Activity¶
Most modern applications struggle to manage data streams, such as those that contain an ongoing list of comments, activities, and tweets. In particular, mobile applications are prone to generating very large amounts of data in a data stream. Beyond that, additions to a data stream must often be routed automatically to subscribers or filtered or counted.
Usergrid provides an activity entity that is specifically designed for data streams. An activity is an entity type that represents activity stream actions (see the JSON Activity Streams 1.0 specification for more information about these actions).
When a user creates an activity, it creates a relationship between the
activity and the user who created it. Because this relationship exists,
the activity will appear in the feed of any of the user’s followers.
Think of the Activities endpoint (/users/{uuid|username}/activities)
as an “outbox” of news items created by the user. Think of the Feed
endpoint (/users/{uuid|username}/feed) as an “inbox” of news items
meant to be seen or consumed by the user.
A user can also post an activity to a group (located at
/groups/{uuid|groupname}/activities). This allows you to emulate
Facebook-style group functionality, where a limited number of users can
share content on a common “wall”. In any of these cases, there is no
need to construct publish/subscribe relationships manually.
Activity entities are particularly useful in applications that enable users to post content to activity streams (also called feeds) and to display activity streams. Some examples of these applications are Twitter, foursquare, and Pinterest. For example, when a Twitter user posts a short, 140-character or less, “tweet”, that activity gets added to the user’s activity stream for display as well as to the activity streams of any of the user’s followers.
Using Usergrid APIs you can create, retrieve, update, and delete activity entities.
Note: Although not shown in the API examples below, you need to provide a valid access token with each API call. See Authenticating users and application clients for details.
Posting activities¶
Posting a user activity
Use the POST method to create an activity in the activities collection.
Request URI¶
POST /<org_id>/<app_id>/users/<uuid | username>/activities { request body }
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| arg uuid|string org_id | Organization UUID or organization name |
| arg uuid|string app_id | Application UUID or application name |
| request body | One or more sets of activity properties |
Here’s an example request body:
{
"actor":{
"displayName":"John Doe",
"uuid":"1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"username":"john.doe",
"image":{
"duration":0,
"height":80,
"url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/","width":80},
"email":"john.doe@gmail.com"
},
"verb":"post",
"content":"Hello World!"
}
}
Example - Request¶
curl -X POST "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/users/john.doe/activities" -d '{"actor":{"displayName":"John Doe","uuid":"1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1","username":"john.doe", "image":{"duration":0,"height":80,"url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/","width":80}, "email":"john.doe@gmail.com"},"verb":"post","content":"Hello World!"}'
Example - Response¶
{
"action" : "post",
"application" : "5111c463-6a42-11e1-b6dd-1231380a0284",
"params" : {
},
"path" : "/users/1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1/activities",
"uri" : "https://api.usergrid.com/5111c463-6a42-11e1-b6dd-1231380a0284/users/1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1/activities",
"entities" : [ {
"uuid" : "da448955-f3aa-11e1-8042-12313d331ae8",
"type" : "activity",
"created" : 1346445092974,
"modified" : 1346445092974,
"actor" : {
"displayName" : "John Doe",
"uuid" : "1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"username" : "john.doe",
"image" : {
"duration" : 0,
"height" : 80,
"url" : "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/",
"width" : 80
},
"email" : "john.doe@gmail.com"
},
"content" : "Hello World!",
"metadata" : {
"path" : "/users/1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1/activities/da448955-f3aa-11e1-8042-12313d331ae8"
},
"published" : 1346445092974,
"verb" : "post"
} ],
"timestamp" : 1346445092827,
"duration" : 1406,
"organization": "my-org",
"applicationName": "my-app"
}
Note: Anytime a logged-in user makes a request, you can substitute “me” for the uuid or username. So the format of a request to create an activity for the currently logged-in user would look like this:
POST /<org_id>/<app_id>/users/me/activities { request body }
The /users/me endpoint is accessible only if you provide an access
token with the request. If you don’t provide an access token with the
request, that is, you make an anonymous (or “guest”) call, the system
will not be able to determine which user to return as /users/me.
When you create an activity it creates a relationship between the
activity and the user who created it. In other words, the newly created
activity above belongs to john.doe. Another way of saying this is the
user “owns” the activity. And because this relationship exists, the
activity will appear in the feed of any of the user’s followers (in this
example, anyone who is following john.doe). However, it will not appear
in the feed of people the user follows. The activity is accessible at
the /activities endpoint to users who have the permission to read
that endpoint.
Notice the properties specified in the request body in the previous example are actor, verb, and content. The actor, verb, and content properties are built into the Activity entity (see Activity entity properties ). The actor property specifies properties of the entity that performs the action (here, user john.doe). The gravatar URL is used to create an icon for the activity. And because an Activity is simply an API Services data entity, you can also create custom properties.
The verb parameter is descriptive. You can use it to indicate what type of activity is posted, for example, an image versus text. The value post is defined in the JSON Activity Streams specification as “the act of authoring an object and then publishing it online.“
Posting an activity to a group¶
Use the POST method to post an activity to a specific group. In this
case the activity is created in the activities collection and is
accessible at the /activities endpoint to users who have the
permission to read that endpoint. In addition, a relationship is
established between the activity and the group, and because of that, the
activity will appear in the group’s feed. The group “owns” the activity.
