The projects section allows you to create and manage projects. Once a project has been created, multiple Apps can then be associated with those projects. If you have an existing App, the 'Import' feature can be used to import it into the Platform.

A Project consists of Apps for different platforms, and a Cloud App that they talk to.

As well as creating Apps, existing Apps can be imported into the Platform. When importing an App, you have the choice to either create a new project and add the App to it, or to simply add the App to an existing project. There are a number of different App types that can be imported into the Platform. These include Native iOS, Native Android, PhoneGap, Basic Web App, and Advanced Web App. There are also a number of different ways in which an App can be imported to the Platform. These include :

Step by step instructions will be provided, informing users of how to successfully import their Apps into the Platform. These steps will differ slightly depending on which import method was selected. For example, only the 'Cloning an existing Git repo' option has instructions on how to clone Git repositories.

The Apps, Cloud Apps & Services section allows for the managing of Client Apps and Cloud Apps within a project. Here, new Client and Cloud Apps can be added to a project. Cloud Apps serve as a gateway between the Client App and the cloud back-end storage and services.

You can add as many Apps to a Project as you like - you have three options to choose from:

The connections section provides an overview of Binaries built in the selected project, along with running Cloud code. A project contains both Client Apps, and Cloud Apps. A Connection dictates which Cloud Instance a Client App points towards. A connection will point towards a particular Cloud App in a given environment. The Dashboard provides an overview of connections that are present in all environments. From the dashboard, users can see how each Client App is connected to a Cloud Instance. Connections between Client Apps and Cloud Apps can be reconfigured or disabled as often as you like.

The Git QuickStart page shows how to access Client and Cloud code of an App on your local system by using Git. To access your project from your computer, you must first clone the repository. Cloning a repository creates an exact copy of an existing repository. All versions of all files in project are pulled down when a 'git clone' is performed. However before you can clone a repository, you need to upload your SSH Public Key. Once a Public Key has been uploaded, repositories can be cloned at will.

For more information regarding cloning a Git repository, see the Git Documentation on Getting started with Git.

For a more in-depth list of useful Git commands, see Git Reference.

A Project typically starts as a single App (for example, a Cordova App) and a Cloud App (for example, Node.js Application). As a Project progresses, it goes through various stages, that is, a Project Lifecycle. Every Project moves at a different pace, and grows & varies in composition over time. The goal of the Lifecycle Management Dashboard is to make this process easier for both the developer(s) and the project manager.

The Dashboard provides a snapshot view of a Project at the current point in time. All Apps are represented by a row on the dashboard. Each Environment corresponds to a column on the dashboard. This grid can give a quick overview of the stage that each part of the Project is in, without having to consult with each team member.

If an App has been built, the most recent build will be shown in the column that represents the Environment it is targeting a Cloud App in. The App binary can be downloaded from here, or rebuilt from a different git branch or tag. The 'Promote' option is a shortcut to rebuild the same code, but connect it to a different Cloud App Environment.

If a Cloud App has been deployed, the most recent deploy details and status will be shown in the corresponding Environment column. The Cloud App code can be deployed (or redeployed) to any available Environment. The 'Promote' option for Cloud Apps is a shortcut to deploy an already deployed git branch or tag to a different Environment.

The Forms configuration page allows users to both associate Forms and Themes with a Project, and also configure Client Side AppForms settings. Users can manage settings relating to Camera Settings, Submissions, Admin Users, Client Logging, and Cloud Logging.

Submissions associated with a project can also be viewed from this page.

The reporting section offers high level graphical representation of analytical information for both Client and Cloud Apps in a given project. Users can access a variety of information, such as how many Device Installs were performed, how many App Startups occurred, and more. Any one of these areas can be further investigated to access analytical information based on Date, Platform, and Location.

In Studio, this information is represented via a number of different graphs. Date specific data is represented by a line graph. This allows users to see a breakdown of App activity for a specific date range. Users can see the volume of activity for any given date in the range. For example, users could see how many Cloud Requests were performed on any given date in a date range.

The donut graph shows a breakdown of activity per platform. For example, the number of installs performed per platform inside a specified date range. Location specific data is represented on a Geographical map. This provides users with a breakdown of App activity based on geographical location. Each graph has a corresponding legend. Hovering the cursor over any of these charts will provide more info on the corresponding value in the legend.

