I simply am wondering if the only way to have any sort of spotify application be web-based, as opposed to app-based, would be to have it as a Spotify app within the Spotify application or if it's possible to have it standalone.
It sounds like you're getting confused between our APIs.
Spotify Apps is a platform inside our Spotify client. You write them using HTML5/JavaScript. They're run locally, but you can have it talk to a backend service if you wish.
Spotify's Web API provides HTTP REST services for search and metadata lookup.
libSpotify is for standalone native applications. You can have that application host a web service — there are Ruby bindings, for instance — but there are a few Terms of Service you need to be aware of concerning logging in as a user from your own service. You can find the ToS on http://developer.spotify.com.
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Can anyone please point out any benefits of using Azure Mobile services vs using a plain Azure app service / clean web api? For a starter / project type for a backend mobile solution.
I have somewhat mixed feelings on why I would want to use Azure Mobile Services.
As far as I see on Azure Mobile services you have an easier way of authenticating, you can use the notifcations hub more easily
and you have the different "built-in" ways of handling data (table storage etc).
Usually you would want some custom logics, user registration and handling when users register to your backend and you would like a more solid way of handling
and storing the data not privided by the OOTB datastorage.
You might also have another preference than using the /Table/ odata-endpoint you get with it or end up doing lots of logics to make your DAO's return data in properly for the OData endpoints.
All these things; IMO makes it more difficult to make the API/backend clean when using Azure Mobile services rather than a simple Web API with OData endpoints and swagger documentet API that can be used in a mobile-app just as easy.
Implementing / handling authentication and notifications ++ in Web Api ain't that diffucult nor time consuming.
So my problem Azure Mobile services is that it tends to fine for dev / prototyping and testing, but it might get really messy really fast when developing a proper backend.
Any thoughts and reasons why one should choose one instead of the other?
Think of Azure Mobile Services as V1 and App Service/Mobile App as V2. While Microsoft hasn't announced that Mobile Services will be phased out in the near future, if you start a new project, you should definitively look at App Service.
due to the fact that many people are confused about wether to take Web API or Web App or something different. They are going to put it all under one name. The underlying technology will be the same "i think".
But now you'll have in your portal the opportunity to add mobile push notifications, or add your swagger api definitions.
So when you're goint to stick with App Services you're not going to limit yourself.
Even when you're going to take Web Api you'll get all the functions as if you would take an App Service (if i'm correct).
*Edit: I looked it up in the portal. As I said, my old Web App Projects have the same settings as Web Api projects. So you don't need to decide anymore which kind of project you're taking. You get all the benefits out of the App Service.
is there any way to publish my API in azure mobile service API instead of using its own. I want just to know it, because assume I have a backup server in amazon and as you know I don't have access to azure sdk in there and it means technically I cant use the API anywhere outside the azure.
Azure mobile services is actually based on the .Net web api in their C# flavor and on node.js on the Javascript side. You could surely write an API using those technology and have the same behavior. You will gain the fact of being more portable, however you will lose some of the preconfigured stuff from Mobile services.
If you are using .NET, please check this to see how to build a Web api! http://www.asp.net/web-api.
If you are using Javascript, here is where you should start : https://nodejs.org/
Both tech are quite easy to learn and super powerfull, have fun! When your API is built, you could just publish them as an azure Web APP (http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/app-service/web/) or an Azure API (https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/app-service/api/) instead of the mobile App
Hope it helps, if you have more questions, please ask!
You can create and publish your own custom APIs in azure mobile service. You could even access in via azure mobile service sdk in client by using "InvokeApiAsync<>()" method.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/dn614130.aspx
If you want to access the api via fidder/httpclient than AZM SDK, pass the mobile service key in HTTP header as Name:'x-zumo-application' value:'application key from portal'
I've been reading a few tutorials now on deploying Web Apps and API Apps to Azure. However, I am still a little unsure as to why you would use one over another.