Also, the activity will be published in the feed of all users that are
members of the group.
Request URI¶
POST /{org_id}/{app_id}/groups/{uuid|groupname}/activities {request body}
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| arg uuid|string org_id | Organization UUID or organization name |
| arg uuid|string app_id | Application UUID or application name |
| arg uuid|string groupname | UUID or name of the group |
| request body | One or more sets of activity properties. |
Here’s a sample request body:
{
"actor":
{
"displayName":"John Doe",
"uuid":"1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"username":"john.doe",
"image":{
"duration":0,
"height":80,
"url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/","width":80},
"email":"john.doe@gmail.com"},
"verb":"post",
"content":"Hello World!"
}
Example - Request¶
curl -X POST "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/groups/mygroup/activities" -d '{"actor":{"displayName":"John Doe","uuid":"1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1","username":"john.doe", "image":{"duration":0,"height":80,"url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/","width":80}, "email":"john.doe@gmail.com"},"verb":"post","content":"Hello World!"}'
Because this relationship exists, this activity will appear in the feed of all users who are members of mygroup. It won’t appear in the feeds of the group members’ followers or in feeds of users they follow.
Example - Response¶
{
"action": "post",
"application": "3400ba10-cd0c-11e1-bcf7-12313d1c4491",
"params": {},
"path": "/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/activities",
"uri": "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/activities",
"entities": [
{
"uuid": "563f5d96-37f3-11e2-a0f7-02e81ae640dc",
"type": "activity",
"created": 1353952903811,
"modified": 1353952903811,
"actor": {
"displayName": "John Doe",
"uuid": "1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"username": "john.doe",
"image": {
"duration": 0,
"height": 80,
"url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/",
"width": 80
},
"email": "john.doe@gmail.com"
},
"content": "Hello World!",
"metadata": {
"path": "/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/activities/563f5d96-37f3-11e2-a0f7-02e81ae640dc"
},
"published": 1353952903811,
"verb": "post"
}
],
"timestamp": 1353952903800,
"duration": 81,
"organization": "my-org",
"applicationName": "my-app"
}
Creating an activity for a user’s followers in a group¶
Use the POST method to create an activity that will be published only in the feeds of users who (1) follow you, and (2) are in the same group to which you posted the activity. This is useful if you want to create specific groups of friends (for example, acquaintances or colleagues) and publish content to them with more precise privacy settings. This allows you to re-create a privacy model similar to Google+’s Circles or Facebook current privacy system.
When you create an activity for a user’s followers in a group:
The activity is accessible at the /activities endpoint to users who
have the permission to read that endpoint. The activity will not be
cross-posted to the group’s activity endpoint
(/groups/{uuid|groupname}/activities) A relationship is
automatically created between the activity entity that was just created
and the user within that group
(/groups/{uuid|groupname}/users/{uuid|username}) The user within the
group (/groups/{uuid|groupname}/users/{uuid|username}) becomes the
owner of the activity (through the owner property in the activity).
Request URI¶
POST /{org_id}/{app_id}/groups/{uuid|groupname}/users/{uuid|username}/activities {request body}
Parameters
Parameter Description arg uuid|string org_id Organization UUID or organization name arg uuid|string app_id Application UUID or application name arg uuid|string groupname UUID or name of the group arg uuid|string username UUID or name of the user request body One or more sets of activity properties
Example request body:
{
"actor":
{
"displayName":"John Doe",
"uuid":"1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"username":"john.doe",
"image":{
"duration":0,
"height":80,
"url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/","width":80},
"email":"john.doe@gmail.com"},
"verb":"post",
"content":"Hello World!"
}
Example - Request¶
curl -X POST "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/groups/mygroup/users/john.doe/activities" -d '{"actor":{"displayName":"John Doe","uuid":"1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1","username":"john.doe", "image":{"duration":0,"height":80,"url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/","width":80}, "email":"john.doe@gmail.com"},"verb":"post","content":"Hello World!"}'
Because this relationship exists, this activity will appear in the feed of all users who are members of mygroup. It won’t appear in the feeds of the group members’ followers or in feeds of users they follow.
Example - Response¶
{
"action" : "post",
"application" : "3400ba10-cd0c-11e1-bcf7-12313d1c4491",
"params" : { },
"path" : "/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/users/34e26bc9-2d00-11e2-a065-02e81ae640dc/activities",
"uri" : "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/
/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/users/34e26bc9-2d00-11e2-a065-02e81ae640dc/activities",
"entities" : [ {
"uuid" : "2440ca58-49ff-11e2-84c0-02e81adcf3d0",
"type" : "activity",
"created" : 1355937094825,
"modified" : 1355937094825,
"actor" : {
"displayName" : "John Doe",
"uuid" : "1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"username" : "john.doe",
"image" : {
"duration" : 0,
"height" : 80,
"url" : "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/",
"width" : 80
},
"email" : "john.doe@gmail.com"
},
"content" : "Happy New Year!",
"metadata" : {
"path" : "/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/users/34e26bc9-2d00-11e2-a065-02e81ae640dc/activities/2440ca58-49ff-11e2-84c0-02e81adcf3d0"
},
"published" : 1355937094825,
"verb" : "post"
} ],
"timestamp" : 1355937094789,
"duration" : 95,
"organization" : "my-org",
"applicationName" : "my-app"
}
Retrieving activity feeds¶
Retrieving a user’s activity feed
Use the GET method to retrieve a user’s feed.
