Tech Blogs & Info

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In an iterative development methodology, in Agile the entire project team partakes in the activities. The requirements develop as the iterations advance, through collaboration between the customer and the self-organizing teams. During development, Coding and Testing are performed interactively and incrementally and the end-product obtained ensures quality and is as per customer requirements.

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Music is an integral part of human society. It allows humans to share and express their sentiments with others and acts as a medium of relaxation. Making music is an art and being listened to that music is the reward. Being an artist, the most essential part is getting noticed by your audience. But finding the right distribution platform is a tough task. The advancements in digital technologies have magnified the reach and quality of music & changed the way consumers interact with them.

Music distribution today implies getting your music listed on different streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, etc. Digital music distributors are providing a quick and easy way to enable artists to make their music available worldwide with just a few clicks. Digital Music Distribution is the key to prosper in the music industry. With easy and reliable service, music distribution platforms enable artists to level up their music careers.

What is music distribution?

Previously what was the only medium of distribution such as – CDs, vinyl, etc, is now transforming. Music distributors are now moving to online platforms to connect with a larger audience with ease. Artists are now publishing their tracks on Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Music, etc for distribution.

The rise of digital distribution is changing the face of traditional music distribution. Digital mediums provide much-needed access, convenience, and quality to the listeners. The distribution of music through digital platforms has now become inevitable.

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In Information Technology, User Interface Design or UI refers to the user interface design for websites, software, or applications. It focuses on programming the look of things, with a view to improving the user experience and facilitating usability.

Interface elements include:

Input Controls: text fields, checkboxes, buttons, radio buttons, list boxes, dropdown lists, toggles, & date fields.

Navigational Components: slider, search field, breadcrumb, tags, icons, pagination.

Informational Components: message box, notifications, icons, progress bar, tooltips, modal windows

Containers: accordion

Steps to become a self-taught UI designer:

Step 1: Learn the fundamentals of UX design.

Step 2: Acquire an eye for good design.

Step 3: Research & invest in the right software.

Step 4: Build a strong and diverse work portfolio.

Step 5: Be open to feedback (ask and learn from it)

Step 6: Get ready to acquire real-world work experience.

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A growing ecosystem, cryptocurrency is slowly making advances into the world of traditional financial systems. With the number of users of different cryptocurrencies growing rapidly, both private and public sectors are willing to inculcate the idea of adopting cryptocurrencies in their financial system for making payments and as an investment. With the growing digital advances, this technology is helping to develop and evolve different varieties of encryption techniques to create a secured & reliable cryptocurrency network.

Cryptocurrency can now be seen as a developing ecosystem that is steadily infiltrating the existing traditional financial systems around the world. Both the private and public sectors are warming to the concept of using cryptocurrencies in their financial transactions.

Understanding Bitcoin:

With the failures caused by the centralized financial system, a need for a secure, transparent, and accessible financial system that offers transparency and better transactional security is the need of the hour. With an aim to replace some conventional financial processes, cryptocurrencies offer financial freedom and credibility to their users. A decentralized form of currency, Bitcoin employs peer-to-peer technology, that facilitates several functions such as transaction processing and verification to be carried out collectively. Bitcoins are created digitally through the process of mining. Fundamentally different from a fiat currency, Bitcoin is wholly dependent on the willingness of the investors to pay for it.

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Rails are useful while implementing CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Destroy) for the models. The data gets deleted, once the whole page is reloaded. Without page reload, the data needs to be removed with functions like deletion of data. Only then the user can call Ajax in Rails.

The need to call ajax for deletion without reloading the page:

Ajax enables web pages to update asynchronously by exchanging data with the web server. This indicates that it is possible to update specific parts of a web page without reloading the entire page.

Advantages of AJAX:

With AJAX, the user can send and receive data asynchronously without reloading the web page. AJAX allows the user to send important data to the server. Only the valuable information from the client-side is routed to the server-side. It makes the application more interactive.

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Things your remote training strategy is missing. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, an increasing number of employees were compelled to figure from home thanks to the social distancing guidelines and norms set by the businesses. With both public and private organizations forced to adopt a remote training model in response to the COVID-19 crisis, companies are investing more and more money into eLearning technologies to train their staff.

The advantages of remote training programs are remarkable. It gives every employee access to the training they require. It enables learners to engage with the terms and deliver remote training. But not every remote educational program is effective.  By ensuring an efficient remote training strategy, organizations can increase the probabilities that it'll meet the requirements of their workforce.

