Code For Web

Local Search, Project Management and much more…

Posted on by Josh

Over at [B] Bold Array, we have some very exciting projects in the pipeline. Local SEO Search is one project where we teamed up with SEO Expert Ali Sefati to create a tool that will allow for the ease of use and management of local SEO search results. While the tool is in it’s infancy now, it will be coming soon in beta release for a small section of the public. We will hold a beta sign up to allow individuals the opportunity to test drive the tool. Also, [B] is in the final phases of a project management tool geared towards the web design and development companies. The application has a slick interface that utilizes a lot of today’s technologies and user interface capabilities.

There are several other exciting projects that [B] will be bringing out, but more on those later. Stay tuned.

Local SEO Tools

Posted on by Josh

Bold Array is teaming up with Ali Sefati to create a great local SEO tool, since there is a need for an SEO tool that focuses on local search. Many company owners are lacking a simple to use tool that will keep them up to date on how their website/company ranks locally. This tool will be a huge success for local businesses and SEO professionals to ease the management of local search campaigns.

Bold Array is a web development and design firm located in Laguna Hills, Ca. We create web applications that improve companies productivity, workflows and increase profit. From large scale integrations to marketing sites to drive in new customers.

Ali Sefati is an internet professional who focuses on Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing.

SAP, Ruby and Me

Posted on by Josh

So far this journey with SAP has been interesting, the B1 API is flexible enough that we can mold it to pull data our of SAP somewhat “cleanly”. Pushing data back to it is even more fun, but as long as you create compliant XML data it usually is happy and consumes the data with little complaints.

So to recap we interface with SAP (B1 API) over the web, snag the XML document parse the XML document using HappyMapper which digest the document pretty quickly (even if its 50,000+ records) and then dumps the data into our local database for speed and ease of use on the web.

How has this experience been so far -> enjoyable to a point and at times stressful (which is how programming can be at times). One of the fun things with SAP is that EVERY installation is different. Since SAP is plugged into a client’s environment and then modified to meet the clients needs and during this process this creates a challenge when dealing with multiple installations at different clients. Its the Square Peg being shoved into a round hole issue, it can work with some force but is it the best solution?

If your company is in need of SAP integration for an upcoming web project feel free to contact us.

 

SAP and Ruby on Rails

Posted on by Josh

Well I can say the project is in full swing now. Using Rails, and writing libraries to interact with SAP and eat/spitout its XML documents. While the documentation available for some of the SAP/B1 WebApi is little to none (I guess you need to know people in high places) that hasn’t stopped us at Bold Array. We are plugging away with the application and integration has gone pretty smoothly.

Right now here is a look at our stack:

  • Ruby on Rails
  • Mongo DB
  • Custom Authentication for users (integrates with SAP user accounts)
  • Custom integration points with various SAP features/data
More to come on this integration excitement…
Now back to work coding away and designing this architecture!

 

Bold Array

Posted on by Josh

Its been a while since I have posted, but there is a good reason for that. I have started a new company with two great people called Bold Array, which is a web design and development firm in Orange County. We specialize in great applications that help companies automate, or simplify their business processes. We also have a plethora of knowledge creating restaurant websites that attract new patrons and keep them coming back. Besides that we are well versed in social media, web design, application development, mobile application development and search engine optimization. We can be a one stop shop for companies looking to increase their web presence, or they just need a fresh new look.

Check out our website.

Integration with SAP via Ruby

Posted on by Josh

Currently integrating SAP Business One for a client’s project. The base of the application is Ruby on Rails and the site needs to interface with SAP Business One. So that is the challenge, to integrate with this ERP system, which APIs supply XML (no objects in sight).

I looked through github to see if there are any gems that already have this functionality of working with SAP Business One. No luck. Even if I found one, it may not work due to the shear number of custom function calls that the client required for SAP (squeezing a software into your business process).

I have looked at several XML Mapping libraries in order to bring the XML into an object format that will be more usable and workable in the RoR environment and the one that I think will win the battle is HappyMapper. The gem was last updated in January of 2011, so that reassures us that this is an on going project. Most of the XML Mapper projects I found, the last time it had been updated was over 2 years. One issue though, SAP’s XML is bloated a little but, plus they are using the ZedIT B1 Web API on top of SAP which in many cases “wraps” existing SAP API calls (equates to more bloated XML).

The other challenge is that SAP APIs work on an HTTP Request/Response architecture (not REST) plus the web server is secured using basic authentication (easy enough to deal with) so each request we must send over the username and password in order for the request to be accepted.

Overall the SAP APIs seem to be an “old school” architecture, objectless, XML happy environment.

Lets recap:

  1. SAP Business One (ERP)
  2. zedIT B1 Web API
  3. Basic Authentication on IIS enabled
  4. Project code is Ruby On Rails

Good challenge for the team.

More to come…

Spoiled Apple

Posted on by Josh

I just launched a nice little site about Apple, its products, news and industry trends. Check it out: SpoiledApple.com. I have a passion for technology, and just love Apple products, why, cause in most cases they work and they are designed with great care and consideration.

Mongoid or MongoMapper (Part 2)

Posted on by Josh

In a previous post I asked which are people using, MongoMapper or Mongoid, since then several projects have passed that utilize MongoDB we have leaned towards Mongoid. Why? We like the syntax, its mongodb like. Makes it easier to switch between writing code and querying the database. On the other hand MongoMapper works more like ActiveRecord which will allow for a faster transition between MySQL and MongoDB. In the end you must choose the tool that works best for you.

Nice cheat sheet: here

Also, write to /dev/null for faster database speeds! :)

On a side note: my friend Ali, thinks its funny to put iPhone 6 on his blog to get traffic. lame.

Writing

Posted on by Josh

Well it turns out I will be writing (or co-authoring, editing, providing technical assistance) with my good friend Ali Sefati. The book’s topic will be SEO and I will be technical expertise for the book. So please stay tuned, I will blog about the book writing experience here and also on Ali’s blog.