Request URI¶
GET /{org_id}/{app_id}/users/{uuid|username}/feed
Example - Request¶
curl -X GET "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/users/john.doe/feed"
Example - Response¶
{
"action" : "get",
"application" : "3400ba10-cd0c-11e1-bcf7-12313d1c44914",
"params" : {},
"path" : "/users/d9693ec3-61c9-11e2-9ffc-02e81adcf3d0/feed",
"uri" : "https://api.usergrid.com/3400ba10-cd0c-11e1-bcf7-12313d1c44914/users/d9693ec3-61c9-11e2-9ffc-02e81adcf3d0/feed",
"entities" : [ {
"uuid" : "ffd79647-f399-11e1-aec3-12313b06ae01",
"type" : "activity",
"created" : 1346437854569,
"modified" : 1346437854569,
"actor" : {
"displayName" : "John Doe",
"image" : {
"duration" : 0,
"height" : 80,
"url" : "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/",
"width" : 80
},
"uuid" : "d9693ec3-61c9-11e2-9ffc-02e81adcf3d0",
"email" : "john.doe@gmail.com",
"username" : "john.doe"
},
"content" : "Hello World!",
"metadata" : {
"cursor" : "gGkAAQMAgGkABgE5ffM1aQCAdQAQ_9eWR_OZEeGuwxIxOwauAQCAdQAQABlaOvOaEeGuwxIxOwauAQA",
"path" : "/users/d9693ec3-61c9-11e2-9ffc-02e81adcf3d0/feed/ffd79647-f399-11e1-aec3-12313b06ae01"
},
"published" : 1346437854569,
"verb" : "post"
}, {
"uuid" : "2482a1c5-e7d0-11e1-96f6-12313b06d112",
"type" : "activity",
"created" : 1345141694958,
"modified" : 1345141694958,
"actor" : {
"displayName" : "moab",
"image" : {
"duration" : 0,
"height" : 80,
"url" : "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/",
"width" : 80
},
"uuid" : "d9693ec3-61c9-11e2-9ffc-02e81adcf3d0",
"email" : "massoddb@mfdsadfdsaoabl.com",
"username" : "moab"
},
"content" : "checking in code left and right!!",
"metadata" : {
"cursor" : "gGkAAQMAgGkABgE5MLFh7gCAdQAQJIKhxefQEeGW9hIxOwbREgCAdQAQJNEP6ufQEeGW9hIxOwbREgA",
"path" : "/users/d9693ec3-61c9-11e2-9ffc-02e81adcf3d0/feed/2482a1c5-e7d0-11e1-96f6-12313b06d112"
},
"published" : 1345141694958,
"verb" : "post"
} ],
"timestamp" : 1346438331316,
"duration" : 144,
"organization": "my-org",
"applicationName": "my-app"
}
Retrieving a group’s activity feed¶
Use the GET method to retrieve the feed for a group. This gets a list of all the activities that have been posted to this group, that is, the activities for which this group has a relationship (owns).
Request URI¶
GET /{org_id}/{app_id}/groups/{uuid|groupname}/feed
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| arg uuid|str | ing org_id Organization UUID or organization name |
| arg uuid|str | ing app_id Application UUID or application name |
| arg uuid|str | ing groupname UUID or name of the group |
Example - Request¶
curl -X GET "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/groups/mygroup/feed"
Example - Response¶
{
"action": "get",
"application": "3400ba10-cd0c-11e1-bcf7-12313d1c4491",
"params": {},
"path": "/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/feed",
"uri": "https://api.usergrid.com/my-org/my-app/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/feed",
"entities": [
{
"uuid": "563f5d96-37f3-11e2-a0f7-02e81ae640dc",
"type": "activity",
"created": 1353952903811,
"modified": 1353952903811,
"actor": {
"displayName": "John Doe",
"image": {
"duration": 0,
"height": 80,
"url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/",
"width": 80
},
"uuid": "1f3567aa-da83-11e1-afad-12313b01d5c1",
"email": "john.doe@gmail.com",
"username": "john.doe"
},
"content": "Hello World!",
"metadata": {
"cursor": "gGkAAQMAgGkABgE7PeHCgwCAdQAQVj9dljfzEeKg9wLoGuZA3ACAdQAQVkVRCTfzEeKg9wLoGuZA3AA",
"path": "/groups/d87edec7-fc4d-11e1-9917-12313d1520f1/feed/563f5d96-37f3-11e2-a0f7-02e81ae640dc"
},
"published": 1353952903811,
"verb": "post"
}
],
"timestamp": 1353953272756,
"duration": 29,
"organization": "my-org",
"applicationName": "my-app"
}