Systems | Development | Analytics | API | Testing

August 2023

Cursors Everywhere: An experiment on shared cursors for every website

Learn about Ably DevRel Engineer Tom Camp's experience with creating a Chrome Plugin to allow anyone to see one another’s cursors on any web page, and the technical considerations required. About Ably Ably is an enterprise-grade pub/sub messaging platform. We make it easy to efficiently design, quickly ship, and seamlessly scale critical realtime functionality delivered directly to end-users. Every day, we deliver billions of realtime messages to millions of users for thousands of companies.

How to build a chat app like WhatsApp

When was the last time you WhatsApped someone? In all likelihood, the answer is probably not that long ago. First released in 2009, WhatsApp quickly became the default setting for instant messaging in much of the world. By 2014, it defined the market so much that it was acquired by Facebook – and it has pretty much remained a leader in the chat space ever since.

How to use Next.js and Recharts to build an information dashboard

One of the common methods that businesses and organizations use to make sense of their complex and scattered data is data visualization. Data visualizations provide a quick way to understand the masses of data collected - - providing easy access to insights needed to drive growth. A dashboard is a data visualization tool that is commonly found in enterprise web applications.

Cursor Everywhere: An experiment on shared cursors for every website

Working with collaboration tools like Miro and VS Code Live Share has transformed my expectations of collaborative interactions. However, I found myself trying to move my cursor around websites during calls with colleagues, despite not sharing my screen. It was as if I believed they could see my cursor. I even caught myself saying, 'and when I click here...', only to realize I was sharing with nothing but the void. I decided to do something about this with a project I'm calling 'Cursors Everywhere'.

Host engaging livestreams with api.video & Ably in React

In the world of video livestreaming, emojis are the ultimate game-changers! These tiny icons pack a powerful punch, instantly amplifying audience engagement and sparking a connection with viewers. Beyond being adorable expressions, emojis add an emotional touch to interactions, breaking down barriers between content creators and their audience. From heartfelt appreciation to genuine excitement, emojis speak volumes with their appearance.

How to scale WebSockets to millions of connections

WebSockets are hard to scale, it's true. The stateful connection that makes them so powerful for two-way realtime communication also makes them tricky to load balance efficiently, but that isn't to say it can't be done. In this video, Alex Booker (@CodeCast) from Ably runs you through the technical challenges scaling WebSockets before outlining the patterns used to scale WebSockets to thousands of concurrent connections and beyond. Theoretically, the approach to system design outlined in this video can scale to millions of concurrent WebSocket connections in a production environment.

Why transportation and logistics apps with realtime updates need elasticity

Elasticity is far from a solved problem – especially for transportation and logistics companies providing realtime updates. Prior to 2006, startups finding sudden success had to drive – often in a hurry – to a store like Best Buy to purchase new servers and support an unexpected surge in users.

Ably Kafka Connector 3.0: Increased throughput, improved error handling, Confluent Cloud accreditation

We are excited to announce the release of the Ably Kafka Connector 3.0. Version 3 brings a host of improvements, including: Overall, the Ably Kafka connector v3.0 makes the management of Kafka pipelines extension to millions of web and mobile users simpler and more reliable.