my unconscious mind is trying to prevent me from crossing over to the dark side to use Electron to create cross-platform applications. What is wrong with using Electron? Look, there’s nothing wrong with using Electron as such. I’ve actually used Electron and produced an app which was, in effect a website encapsulated by the Electron framework and runtime. But, that said, it is a voracious eater. It will consume every part of your machine’s RAM and CPU resources if left to its own devices. If you don’t believe me just run a quick web search for “electron problems”. The pros of Electron are that it can be a quick route to market. If you have a web app it’s not a massive task to wrap that website or web app with the Electron framework. Also, it implements an auto-update system which means you can push out new versions and improvements with fairly low friction. A web developer is not necessarily an application developer A couple of problems crop up. Behind the scenes of almost every Electron app is the beast which is Node.js – bringer of NPM, the Node Package Manager. The NPM is a superb repository of add-ons, components, modules and time-saving Nodestuffs. Electron / Node developers can get a package for almost everything. If you’re a web developer who has some JavaScript knowledge the NPM can allow you to pull in components to save you a ton of work. Isn’t using NPM a bit like installing Delphi Components? Well, yes it is. Except with one very specific difference: Delphi is compiled down to native code with an optimizing compiler. If you include 1000 Node packages – either deliberately due to some form of overzealous optimism, or inadvertently due to one package having a dependency on another which depends on another five which all depend on another six packages – then you will have 1000 Node packages in your app even if all it does is display a page saying “hello world” in flashing magenta. If you do the same in a Delphi app you will get a lot of unnecessary junk included – but Delphi’s compiler and linking mechanism will exclude a massive amount of things you pulled in but don’t actually get used. It can’t totally protect you from yourself and your component-hoarding kitchen-sink ways but it will definitely save you from creating a Gigagbyte app when it only needed a few MB at most. Low code is the Next Big Thing Right. Low Code apps. You’ve seen some of them and, yes, they can be great for creating apps usually either by answering questions in a wizard […]

Screenshotlayer is a lightweight REST API built to deliver high-quality PNG, JPEG & GIF visual website snapshots through a simple and easy to use interface. We’re going to make use of that API to create a really powerful website snapshot app. Website snapshots, in Delphi, using the Screenshotlayer API The Screenshotlayer API is easy to integrate and works without requiring a queue. With the Screenshotlayer API, you can create a reliable web snapshot automation service. You can capture daily, weekly or monthly, and create an archive if you need. In this post, we will integrate Screenshotlayer API into a cross-platform desktop and mobile application using the Delphi FireMonkey Low-Code Wizard. What is the Screenshotlayer API? The Screenshotlayer API is a world-class RESTful web service to capture highly customizable snapshots of any website in seconds. Just give the website URL, and the web service returns you a screenshot of the website. It offers advanced options, for instance: Set preferred thumbnail dimensions and viewport Inject your CSS Specify a capturing delay Export to AWS S3, FTP  and more How to use Screenshotlayer API? Capturing a snapshot using the Screenshotlayer API is simple. Each API request is based on the following URL and can be configured with different parameters. To make a simple request, you should pass the API access key and URL of the website that you want to take a screenshot of. Moreover, based on how you wish to configure your screenshot, you can choose from several optional parameters: fullpage – take a full height of the target website width – specify your preferred thumbnail width in pixels viewport – specify your preferred viewport dimensions in pixels format – screenshot output format secret_key – your secret key, an MD5 hash of the target & secret word (optional) delay – specify a delay before a screenshot is captured (in seconds) export – export snapshot via custom FTP path or using your AWS S3 user details Let’s see an example of a request Depending on your subscription plan, you can have more secure data streams and features or limits. For instance, higher-level subscription plan users can establish a secure connection. You can have maximum API performance, and the request limit is higher. URL Encryption – If you need a more secure connection, you can utilize the secret key for every API request. First, you need to specify the secret key on the dashboard. My secret key, of course, is the word “delphi”. Then we need to combine the URL and secret keyword into one string and create an MD5 hash out of the string. After that, you can give that value in the query. The Screenshotlayer API Features By default, screenshots are rendered based on the height of the selected viewport. You can alternatively request the full height of the target website with the parameters that we talked about above. CSS Injection – The Screenshotlayer API enables you to inject a custom CSS stylesheet into the target website by appending an existing CSS file URL to the API’s css_url parameter. TTL (Caching Time) – By default, website snapshots are cached for 30 days. Using the ttl parameter, you can specify a custom caching time lower than the default setting. Furthermore, you can have a fresh screenshot of the target website by using the force parameter, which refreshes the target website. How to export website snapshots to AWS S3 or […]

Have you ever wanted your apps to have the power to examine an IP address and then find out everything you possibly could about it such as what time zone is local to the IP, what currency they use or what internet service provider is used? This capability is called IP address intelligence and it can add a powerfully rich package of knowledge to your applications allowing you to customize how you present information to your users. In this post you will be learn how to quickly and easily integrate IP address Intelligence into your Delphi desktop and mobile applications. We are going to use a service called IPApi, which is one of the market-leading solutions for all your IP Intelligence requirements in one place. Why would we want to find out information about an IP Address? The IP address is often tied to an individual user. If you know information about that IP address you can customize some of the information, services or even the user interface to better meet the needs of your users. For example, if you find out that the current time for the IP address is night time then you might want to offer different services to those you offer during their daytime hours. Knowing the local currency in use where the IP address is hosted allows you can offer that as a default for purchases. Lastly, you may want or need to restrict some of app’s features if an IP address is located in a different country, possibly for security reasons or to comply with local laws or copyright compliance. With proper IP address intelligence information all of this should be possible. What is the IPApi service? The IPApi service is a powerful IP lookup RESTful web service that helps to find a different set of information using only the IP address. You can do more fascinating things with IP addresses. For instance: Content Personalization based on location Time Zone Lookup Language Redirection based on geolocation Currency and Fraud detection and more The IPApi platform is platform agnostic and offers accurate information. IPApi say their RESTful web service is “trusted by 30,000+ businesses worldwide”. How do I start getting information about an IP address in my application? Head over to the IPApi official website to sign up. There is a Free plan to test it out. IPApi Example Plan Details How do I use IPApi to get information about an IP address? After you sign up, you will have an API access key. And you can utilize that API access key to send requests to the endpoint.  Here is an example of calling to the endpoint: And depending on your subscription plan, you get different sets of data in your response: { “ip”: “161.185.160.93”, “type”: “ipv4”, “continent_code”: “NA”, “continent_name”: “North America”, “country_code”: “US”, “country_name”: “United States”, “region_code”: “NY”, “region_name”: “New York”, “city”: “Brooklyn”, “zip”: “11238”, “latitude”: 40.676, “longitude”: -73.9629, “location”: { “geoname_id”: 5110302, “capital”: “Washington D.C.”, “languages”: [ { “code”: “en”, “name”: “English”, “native”: “English” } ], “country_flag”: “http://assets.ipapi.com/flags/us.svg”, “country_flag_emoji”: “🇺🇸”, “country_flag_emoji_unicode”: “U+1F1FA U+1F1F8”, “calling_code”: “1”, “is_eu”: false }, “time_zone”: { “id”: “America/New_York”, “current_time”: “2018-09-24T05:07:10-04:00”, “gmt_offset”: -14400, “code”: “EDT”, “is_daylight_saving”: true }, “currency”: { “code”: “USD”, “name”: “US Dollar”, “plural”: “US dollars”, “symbol”: “$”, “symbol_native”: “$” }, “connection”: { “asn”: 22252, “isp”: “The City of New York” […]