Webhooks

[elli]

I have been asked to implement a feature using the cbox.ws webhook, which sends a POST request to a specified URL (in this case, a Forums.net forum). (This example is in PHP, but as PHP is not an option here, it would be done in JavaScript.)

In the spirit of AJAX being against ProBoards' development guidelines, would using this webhook fall into a similar camp? It also requires sending a 200 OK response back to Cbox.

I'm not even sure that I could implement this feature with the data provided, but thought I should check if it would be allowed in the first place before proceeding.

[Brian]

Hi, elli.

If the request is being made to the forum itself it would be against the developer guidelines, but requests going to sites other than those on our service don't affect us so those don't violate any of the rules laid out there.

[elli]

Thanks Brian. Pretty sure the initial POST request is sent to the forum, you have to add the callback URL in Cbox's settings. And it's JSON data, so would need get/parse to use it.

Unless anyone has an idea for using this without sending a request to the forum, going to go with "No".

[Brian]

Is the purpose of this code to post something on the forum when a message is sent to the Cbox? I'm having trouble understanding what it's supposed to do based on the information on the page alone.

[elli]

Yeah, the documentation is not very clearly written. Basically it provides you with a copy of new messages as they're posted to the Cbox. The feature I've been asked to implement is a "NEW" notification that shows up on the button that triggers the Cbox on the forum.

[Brian]

I think what it really needs is an event listener so that you can run a Javascript event on the page upon changes to the messages within the Cbox.

Since the entire thing is reliant on a callback URL to send a specific type of request to I can't really think of anything compliant with the developer guidelines that would work short of coding and hosting a solution hosted on a different domain that can interpret and handle the request as necessary.

[elli]

Don't think I'd be able to use an event listener either, because the Cbox is an iframe and not on the same domain. Right?

[Brian]

Pretty much. I was just mentioning it for the sake of mentioning it in the hopes that the webhook wasn't the sole option they offered.

[elli]

Brian A good thought, though! Thanks for mentioning it. I've contacted them to see if they have any other option.