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Programmer to help get data to and from AirTable, Webflow CMS or Google Sheets

Home Forums Jobs and Opportunities Programmer to help get data to and from AirTable, Webflow CMS or Google Sheets

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 21 total)
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  • #45999
    johngrigni
    Customer

    I have a client that wants to collect user data when they make a configuration in a verge3D app, and also let users pull up their own data from previous configurations. This may change into something more robust in the future, but at the moment this is still proof of concept. I need to know how much this would cost to implement.

    What I would like is a general purpose way to create, read, update and delete data that the owner of a hosted Google spreadsheet, Airtable or Webflow CMS could have access to. Ideally, I’d like to make this generally available to the community as well, either through tutorials or as an add-on. I realize each API may need to be a completely new workflow, so as a proof of concept to the client I’d start with whatever is easiest to do.

    Let me know how much such a thing would cost to create, either as a one off, or as a general use case, where all you would need is the API keys and an account to make a new connection.

    #46007
    xeon
    Customer

    Hi there,
    What kind of data is your client trying to collect. Depending on the type and country(ies) of roll out…there are legal and security impacts regarding how that data is managed. There are many approaches which one applies to this client is the real question.

    As an example…if my client was a little league baseball team and I was managing a roster of first names, player number’s and stats and the rollout was for any US state, then the data would fall under the rules of CCPA and there are certain rules and regulations regarding the storage and handling of that data. If I left out the player’s first name… then I would not have anything to worry about. You could use any method and the data could be exposed for that matter.

    However if your client was a pharmaceutical with patient information that has patients in the US and outside the US you would fall under CCPA, HIPAA and GDPR. A completely different solution requiring never showing anyone how the system works.

    What do you have?

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46008
    johngrigni
    Customer

    It’s measurements and various product data, finishes, maybe an address and project name, along with a user ID. That would be linked to a table with an email address for the user, not sure what else specifically.

    #46009
    xeon
    Customer

    ok…so is the address that of your customer or that of the user of the site? If it’s the customer then you don’t have anything to worry about…if it’s the user’s address, you have to follow applicable laws to secure, encrypt and make sure the data is deletable upon request.

    So let’s say I have a product configurator for a bookshelf. I get to pick the wood, the measurements, and the finishes. Once the product is configured the “configuration data” can be shared with the main website in a number of ways but because you are storing it with a user ID the website must have the ability to delete this information upon request of the user.

    You can store data and configurations in Verge using a dictionary, a list, or create an array using JavaScript. Once you have it stored in the right format you can then send it to the database. You can assign the necessary function to either buttons on the parent window or assign them to buttons you creat in verge.

    Luckily, unless you are building the entire website, ordering system and everything else, your customer probably already has a database associated with their website, such as SQL, Oracle..etc. They will probably even have a cookie policy you will want to become familiar with.

    You will need your customer’s IT team/person to create a table within their database and give you access. You could then push your data to the table, in the same manner, you submit data via a secure web form You could use JavaScript, PHP, etc. There are other ways as well…this is just a simplified example. Usually, the company’s IT department will dictate the method based on their internal security requirements and give you access to an API or other method they prefer.

    If your client is a small company that doesn’t have an IT team that doesn’t have a database you have a big choice to make. Is the profit from the job sufficiently large? Will your insurance cover you in the event of data/security breach? Will you be responsible for updates and maintenance to ensure continued security during its use? Will the client give you a full liability waiver? How will security testing be performed to ensure what you built is of “professional standard” should you ever go to court? These questions always have me passing on small clients when it comes to database work but everyone has their own level of risk and reward acceptance.

    Because there are so many permutations and so many solutions I cant give you a more specific answer. Once you have selected or been told what database you are going to use and how you are going to store that data in Verge…I will help you with a plan to move to the DB securely.

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46010
    xeon
    Customer

    Since you are using AirTable…you can use a simple Get/Post to submit the data. I would not recommend using google sheets. Depend on the private nature of the data you might be able us a DATA URI and move the data to the browser URL to be processed by URL. Like I said so many ways to do this.

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46012
    johngrigni
    Customer

    Thanks for helping me understand the complications of data collection. I apologize for my ignorance; there’s a reason I use no-code/low-code solutions as often as I can.

    The address would be the shipping address chosen by the end-user for the installation of the fabricated product – it could be their shop or it could be the home where it is being installed or even a third party contractor.