The date range from which the data is gathered can be altered. Predefined ranges display information based on the 'Last 7 Days', 'Last 30 Days', and 'Previous Month', however if none of these are applicable, it is also possible to manually select a start and end date for the Range. This enables users to retrieve App data for a specific date range by simply selecting a data category, and then entering a date range.

From the Project Settings page, projects can be renamed or deleted.

There are a wide variety of Apps that can be built via the Red Hat Mobile Application Platform (RHMAP), including hybrid, HTML5, or Native Apps. Both Client and Cloud Apps can be added to any project. Apps have access to a number of JavaScript API’s that offer access to features such as geolocation or back-end storage. Form based Apps can now be created via a simple drag and drop interface.

The Details page is opened by default when the Apps, Cloud Apps and Services screen is selected. Here users can access overview information regarding the currently selected App. This information includes:

Any of the App details can be updated from this page. In Studio, there is also an App Preview on this screen. Users can choose to preview how the App would appear on either a phone, tablet, or desktop. After one of the devices has been selected in the App preview window, the user can preview how the App would appear on specific device by selecting a specific device from a list of dropdown options.

Apps can also be deleted from the Apps, Cloud Apps & Services page.

The built in editor allows users to edit code within their Apps. The built in syntax highlighting feature makes it easier to distinguish between syntactical elements. Users can create new files and folders, with saved changes being automatically pushed back to the corresponding Git repository.

After a change has been made, the preview automatically refreshes so you can instantly see your changes take effect. Changes can also be pulled in from a Git repository by performing a 'git pull'. The following Git functionality is available in the Editor section of the Studio:

The App Preview in the Editor section allows users to view how the current App appears on a number of selectable devices.

If your App contains a README.md markdown file in its route, it will be rendered and shown here.

The Analytics section provides access to a graphical representation of App usage statistics. Data can be examined via a number of categories including Installs, Cloud Requests, StartUps, and Active Devices. This data can be further categorized by date, platform, and location. Graph content is displayed by platform, with the exception of the 'Installs by Location'. Each platform is represented by a different key in the legend. Content in the graphs can be toggled on/off by clicking on the respective platform in the legend.

The date range can be also be customized. Predefined ranges include 'Last 7 days', 'Last 30 days', and 'Previous Month'. Users can also apply their own start and end date to the range.

When an App starts for the first time, it makes a call back to the cloud and at this point, a Device Install is recorded. A Device Install is different from a User Install. A User Install is tracked by App Stores in the following ways:

The Push section allows users to configure push notifications for an App. Learn more about using push notifications in the Push Notifications chapter.

The Export section allows the user to export an App via a number of selected platforms. When exporting an App, the Cloud App you want the Binary to connect to, the Platform, and the Version of the Platform must all be specified. Apps are exported as a zip file. When an export is complete, the export is added to the Artifcat History where it cab be redownloaded at any time.

The Credentials section enables users to manage Credential Bundles. New Credential Bundles can be added or imported. A list of existing Credential Bundles can also be viewed.

The Integrate section allows users to import an existing Client App into a RHMAP project. In order to import an app, you must clone the repo and integrate the app with the RHMAP SDK.

A Cloud App is a server-side application that runs on an MBaaS - our cloud execution environment. Client Apps communicate with Cloud Apps in order to access back-end functionality such as data storage, authentication, caching etc.

The Details section provides access to overview information regarding the Cloud App. This section allows users to edit and manage this data.

An App can be in one of two states, either Running or Stopped. The state of the App can be controlled by the Start App, Stop App, and Restart App buttons. If an App is Running, on device builds of that app will function as expected. However if the app is Stopped, on-device users will not be able to use the app if it relies on Cloud functionality.

There is also a list of general information such as the App ID, App API Key, name, etc. This information can be edited and updated from this section.

The built in Editor can be used to edit code within the Cloud App. The built in syntax highlighting feature makes it easier to distinguish between syntactical elements. Users can create new files and folders, with saved changes being automatically pushed back to the corresponding Git repository.

After a change has been made, the preview automatically refreshes so you can instantly see your changes take effect. Changes can also be pulled in from a Git Repository by performing a git pull.

The App Preview in the Editor section allows users to view how the current App appears on a number of selectable devices.

You can define environment variables using the Studio and those variables can be accessed in the cloud code. The Studio will show a list of current defined environment variables and current deployed environment variables for each cloud environment. You can also view the list of environment variables defined by the system.

