Are there 3rd party Facebook Application Development tests available online? - facebook

I am interested in hiring a virtual developer to write a Facebook application. But I would like to be able to have them complete a Facebook development test first (that I will pay them to take).
Not really interested in the multiple choice "pass/fail" test, but a test that requires actual code to be written.
Was wondering if there was a place where I could find a "test" that I could give potential Facebook Developers, and then I will have a developer friend evaluate their code.
Any thoughts or suggestions on how a non-developer could test the Facebook Developer skills of a virtual developer before hiring that developer?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've been developing Facebook apps for over 3 years and I know of no "tests" available. Facebook changes their API and platform so frequently, any tests would quickly become worthless and/or meaningless. The development platform is a bit of a mess right now with the switch the Graph API, Javascript API, iframe only apps and the requirement for using a secure connection.
I would suggest just starting with Facebook's own preferred developer's program. But just because a developer is not on the list, doesn't mean they are not a very knowledgeable and skilled Facebook platform developer.
Just for the record, I am not advertising or offering any services.
https://developers.facebook.com/preferreddevelopers/

Related

How to get started developing for Internet.org (free basics)

Question about internet.org which is facebook's platform for the developing world.
I am a developer sitting in the US and I would like to develop a website for this service.
How do I access this service in the US? Is it even possible?
Can a developer based in the US realistically develop for this service or do I need to be on one of the preferred networks e.g. Reliance in India?
There's a page on facebook named internet.org - getting started for developers
Which include:
Build Your App
Technical Guidelines
Build your service to be compatible with the Free Basics Platform.
Participation Guidelines
Comply with the Participation Guidelines.
Test Your Service
Ensure your service is mobile compatible by testing with a mobile emulator.
Submit for Technical Review
Prepare your Submission
Learn what to expect from the technical review process and read tips on preparing your submission.
Showcase Examples
See examples of services optimized for the Free Basics Platform.
Submit for Technical Review
Submit your service for Free Basics Platform technical review.
Submission Feedback
Understand Your Submission Feedback
Understand your submission responses and read tips on fixing common issues.

Wildfire vs Apps

please excuse the beginner question but my research here shows nothing but specific programming questions.
I am currently using Wildfire app to create fb pages for contests and whatnot but don't like the WYSIWYG nature of them. I would like to be able to build pages within Facebook to have more control over their layouts and design.
Is anyone here familiar with Wildfire app and could you please explain to me how one would break away from 3rd party apps like this?
On the same note:
Without going crazy trying to create fb games deeply rooted in facebook, is it possible to build fb pages/apps such as sweepstakes, contests which may or may not post to users walls using only html/css/javascript?
Or is one forced to be a PHP developer?
If you don’t want to use 3rd party apps any more, then naturally that means creating your own apps.
You don’t necessarily need PHP or any server-side scripting language – at least most of the stuff you can do in apps can be done client-side as well. (There are only a few aspects, f.e. when publishing Open Graph actions you can specify that the publishing can only be done using the app secret – that means no one can “fake” publish an action as coming from your app, but it also requires to be done server-side, because you do not want to publish your app secret to the client. And the same for any other requests that will require your app token – you don’t want to give that away to the client either.)
But you will still need web hosting that has a valid SSL certificate. (And having your own domain as well is recommendable, because there’s always threads here about people getting user access to their apps blocked because the whole domain they are running their apps under is classified as being spammy by Facebook, even if its not their own fault.)

AppStore and alternatives for the following app

I got an offer to develop a simple iPhone app that would call a web service with user's credentials. An user would get the list of files that can be downloaded (.pdfs) and could then download the wanted file. Simple enough...
Now, I've had bad experience with publishing on AppStore. Basically, they refused one app because according to them our RSS reader for a online newspaper wasn't in accordance with their guidelines. They said that the application was a simple web aggregator which I won't argue now. Not now :)
So, back to the new app problem :)
I would like to know what are the options for distributing the new app. The client has a web page and wants to give it's visitor this app to get that data from their phones too.
Technically, the app doesn't have to be a native app. It can be a phoneGap solution too since it's quite simple regarding the functionality. Sincerely, I am afraid that there is no way that Apple will allow this app to be uploaded to their store being native, phoneGap...
P.S.
I would also like to know is there a way to distribute an "internal" (not publicly available) iPhone app? For example, a company needs an internal tool for their 500 employees, but can't afford to go through the process of conecting each device and compiling the app for each device individually...
If you want to sell customized apps to companies, you should consider the B2B program.
if you are in an enterprise that wants to deploy apps inside your company, the Enterprise Developer Program is a good choice.
For internal:
100 test devices.
alot of iphones with the distribution profile after the 100 devices
with the enterprise:
https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/enterprise/

Twitter / Facebook integration

I am on a mid way of porting an iPhone application to Windows Phone 7. In that iPhone application it is providing provision for submitting score details through Facebook / Twitter mail etc. So I need to implement the same functionality in WP7, too. How can I implement this functionality in my Windows Phone project?
While searching I found some methods with the help of web browser. But that is not useful in my case. In my app I need to log in through the the designed page and need to update the score status to the social networks through my own view.
Please help me to achieve the functionality in my app. (If anybody has sample apps or links please attach that information, too.)
You can use the ShareStatusTask to post to facebook, twitter msn etc.
ShareStatusTask shareStatusTask = new ShareStatusTask();
shareStatusTask.Status = "My Score: xxxx";
shareStatusTask.Show();
I don't know if it's exactly what you're looking for, but ScoreLoop provides a free high score system as well as social network integration for Windows Phone games. I'm currently migrating my homegrown scores systems to ScoreLoop, looks good so far.

Will a Safari-based app for iPhone be accepted to the iTunes store?

I'm about to begin development of an iPhone app. The app itself is fairly basic, and I want a speedy turnaround time.
I'm a web developer myself, specialising in traditional web technologies such as PHP/MySQL; I have no experience in Objective-C.
My plan was to create a very basic iPhone app that is just a Safari service that passes some basic variables to a URL. That URL is the app built in PHP and housed on my servers, this way I can create the app very quickly without needing to outsource anything.
My question is whether apps of this nature would be accepted into the iTunes store, or would they be out-right rejected? Anyone's experiences or comments are very welcome.
Thanks
It could go either way, but mind bullet 12.3 from the App Store Review Guidelines:
12.3 Apps that are simply web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links, may be rejected
In my opinion, a simple UIWebView wrapper around your web site comes close to the definition of a simple web clipping. Your approval may very well hinge on your luck in drawing a sympathetic reviewer.
It really depends upon your application...These kinds of application have been approved in the past but again I am saying that it depends on many factors.
Try to test your app in every possible manner and also keep in mind the memory issues.
Best of luck!!!
Should be fine - its called a web app and there is software out there that will do just this for you.
All you need to do is to make a UIWebView and put your web app into it.
Also look at http://jqtouch.com. That gives you some idea of what you can do web-side. :)
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Get "2in1" by combining the power of
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Yes, it will be accepted as long as you stick with HTML, CSS, JS and Obj-C on the client side. You still need to wrap it in an iPhone app. In my experience, the best way to this is to use http://www.phonegap.com/ or a similar framework.
You'll have the option of deploying you app through iTunes or as a regular web app (you users will be able to create a link to your web app right on their springboards)
It SHOULD be accepted, granted you test test test and make it look just like a native application. Also you'll have to make sure that your server is never down, or if the application can't reach it just display an error message. You also have to keep in mind that there are a lot of iPod Touch users, and they don't have access to the internet all the time. Which means that chances are you'll get a BUNCH of 1 star reviews