Does Your Remote educational program Include These Essential Features? There are a couple of specific factors every remote training strategy should have. Without them, the training won’t produce the specified effect, and organizations won’t receive the aspired ROI.

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As a workflow engine, flor takes in input process definitions and executes them. These executions, in turn, call pieces of Ruby code or external scripts to perform the actual work. Those pieces of code and scripts are referred to as "taskers".

The flor workflow engine can be created as follows by installing the gem ‘flor/unit’ and asking the flor library inside the ruby file.

1) Add the command to your gem file:

gem ‘flor’

2) Run: bundle update.

3) Use the basic control-flow pattern in flor.

Sequence / cursor.

Parallel Split.

Synchronization.

4) Create a ruby file and add this code to it.

5) "Require flor" gem for using them in the entire program file.

6) Database connection:

The database is used to store the execution process. The user can use MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite DB. The sequel does not support the MongoDB adapter.

Use the below-mentioned syntax while using the SQLite database.

Use this syntax while using the MySQL database.

7) Starting and launching the flor unit execution:

To begin the execution flow of flor, it is important to start the process using the ‘flor’ gem. After starting, it's time to launch. During launch execution, it is important to mention the tasker to perform, according to the flow of execution.

Mentioned below are a few Basic Control flow patterns that can be used. Let's explore how to execute the taskers in various patterns.

a) Sequence:

Executes the 'child' expressions(taskers) in sequence.

Output:

b) Parallel Split:

Here tasker performs concurrently. It replies to its parent node when both taskers have replied.

Output:

c) Synchronization:

It is the simplest flor synchronization tool. The concurrence waits (by default) for all its children to reply.

Output:

8) Adding tasker and Implementation class:

While adding the tasker it is required to specify the class where it will be executed. The implementation class will be ruby, which is inherited from ‘BasicTasker’. It also consists of an execution message.

The below code highlights how the user can perform the tasks with all the implementation related to the task. The user can fetch the data from DB and execution.

9) Tree format for flor:

In the below code, task ‘a’ and task ‘b’ is the child of sequence. In flor language, indentation holds more important.

In the below example, task ‘a’ is the child of sequence and task ‘b’ is the child of task ‘a’.

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A continuous process success, E-commerce requires meticulous work every day. One of the leading platforms, Shopify does all the heavy lifting for your business. The key to running a successful Shopify store is making every transaction count. From creating to running your eCommerce store, Shopify manages a lot of things. It helps businesses easily target their customers’ interests through their online stores.

Shopify enables sellers to have complete control over their customers’ experiences. From rearranging products to highlighting placements, businesses can use their online store to directly establish connections with their audience and encourage more transactions. To attract buyers and retain loyal customers, the following tips will help you curate a successful online Shopify store

1. Conversion rate: Establishing a strong foundation to estimate success.

The main idea behind establishing an online Shopify store is to drive more traffic and more people who will purchase in your online shop. Conversion rate helps to measure results brought in by effective marketing campaigns. They help to understand how many people took the desired action and signifies the consistent decision taken by the audience. One of the most efficient ways to measure conversion rate is through Google Analytics. It helps businesses stay abreast with sales and user behavior.

2. Content: The key to more sales & gain

Great content is the key to higher sales and more profits for an online store. Your content is a reflection of your brand's established reputation and it highlights the quality attached to your brand. Hence, it is crucial to not only provide a visual template but also a copy that sells.

Tips on writing engaging content that sells:

Brief product descriptions

Interactive landing page/homepage

About Us page that builds credibility and trust

Content that prompts action

Engaging video content

Appealing headlines for huge UX impact

With content being the foundation for a successful online business, businesses need to pay attention to efficient content marketing strategies in their marketing plan to accomplish the task of engaging organically with the target audience.

3. Audience: A backbone to offer a personalized shopping experience

Understanding the audience, to whom you are selling your products, enables businesses to provide exceptional communication and transparency in transactions. The “one size fits all” approach doesn’t work for online shoppers as they require a personalized e-commerce experience. With the audience and market growing and evolving rapidly, it is important to provide value-added insight when it comes to Shopify online stores. Offering personalization and adjustment according to your target audience makes it unique and helps you stand out among your competitors. Today, setting up an online shop and waiting for the customers to roll in, is an approach that's bound to fail. It is mandatory to engage with potential customers via email and social media platforms.

From opening a storefront to showcasing products, accepting payments, and engaging with customers, Shopify offers businesses all the essential tools required to manage each of those activities. It presents businesses with the foundation to run a successful eCommerce business with ease. Shopify provides merchants with complete autonomy over the marketplace with guaranteed customer experiences and interaction. With the freedom that encourages more conversions, businesses can craft each element of their online shop with guided strategies.