// PIN_ENABLED is the environmental variable created in the Studio.
var pin_enabled = process.env.PIN_ENABLED  || true  // defaults to true if no value defined

// On the cloud side using node.js
exports.getEnvVariable = function(params, cb){
  var pin_enabled = process.env.PIN_ENABLED  || true

  return cb(null, {
    enabled : pin_enabled
  });
};

// On the client side
$fh.act({
  act : 'getEnvVariable',
  req : {}
  }, function(res){
   // run this in the event of success.
}, function(err){
   // run this in the event of failure.
});

The Data Browser section of the App Studio allows a developer to

For more information, see the Data Browser Guide.

The Deploy section allows a developer to:

The Deploy process for Node.js applications typically does the following:

The steps above will differ depending on the options chosen, the type of App and the presence & content of certain files.

There are 2 types of stats available in the Studio: App Endpoint stats and Custom Stats. These are found in the 'Stats' section for any Cloud Apps.

There are some common UI features in the charts that represent this stats data. The data can be downloaded in different formats (for example, csv). The date range can be altered using the scrollbar and sliders below each chart. Each line in a chart can be toggled on/off by clicking that item in the legend.

An app will generate events when certain actions are invoked against it. Those events will be recorded by the platform and presented to the developers through the App Studio and FHC. For example, when an app is deployed by an developer, the platform will record when the deployment happened, who invoked it and what are the results.

Each event has a category, a severity level and a name. The following events are generated by the platform at the moment:

Users can access current and archived App logs created in each App environment.

The endpoint security feature allows you to decide the level of security you wish to apply to your App’s endpoints.

A Service is a running Cloud App used by projects to integrate with back-end systems for example, an Oracle integration service. Services are added to one or more projects to make them available to Apps in that project.

In order to be able to create an instance of a Cloud Service, users must have either a Developer Admin Role or Developer Role assigned to their account, in order to be able to create and manage projects. Services can then be added to a project in the same way an App or Cloud Instance is added.

Service Administrators can provision new MBaaS microservices that allow developers access to various back-end systems. Users can choose from a number of available services. After a service has been provisioned, it is then available to be used within Projects on the Platform. By default, when a service is created, it is marked as private. In order for the service to be available to all projects on a domain, the 'Global Service' option must be enabled. This declares the service as being publically available.

Here you can access general overview information related to a specific service.

The Docs section contains an API documentation viewer, which clearly shows important aspects of the service’s API for each of its endpoints, such as:

All of this is automatically generated if the root directory of the service contains a README.md file adhering to the API Blueprint specification. To learn more about the specification, take a look at the API Blueprint Tutorial or refer to the Language Specification for a full reference.

The built in Editor allows users to edit cloud code related to their service instance. The built in syntax highlighting feature makes it easier to distinguish between syntactical elements. Users can create new files and folders, with saved changes being automatically pushed back to the corresponding Git repository.

After a change has been made, the preview automatically refreshes so you can instantly see your changes take effect. Changes can also be pulled in from a Git Repository by performing a 'git pull'.

The App Preview in the Editor section allows users to view how the current App appears on a number of selectable devices.

You can define environment variables using the Studio and those variables can be accessed in the cloud code. The Studio will show a list of current defined environment variables and current deployed environment variables for each cloud environment. You can also view the list of environment variables defined by the system.

The Data Browser section of the App Studio allows a developer to

For more information, see the Data Browser Guide.

The Deploy section allows users to manage the deployment of their current mBaaS code. Deployment targets can be created and selected, and deploys can be staged to either the live or development environments. As the Cloud Instance is being deployed, a deployment log is displayed, allowing users to closely examine all details of the deploy.

There are 2 types of stats available in the Studio: App Endpoint stats and Custom Stats. These are found in the 'Stats' section for any Cloud Instances.

There are some common UI features in the charts that represent this stats data. The data can be downloaded in different formats (for example, csv). The date range can be altered using the scrollbar and sliders below each chart. Each line in a chart can be toggled on/off by clicking that item in the legend.

An app will generate events when certain actions are invoked against it. Those events will be recorded by the platform and presented to the developers through the App Studio and FHC. For example, when an app is deployed by an developer, the platform will record when the deployment happened, who invoked it and what are the results.

Each event has a category, a severity level and a name. The following events are generated by the platform at the moment:

Users can access current and archived service logs created in each App environment.

The endpoint security feature allows you to decide the level of security you wish to apply to your App’s endpoints.