    If necessary I could push that off to their ordering system and not worry about it for this proof-of-concept demo, just collect sizes and finishes in a way they can revisit later. If my client likes the demo I can worry about sending data to their system, and that would need it’s own estimate for cost. I will get in touch with him to see what he says about their system, but I still need an idea how much the proof-of-concept demo will cost.

    So if you think Airtable is the easiest to implement, how much would it cost? Would this be a general solution, or would it have to be entirely re-written for a each use-case that still used Airtable? I’m not a programmer (obviously) so I don’t know what is involved in “a simple Get/Post to submit the data.” I know the Send Data puzzle uses a Post http request, so I guess that’s half of it there.

    I would prefer that whatever you make be as flexible as possible, even to the point of sharing it with the community here either as a tutorial/example, or even a plug-in.

    #46014
    xeon
    Customer

    Well since this is just a proof of concept you could use tools you might feel more comfortable with:

    One of the frequent forum users has created a plug-in that will do the trick.

    https://gliftek.com/verge_3d_plugins/user_docs.html?page=web_storage

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46015
    johngrigni
    Customer

    I have considered that. The only drawback is that it doesn’t work if you change computers or browsers.

    #46019
    xeon
    Customer

    You are correct. So in order to have a system that will work if you login to a different computer or browser will require the website have user login/account process. This also help because they allow better control as they relate to CCPA and GDPR.

    Is your client wanting you to prove you can build a complete system before paying for it? If so….run. Just drop the project and run.

    Because an account management website is a common place thing these days…I would think they would understand (Amazon, gmail, Hulu, netflix…etc). So they should not need to see a proof of concept that proves that this concept worksss. I could see them maybe wanting to see proof of concept of a verge3d configurator. I would show them an existing one…if I didn’t have one created.
    I personally believe you should have a good relationship with your client where you can have real conversations about what they want, show them real examples. Then if they want it…you should be able to bill for you time creating and designing it…but thats my position and yours is probably different.

    So if you are in that situation where you have to build it to prove it you will have to decide how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.
    You could simply create an array and store it on your web server as a JSON or CSV and then read it back in the next time the game is played.
    I would suggest creating a user name and store the file based on user name so it could be pulled up the next time. Its a proof of concept but definitely not secure but also the cheap simple way. It has problems too…if too people have the same name…it would cause issues…but again..proof of concept…how far do you want to go?

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46022
    johngrigni
    Customer

    I’d like to point out that in several of my posts I’ve asked for a cost. What I’m putting together is an estimate to produce the proof-of-concept. I apologize if that was not clear. I may not be a programmer but I’m not an idiot; I’ve been in business for over twenty years. And I’m not asking you to provide anything for free but an estimate for how much it would cost.

    As for the alternate solution you just described, saving a JSON or CSV to the web server, that would be the less appealing solution since:
    1 – Airtable and similar services already have a good UI for accessing the data on the backend
    2 – the client can use Zapier to further extend what they do with the data
    3 – it would require server side scripting like PHP or NodeJS, so I couldn’t demo it on the Verge3D Network

    So I’m asking again, can you provide a cost for the code necessary to create, read, update, and delete records on a service like Airtable from Verge3D given that the person trying to implement it has very very limited coding experience?

    #46023
    xeon
    Customer

    Sorry if I offended you in some way. I am not reading your other posts so I was just thinking you were looking for ways to do this and not looking for a quote so I apologize for not catching that.

    For a quote on doing this please contact John.Ramirez@r66d.com.

    I have forwarded this thread to him so he will be able to get you all the info you need.

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46025
    johngrigni
    Customer

    More exasperated than offended. I’ve asked around on the forums before on this topic and usually gotten a response that there is a simple way to do this but no one actually tells me what it is.

    Thanks for referring this on, and I hope I haven’t offended you either.

    #46027
    xeon
    Customer

    Not offended at all. I am sorry I missed the intent of your request. John, just sent me an email stating he received your email. Your in good hands with him he will get you everything you need.

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46052
    xeon
    Customer

    Hi there,

    John sent over the quote. I was just thinking you do have another approach that you might want to try. Since Verge3D has a plugin for WordPress you could use that too. All the information is online: https://www.soft8soft.com/docs/manual/en/introduction/Wordpress-Plugin.html#Uploading_Applications

    Xeon
    Route 66 Digital
    Interactive Solutions - https://www.r66d.com
    Tutorials - https://www.xeons3dlab.com

    #46054
    johngrigni
    Customer

    I’ve used that before, but it has no read-in ability.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 21 total)
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