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Here are the steps to add toastr with the webpack.

1) Add toastr js with yarn from terminal

yarn add toastr

2) Require toastr in app/javascript/packs/application.js

global.toastr = require("toastr")

3) Create app/javascript/stylesheets/application.scss file to import custom or library css files

4) Import toastr css in app/javascript/stylesheets/application.scss

@import 'toastr'

5) Import app/javascript/stylesheets/application.scss file in app/javascript/packs/application.js

import "../stylesheets/application"

6) Add the following code in layouts/application.html.erb

<% unless flash.empty? %>

  <script type="text/javascript">

     <% flash.each do |f| %>

       <% type = f[0].to_s.gsub('alert', 'error').gsub('notice', 'info')..gsub('notice', 'success') %>

          toastr['<%= type %>']('<%= f[1] %>');

       <% end %>

   </script>

<% end %>

7) Let’s use the controller file

def create

 @blog = Blog.new(blog_params)

  respond_to do |format|

     if @blog.save

        format.html { redirect_to @blog, flash: {success: 'Blog Created Successfully'}}

       else

          format.html { render :new }

         end

    end

end

Output:

Conclusion:

Toastr understands error or is it successful, we are replacing flash’s alert and notice keys with error and success respectively.

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The Kernel module is incorporated by Object class, which makes its methods available throughout the Ruby program. They can be called without a receiver or functional form. Hence, they are often referred to as functions. With several built-in methods available in Ruby, they help to reduce manual calculations and lines of code and thereby helps to increase the performance and speed of the application. Some of the pre-defined methods are as mentioned below:

Collect :

This function returns a new array by passing each element as a parameter to block and invoking a block for every element. The generated result is then used as the given element in a new array.

Ex: a = [ "a", "d", "b", "e"]

a.collect {|x| x + "!" }

a

join() :

The join() function returns a string created by converting every element of the array to a string and separates them by a SepString.

Ex: [ "a", "b", "c" ].join => "abc"

[ "a", "b", "c" ].join("-") => "a-b-c"

uniq() :

This function returns a new array by removing all the duplicate values in arr.

Ex: a = [ "a", "a", "b", "b", "c" ]

a.uniq => ["a", "b", "c"]

include? :

This function returns the value "true" if the given object is present in arr [(that is, if any object == anObject), false otherwise].

Ex: a = [ "a", "k", "q"]

a.include?("k") => true

a.include?("z") => false

flatten :

It returns a new array in the form of one-dimensional flattening of the array (recursively). That is, for every element present, it extracts its elements into a new array.

Ex: a = [ 2, 3, [4, [5, 6] ] ]

Empty? :

The ".empty?" method returns the value "true" if the string length is zero.

Ex: a= 10

a.empty? => false

b = “”

b. empty? => true

Gsub :

The gsub method replaces every reference of the first parameter with the second parameter in the string.

Ex: "ruby is cool".gsub("cool", "very cool") #=> "ruby is very cool"

finite? :

It returns the value "true" if flt is a valid IEEE floating-point number.

Ex: flt.finite? → true or false

infinite? :

It returns the value 'nil', '-1', or '+1' depending on whether flt is 'finite', '-infinity', or '+infinity'.

(0.0).infinite? → nil

(-1.0/0.0).infinite? → -1

(+1.0/0.0).infinite? → 1

round :

It returns a number rounded to the nearest integer or equivalent to.

def round

return floor(self+0.5) if self > 0.0

return ceil(self-0.5) if self < 0.0

return 0.0

end

Ex: 1.5.round → 2

sum :

It returns a basic n-bit checksum of the characters in the str, where n is the optional parameter, defaulting to 16. The result is the sum of the binary value of each character in (str modulo 2n - 1). This is not a good checksum.

Ex: str.sum(aFixnum=16 ) → anInteger

pluck :

The pluck function returns the array and splits the ActiveRecord query method chain. Hence it is suggested to be careful when the query is called on the result.

Ex: User.where(name: “ABC”).pluck(:id)

Convert string array to integer array and generating the sum of the elements :

Ex: quizz_score = [“20” “30” “50”]

quizz_exam_percentage = quizz_score.map(&:to_i).sum

quizz_exam_percentage = 100

Conclusion: 

With several ruby methods available, in the above-mentioned ways these methods can be called and executed.

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Have you invested in Shopify development but are facing issues with generating more traffic? Well, one of the reasons for low user engagement can be a high bounce rate. Due to this, you may be losing out on several sale opportunities.

