Since the Task Queue API launched in June, we've been thrilled withhow many developers have started using the API.Many developers have asked for more quota so that they can better utilize the API within their apps. We're pleased that we can now address these requests bysignificantly increasing the Task Queue quotas and are happy toannounce the following changes, effective from today:
Stay tuned for more enhancements to the Task Queue system in the coming months.
We're pleased to announce that you can now submit and comment on App Engine news and articles on a new App Engine specific section of the popular social media site, reddit. Our subreddit is for any articles, blog posts, or other content relevant to App Engine, and is actively moderated and maintained by the App Engine team. Registration takes seconds and allows you to submit, vote, and comment on new App Engine content. The top articles, as selected by the App Engine community, are shown in a widget on http://code.google.com/appengine/.
Be sure to check us out on the App Engine reddit - http://reddit.com/r/appengine
Due to two issues introduced in the 1.2.6 release of the Python SDK, we are releasing version 1.2.7 today. This is a bugfix-only release with just a few minor changes (no new features or functionality); all users of App Engine for Python should upgrade to the new version, available on our Downloads page.
The two issues were:
Both are now fixed in 1.2.7.
There is no corresponding release for the Java language version of App Engine (the Java SDK remains at 1.2.6).
The App Engine team is psyched to present version 1.2.6 of our SDK for both runtimes, Python and Java. This releases contains plenty of improvements and bugfixes, along with some exciting new features:
Incoming Email - Your App Engine app has been able to send email for some time ... but now, with 1.2.6, your app can also receive email. After enabling mail as an inbound service (just like XMPP), users can email your application at whatever@yourappid.appspotmail.com. Inbound messages are converted to HTTP requests (again, just like XMPP) which you can receive via webhook handler. Docs for Python, Java.
Delete an App - Our developers have been quite vocal with their desire to delete an App Engine application once it is no longer used (It's one of the top 5 most requested features on our issue tracker). Well, this feature is now available via the Admin Console! Just visit the Application Settings page for more information. Please be careful when deleting an app - the appid can never be reused after deletion. Learn more.
Datastore Stats - You can now see more detailed statistics about how your application data is stored in the Admin Console. This information can also be accessed programmatically. Docs for Python, Java.
More details can be found in the Release Notes. To download the new SDK and get coding, please visit the Downloads page.
We hope you've been enjoying the new XMPP API we shipped in App Engine release 1.2.5. We're always impressed with the cool scenarios our developers create!
A couple of Google engineers found the time to create cool App Engine demos using the XMPP API and we'd like to share them with you.
CrowdGuru - this app, courtesy of App Engine Developer Programs Engineer Nick Johnson, is a fun trivia game which crowdsources answers. Add crowdguru@appspot.com to your IM list and ask it a question. You can read up on full details of the design and implementation here.
Multi-Chat - David Symonds wasn't satisfied with simple person-to-person IM, so he built an IRC-like chat room system! Add multi-chat@appspot.com to your IM list and message it "/help" to find out how you can join channels and start chatting it up. Full source is available here, and a basic web interface is here.
Of course, please note that these apps are solely intended to demonstrate the power of the XMPP API - they are not official products in any form, nor are they supported. In particular, don't send any private or personally identifying information when chatting with these bots.
But definitely try them out and let us know what cool app experiences you are building with App Engine!
This week, Google App Engine and Twilio challenge you to build voice or voice-enhanced applications hosted on App Engine that use Twilio's voice application API to make and receive phone calls. Submit your app by October 4th to win a Dell Netbook from Twilio and $1000 of App Engine hosting credit from Google.
Twilio hosts a telephony in the cloud web service, allowing web developers to build scalable, reliable voice communications applications on web hosting platforms like Google App Engine. Put Twilio and App Engine together and you can build voice applications with features, scalability, and reliability that companies used to spend millions for.
Voice apps can be as sophisticated as an airline flight status hotline or a company PBX, or as simple as getting the weather by phone. For inspiration, check out what previous contest winners have built:
Where to Submit: http://contests.twilio.com/submit-your-twilio-project.htmlDeadline: October 4th at MIDNIGHT (Pacific Time)Prize: 1 Dell Netbook from Twilio and $1000 in Google App Engine hosting credit
Questions? Drop us a line at help@twilio.com
Guest Post by Danielle Morrill, Director of Marketing, Twilio
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