1. InterConnect
2017
BMO-3337: Creating
Effective Mobile Applications
with IBM Bluemix
Andrew Ferrier,
Bluemix Solution Architect,
IBM Bluemix Garage
andrew.ferrier@uk.ibm.com
1 3/23/17

2. 2 3/23/17
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results similar to those stated here.

3. 3 3/23/17
Agenda
• Some History & Context
• Sidenote: What’s IBM Bluemix?
• Mobile Foundation
• Mobile Services (Push Notification, Analytics, App ID)
• Bluemix Developer Console
• So what should I do today?

4. Some History & Context
4

5. Mobile Middleware /
MEAP / BFF
Apple Push
Notification Service /
Google Cloud
Messaging / etc.
System of Record
2
System of Record
3
System of Record
1
Auth Dir
What is a mobile
application, really?
Analytics

6. Web-native continuum
• HTML5, JS,
and CSS3 (full
site or m.site)
• Quicker and
cheaper way to
mobile
• Sub-optimal
experience
• HTML5, JS,
and CSS
• Usually
leverages
Cordova
• Downloadable,
app store
presence, push
capabilities
• Can use native
APIs
• As previous
• + more
responsive,
available offline
• Web + native
code
• Optimized user
experience
with native
screens in
startup and
during runtime,
controls, and
navigation
• App fully
adjusted to OS
• Some screens
are multi-
platform (web)
when makes
sense
• App fully
adjusted to OS
• Best attainable
user
experience
• Unique
development
effort per OS,
costly to
maintain
HybridPure web Pure native
Mobile
web site
(browser
access)
Native
shell
enclosing
external
m.site
Pre-
packaged
HTML5
resources
HTML5 +
native UI
Mostly
native,
some
HTML5
screens
Pure
native
Different ways to write an app...

7. • Apache Cordova -
http://cordova.apache.org/
• Previously known as
PhoneGap
• Provides a wrapper around
web content to make it appear
as a native app
• Also provides access to device
APIs
• Need to choose a JS toolkit
(popular choices are ReactJS,
Angular+Ionic)
Hybrid

8. iOS Native
• For all apps (not just native), you
need to register to deploy to “real”
devices
• Also need Xcode development
environment (only supported on
Mac)
• Prefer Swift to Objective-C

9. Android Native
• Install Android Studio (http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/studio.html)
- based on IntelliJ
• Eclipse plugins are gone

10. Sidenote: What is Bluemix?
10 © CopyrightIBM Corporation 2016

11. Third Party
IBM
Your Own
Open Source
What is Bluemix?
A managed platform to design, deploy and run enterprise applications

12. ?

13. Virtual Servers
“Abstraction”
“Control”
Bare Metal
Dedicated Compute
High Memory
Intensive Disk I/O
Isolation
Familiar
Full Operating
System Control
Containers
Portable
Flexible
Light-weight
CF Apps
Speed
Manage code,
not infrastructure
OpenWhisk
Stateless
Event-Driven
Short-lived
…meetsyourdeveloperneeds…
PaaSCaaSIaaS
Bluemix Compute Models

14. So what’s available?
14

15. 15 3/23/17
Bluemix Services… Being replaced with:
IBM Watson Content Hub
(also on-prem)

16. Where we are coming from… IBM MobileFirst
Platform Foundation
• Pre-6.3, was known as Worklight or Worklight Foundation.
• On-premise Mobile Enterprise Application Platform
• Been through 5.0.5, 5.0.6, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.0, 7.1
• Now at 8.0

17. 17
Mobile Foundation: What does it do?
Provides client-side APIs for hybrid and
native code for:
• Encrypted local store
• Adapter invocation
• Device management
• Authentication
• Etc…
Provides server-side facilities for:
• Adapter development (connect to
HTTP/REST/SOAP/JMS/Cast
Iron/etc.)
• Operational Analytics, including
security
• Unified push notification
management
• Unified authentication (with OAuth
from 7.0+)
• Cloudant Local
• Application Authenticity
• … and so on...

18. 18
But there are some trends
affecting all of this…
• Focus on cloud as a development platform
• Esp. for mobile and multichannel
• Decreased focus on client-side innovation – smartphones are mostly a
“solved problem”
• So folks want to migrate to a lighterweight approach…

19. Mobile Services on Bluemix
19

20. Mobile Analytics
203/23/17

21. 21
Why Push Notifications?
• Complex Infrastructure
• Multiple interfaces must be coded in the back-
end.
• Routing: to route the notifications to the
correct devices, the app back-end must
maintain a registry that associates interest
groups with device tokens.

22. 22
Mobile Push Notifications Service
• Unified API for sending push notifications on
Android and iOS
• Provides a single server-side API for
notification sending, an a single client-side
one for managing subscriptions
• Also supports Firefox / Chrome / Safari web
push
• Tagging of notifications (for grouping)
• Monitoring / analytics of notifications

23. 23 3/23/17
App ID
• Unifying way to support authentication for
apps
• Supports iOS, Android, and NodeJS (server-
side)
• Provides activity log
• Provides authentication via Facebook and
Google login
• Sign-in widget for Facebook / Google
experience – can be tailored
• Can be used to protect backend endpoints

24. Bluemix Developer Console
24

25. Bluemix Developer Console
• Was known as “Mobile App Builder”, then
“Bluemix Mobile Dashboard”.
• As of 16th March: now supports
• Concept of “Projects” which tie together UI,
Data, and Services
• Next-gen of Bluemix-based App Construction
• Build app from scratch or use template
• Useful to “get started” following best practices
https://console.ng.bluemix.net/developer/getting-started/

26. Mobile Code Starters

27. 27 3/23/17

28. • Either complete application or SDK artifacts
(SDK+config)
Can download code…

29. Backends for Frontends (Compute)
• Modern approach to building mobile
applications
• Think of building them in NodeJS, Swift, or
Java using Cloud Foundry, Containers, or
OpenWhisk
• If built in CF, a specially configured CF app
that exposes an Open API (Swagger) spec for
a RESTful interface can be auto-added
through compute panel
https://www.ibm.com/devops/method/content/architecture/
mobileArchitecture

30. Cloudant Integration (Data)
• Auto-integrates and configures integration
with Cloudant using CouchDB API:

31. So what should I do today?

32. Creating Effective Applications – What to think about
• Overall: Keep it simple – think client / server
• Client: How do I implement? (Native vs. Hybrid)? – skills and tools
• Client: Consider if the Developer Console can help you get started – use the patterns provided for
BFFs and microservices
• Server: Focus only on using microservices that support your app
• Server: Use additional supporting services e.g. Push Notifications, Analytics
• Server: Think multichannel, build only a thin BFF layer
Some other things we haven’t spoken about, but you need to think about
• Server: Think about authentication – App ID (or SSO/APIC)
• Server: Think about hybrid (how to connect to existing on-premise data)

33. 33 3/23/17
Related sessions
IBM Mobile Server Migration from On-
Premise to IBM Bluemix
Monday, 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Islander H
| Session ID: 5361A
Zero Downtime is Possible with IBM Mobile
Foundation on Bluemix
Tuesday, 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM | South Pacific D
| Session ID: 4818A
Social and Cognitive User Engagement with
Push Notification Service on IBM Bluemix
Wednesday, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM | South Pacific
D | Session ID: 3050A
From Mobile First to Offline First
Thursday, 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM | Islander H
| Session ID: 5658A

34. InterConnect
2017
Thank You – Any Questions?
34 3/23/17