Fast page speed and site performance are essential factors to success in the world of e-commerce. Your Shopify E-Commerce website should load super quickly to avoid low user engagement, high bounce rates, and to not lose out on the sale opportunities. If you have a running Shopify E-Commerce website and looking to optimize your Shopify e-commerce store’s speed for maximum sales conversions, the followings points will help you to significantly increase your site’s loading speed and performance. ​Let’s have a look!

Choosing a Fast and Responsive Theme

The speed of your site store speed depends mainly on the theme. Hence, it is always advisable to look for a fast and responsive theme for the Shopify e-commerce store. Once the theme is selected, it is important to keep it up to date to avoid any errors or slowdowns. Before installing the Shopify theme, it is suggested to run the theme’s preview page through Google PageSpeed Insights and check the suggestions to make the page loading faster for an enhanced user experience.

Compress your images

E-commerce sites are usually image-heavy. If product photos or other graphics aren’t compressed, it can slow down the page loading time. JPEG image format generally has a smaller file size as compared to PNGs. Calibrating your images down to the appropriate size can not only decrease the file size but also shave off the excess page load time. Shopify’s app ecosystem offers numerous options to automate such tasks.

Enhance Performance with AMP

Considering the surging use of mobile phones, your Shopify store must be compatible with mobile phone users as well. While most shoppers operate and shop from their smartphones: it becomes important to guarantee that the Shopify web store is mobile-friendly and has a quick loading time. Shopify allows easy to build Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) that facilitate quick loading time for a better user experience.

Implement lazy loading functionality

Lazy loading allows store visitors to load the product images as they scroll through the store page instead of loading them all at once, which might result in a longer upfront load time.

Minimize Redirects and Broken Links

Many redirects and broken links can cause a performance issue on your Shopify store. Unnecessary redirects create speed issues and can affect the overall load time of the website store. The easiest way to minimize the number of redirects and broken links is by avoiding unnecessary redirects and fixing the broken links.

Using PageSpeed Insights Tool

PageSpeed Insights helps to analyze mobile and desktop performance. An effective tool by Google, PageSpeed Insights provides PageSpeed score and suggestions for the Shopify store page to make the website faster. The tool provides the essential elements for mobile and desktop such as optimizing images, eliminating render-blocking JavaScript & CSS and avoiding landing page redirects.

Reducing the Number of Apps Installed

The majority of apps downloaded via Shopify can add excess JavaScript or CSS files to the store. Even when the app is not in use, the JavaScript or CSS files keep running in the background, thereby slowing the site performance. Hence, it is essential to go through the store and check any irrelevant apps that are not in use and remove them.

Minimize the Number of HTTP Requests

Whenever a visitor visits and loads one of the web pages in the browser, several additional files are loaded including CSS, JavaScripts, design images, and much more. Thus, reducing the HTTP requests and combining & inlining your CSS scripts can work wonders in increasing the loading time of the Shopify store. Other factors that can be considered included minimizing the use of design images, converting images to Base64 code and limiting the number of social buttons on the page.

Organizing the Tracking Code with Google Tag Manager

Adding separate tracking codes for AdWords conversions, Google Analytics, and remarketing tags can make the process longer and eventually slow down the overall store performance. Google Tag Manager allows the user to store all the tags in one place.

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When integrating Rails with a third-party application, it is essential to have a Google Client ID and a secret key. The following steps will guide you on how to get your Google client ID and secret key.

Step 1: Browse the Google Developer portal.

Google Developers Console.

Step 2: Login into your existing google account or, else create a new account.

Step 3: On the dashboard, click on the dropdown menu as shown in the image.

Step 4: Click on New Project.

Step 5: Click on Create button.

Step 6: Choose the Enable APIs and Services option.

Step 7: Search for the Google Play Android Developer API. You can even scroll down to the Mobile section as indicated in the image attached below.

Step 8: Select the Google Play Android Developer API.

Step 9: Choose the Enable option to activate the key.

Step 10: Click on Create credentials.

Step 11: Click on OAuth Client ID.

Step 12: Select the Application Type by clicking on the dropdown menu.

Step 13: Select the web application option.

Step 14: Click on Add URL.

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An imprecise LMS selection process may lead to wrong LMS selection which may cost several issues related to migration, waste of time and money, contractual obligations. To ensure that your organization's requirements are fulfilled while choosing a Learning Management System for your association, it’s crucial that you adopt a selection strategy. This LMS guide will help first-time buyers to select the LMS best suited to your organization. The problematic aspect for anyone responsible for building their first online courses comes when it’s time to select the right online learning platform for their unique requirements.

