Zapier: Making developer’s life easy

Tudip

06 March 2018

What is Zapier?

Zapier is a web-based programmable service that allows end users or developer to integrate the web applications. The apps they utilize i.e the integration between two apps is called Zap.

There can be many Zaps in an application, and all Zaps exist around Triggers and Actions. If you divide your app’s functions into possible Triggers and Actions, you’ll start to visually perceive how Zaps works for you. It’s just like “If this… then that” scenario. It transpires seamlessly in the background once you’ve set it up.

Simple example of ZAP:

There are two apps named A and B. Let’s consider a ZAP scenario:

If user signup in the “App A”, then same user entry should get created in “ZAP B”. Instead of doing programming hard work and wasting lots of time, Zapier allows you to do this very easily.

Now, let’s consider a developer’s real life example,

Take Zaps between RedMine and Tudip Chat for example. The Redmine sanctions developers/client to engender tickets and track projects, and Tudip Chat is a searchable communication platform that keeps teams on the same page.

Anything incipient that transpires on RedMine can be considered a Trigger—such as an incipient ticket, an incipient issue, an incipient comment, an incipient milestone, etc.

A resulting Action in Tudip Chat could be an incipient notification or an incipient message. Connecting Redmine and Tudip Chat lets you turn RedMine Triggers into Tudip Chat Actions—automatically keeping anyone following a Tudip Chat board up to date on the status of a project in Redmine. Link Redmine with Google Sheets to log a project’s progress. The possibilities are illimitable.

Getting Technical: A look at integrating your App

Developing your app for Zapier is free and you can cull a coding library or Zapier UI. The Zapier Developer Platform is how you’ll integrate your app or API to Zapier, and it should take a developer roughly a week to build a consummated app for submission. Zaps work best when they’re built on both great utilizer experience and solid code. With that, you’ll want a project manager and engineer to both provide their perspectives and expertise.

Integrating your app’s API with Zapier is facile and you’ll only need to do it once. Developing integrations often coincides with lots of perpetual API maintenance, but Zapier makes sure this isn’t a hassle.

To get started, determine what kind of Zap you want to build:

Someone says I want to build a ZAP to send emails when a new user gets added. First thing I have to do as a developer is,

1. Create a developer account on Zapier.
2. Go to the Developers section.
3. Create a Web Builder App
4. Authentication: Authenticate your API. (Choose Authentication Scheme that your API using).
5. Create a trigger: (When User created.. do this stuff). You need to provide proper understandable and unique trigger name as this can be used in scripting later on.
6. You need to select the data source. (Method of trigger). There are 4 types of the method via you can create a trigger.
   • Polling: Polling repeatedly hits a REST endpoint looking for new data (Recommended)
7. Static Webhooks: Gives the user a URL to enter into your app
8. REST Hooks: Works similar to static webhooks, but Zapier system handles the subscriptions through your REST API.
9. Notification REST Hooks: “lightweight” REST Hooks as they only contain a callback URL to retrieve the object.
10. Add Polling URL: This URL is nothing but your API endpoint.
11. Save the trigger and you are done with the trigger.

How this trigger used?

1. When someone trying to ZAP with your APP, he will see create user Application.
2. He will choose your created trigger.
3. Then he will select the action that needs to be performed when trigger fired. For example:
4. Zapier allows you to create a ladder of actions.
5. Finally “ON” your ZAP.

Note: This all can be achieved by programmatically also.