I can create a new .NET solution with API controllers and deploy this as a Web App, so why would I specifically require an API App? Are these optimized specifically for ASP.NET Web API, where as Web Apps are for delivering HTML?
Updating the answer to current state of Azure,
App Services now replaces all Mobile, Api and Web Apps flavors as a single app framework with all the functionality rolled over to make things more accessible across application types. Currently all of Web, Mobile and Api Apps are collectively called App Services. We still offer customer to be able to create a Mobile App and a Web App in the gallery but that is basically resolve into an App Service App.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/app-service-api-apps-why-best-platform/
Features for Mobile work for Web App as well such as Easy Tables and Easy API. And features for API apps like API Cors and API definitions now work on web apps as well. A customer can host a single web app to act as any mobile service or an api with all the features offered through the app services.
We also have a new service in preview particularly targeting API Apps by offering a management experience for your APIs, Basically you can control the generate try API pages, gather execution analytics, throttle and much more. Check out the feature blog to learn more about the Azure API Management Features. And yes you can host the APIs as a App Service App and hook things up with API Management.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/api-management-get-started/
There was a point in time when there were differences between the different app service types, but that is no longer true. The documentation now states:
The only difference between the three app types (API, web, mobile) is the name and icon used for them in the Azure portal.
So it no longer matters which app service type you choose to deploy to (unless you care what the icon looks like).
UPDATE
Function apps are now the exception. Creating a function app changes the user interface in the portal. The underlying web app, however, is no different. Setting an app setting named FUNCTIONS_EXTENSION_VERSION = ~1 turns any web app into a function app (minus the user interface in the portal).
There are many minor difference between Web API and API Apps, but the very notable and key differences are
Native Swagger implementation - When you create API App in Visual studio, swagger reference comes by default. Swagger provide very developer friendly features for API consumers to Interact with your API thru Swagger UI. Also Swagger based API's provides client SDK generation (both .Net based client and Javascript based client) which makes easy to call API's just like regular method call.
Note: Swagger implementation on regular Web API is possible manually.
Ability to publish your API Apps into Azure Market Place. Azure Market Place is the public repository for all API Apps that can be consumed freely or by charge.
this 15 minute video from Channel 9 gives an excellent overview about Api Apps.
To supplement Greg's answer, Here's an even more recent article describing the differences.
To sum up:
"The key features of API Apps – authentication, CORS and API metadata – have moved directly into App Service. With this change, the features are available across Web, Mobile and API Apps. In fact, all three share the same Microsoft.Web/sites resource type in Resource Manager."
And here's another important note:
"If your API is already deployed as a Web App or Mobile App, you do not have to redeploy your app to take advantage of the new features."
This can depend on what you are trying to do, but you would use a Web API when you are creating a service. ASP.Net Web API is a framework for building HTTP services that can be consumed by a broad range of clients. This allows you to build it not only for a web app, but have it open to connect to Android apps, IOS apps, web apps, Windows 8 apps, WPF apps etc..
So if you need a Web Service but you don't need SOAP then you can use Web API.
Here my comments:
API app:
Used for specific functionallity. Triggering that functionality from an URL.
Can be used to use with GET, POST, PUT, DELETE.
Can receive parameters at BODY (Json).
Response with valid status code (fail, sucess.)
Web APP: An application deployed with multiple functionallity, for example
a catalog for create, update and delete customers or to create a complete ERP.
Function APP: Is very similar to API app,
Used for specific functionallity. Triggering that functionality from an URL.
Can be used to use with GET, POST, PUT, DELETE.
Can receive parameters at BODY (Json).
Response with valid status code (fail, sucess.)
Actually you can deploy your aspnet webapi on Azure WebApp and a self host on Worker Roles.
On WebApp (former Azure websites), it will be deployed on IIS, so you can take advantage of IIS features.
I want to create a Windows Phone mobile app that receive inputs, send the inputs to an exe running continuously on Windows Azure to process and send outputs back to the mobile app. I have the knowledge to create a WP apps but little experience in Azure ,though I have access to it, so I don't know which service to use and how to use it. Please help
Technically, you could run an .exe in a web role on Azure but there might be a better, and easier, way to architect your solution.
Consider using Azure Mobile Services and, as WiteCastle says, re-architect your exe into a custom web API. Here are some examples of RESTful Web API projects from Microsoft's ASP.NET site.
Here are some useful resources to get you started:
Learn how to build secure mobile apps for the enterprise: view
webinar
Learn how to build consumer mobile apps that scale: view webinar
Choosing the best backend for your mobile app: view webinar
Alternatively...
If you're more comfortable with a web based back-end, why not try a product like appery.io, which allows you to create and connect up your app all via a 100% browser based IDE.
I have a WebAPI back-end for a mobile, and want to host it in Azure.
I am having a hard time figuring out the real differences between AMS and Websites.
All the articles I read about the subject talks about changes and benefits in general, and I want to understand specifically which new features AMS provides, and the benefits of hosting in AMS.
Authentication
In AMS I see the "IDENTITY" tab in azure portal. From what I understand, those 3rd party configs allow me to authenticate my users easily with google,FB etc. But this is just making the process more convenient and configurable via UI. In Websites, I can achieve the same functionality pretty easily using code from ASPNet.Identity and OWIN libraris.
Push Notifications
Again looking at AMS in the "PUSH" tab, I can see two mechanisms. The Notification Hub and 3rd party section.
The Notification Hub is nothing special to AMS, and I can get the exact same functionality when hosting in Websites.
The 3rd party section allows me to configure credentials to push services from Apple and Google (APNS,GCM...) and together with libraries in AMS namespace I can easily write code to communicate with those services.
But When hosting in Websites, in my back-end I can use open source libraries. For example, Moon-APNS to talk to APNS.
Scale
As far as I understand, both Websites and AMS allows the same scale functionality (One calls it Units and the other Instances).
Are there any big differences I missed?
Are any of the claims I made are incorrect?
It would be great if anyone could shed some light on the matter, specifically addressing all the 3 issues (Auth,Push,Scale).
That's a question I often get when I present Mobile Services at user group events.
For a .NET developer, there's nothing really special about Mobile Services since everything it offers, you can do it with a Website.
Mobile Services really shines for non .NET developers since you can have a complete mobile backend by writing scripts running on Node and Mobile Services abstract all the database and REST complexity.
I will likely get downvoted since I'll express a personal opinion but anyways: I see no obvious reasons for using Mobile Services if you're coding a .NET backend.
I think you are exactly the target customer for Azure Mobile Apps. You will get all of the power of having your own Azure Website (now rebranded as Azure Web App), with the additional convenience and client libraries of Mobile Services.
One feature of the client library that you may not have noticed is the cross-platform offline data sync capability. That's usually hard to build on your own, and we have an implementation that's conceptually consistent across all client platforms. (Plus, if you use Xamarin, you can share code between your client implementations.)
To be clear: Azure Mobile Services is NOT deprecated, and will not be until long after GA (general availability) of Azure Mobile Apps. Azure Mobile Apps is currently in preview.
The other big benefit of Mobile Services that you haven't mentioned is the client libraries for Android, iOS, Xamarin, and Cordova. If you already have a REST client library in your app and don't need to worry about multiple client platforms, then Azure Web Sites sound like a good way for you to go.
AMS by itself is built on top of Azure Websites. So you can actually implement everything in an Azure website that is available in AMS.
However, the good thing about AMS is that it allows you to quickly build the backend for a mobile app with CRUD operations, authentication/authorization and also provides client side libraries for different type of clients e.g., HTML, C#, etc. so we don't have to manually make the HTTP calls.
If you have need to implement the above functionality in Web API, it is quite an effort. Isn't it?