Any company wanting to onboard its employees and train them will require a full-fledged Learning Management System (LMS). With numerous products populating the marketplace, it’s natural for organizations, starting to build their online training program, to get confused while deciding which platform will work for them. Before tackling the LMS arrangement, it is important to consider several questions:

With numerous e-learning platforms available in the market, it is essential to narrowing the LMS selection checklist for your organization's needs?

LMS Checklist: To explore many LMS products, here are some points to consider-

What Do You Want to Accomplish?

The purpose to onboard your customers, employees, or enable your channel partners and value-added resellers.

Features Required to Deliver the Instruction?

All Learning Management Systems include an array of specialties, which can district first-time buyers. Having a curated list of essential features, such as the analysis system for tracking learner's outcomes, learning space for learners, or the ability to sustain multiple content formats. Pinpointing these elements is important to dispense the content seamlessly.

Who Are the Learners?

In addition to understanding the technical aspects of LMS, it is also important to understand the learner audience who will be accessing and interacting with the system.

Functional Requirements:

Without wasting resources on redundant functions, choosing the right LMS that delivers the right perks based on the organization's needs. Functional requirements are the basic LMS features that learners will be using while operating the LMS. Listed below are must-have features your LMS should have:

Customer relationship management (CRM)

Talent management

Workforce management

Human resource information system

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

LMS Flexibility:

An important aspect to consider during LMS selection is:

how much control should be provided to the user or the organization?

what kind of customization to include?

Establishing a pre-configured and simplified setup that establishes a degree of control over several aspects ranging from branding to user interface design. There are several other factors to weigh in when selecting an LMS.

User experience

Device independence

Cost

Support

With the adoption of learning management platforms skyrocketing across small and medium organizations. It’s no mystery that companies across the globe have made LMS a staple to train their employees. While every organization has its own way of providing training, adopting the right learning management system increases both the engagement and efficiency of business and employees.

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Wongi Engine is a rule engine formulated in Ruby. This library contains the rule sets to be defined in a readable way with the help of DSL (Defined Under Namespace).

After installing Gem ‘Wongi-Engine’ and integrating the wongi-engine library inside the ruby file, the Wongi Rule Engine is created as mentioned below.

gem install wongi-engine

After installation of the gem, it's time to create an instance of the wongi-engine to start adding the essential facts or for additional procedures.

engine = Wongi::Engine.create

The Wongi Rule Engine mainly contains rules with matchers/conditions along with the required actions and facts are as follows:

Rules:

The rules are interpreted by the statements and it then executes the action if the condition for the rule matches the fact. Every rule is defined in the form mentioned below:

Rule = Condition + Action

Facts:

All the input data in the Wongi Rule Engine is implemented as an array of triplets ie. Subject, Predicate. and Object. A Subject is nothing but an entity and an Object signifies the value of that specific entity.

engine << ["OrganizerA", "offers", "TicketA"]

engine << ["OrganizerB", "offers", "TicketB"]

There are special functions that are also provided to add (<<) and remove(retract) the facts to the Wongi Rule Engine.

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Music distribution is the link that connects the finished record and the future fans of any artist. Brick and mortar music distributors were the only way for independent artists and record labels to get their records published and distributed. But over the course of time, the role of distributors and record labels in the music industry has changed drastically. Along the journey, the internet has played a huge role in the transformation. These changes have modernized the way people consume and enjoy music. People, now, spend more time online listening to music and less money on the physical form of music.

What Is Music Distribution?

Music distribution provides a medium to make recorded music available to the public. It deals with the aspects of delivering the music to the listener. Through a systemic system of contracts and payments, distributors help online download platforms, record stores, and streaming services acquire the privileges to purchase and sell an artist's music.

In order to understand the dynamics of the music industry & its distribution, it is essential to recognize that the music industry is a group of not one but a number of diverse industries that work closely, at the same time, on different logics and structures. The music industry is based on the production of music-based intellectuals. The goal of digital distribution/distributors is to get the music of independent artists as well as that of the record label artists on iTunes, Spotify, and other music streaming platforms and digital stores.

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A web application development framework, Rails is written in the Ruby programming language. It helps in making programming web applications easier by suggesting possibilities essential for every developer to get started. It allows users to write a minimum line of code to accomplish a better output as compared to other languages and frameworks. Several experienced Rails developers have also reported that it makes web application development easy and fun.

Requirement for building new rails app:

Ruby

Rails

Databases (MySQL or PostgreSQL)

Listed below are the commands for building a new rails app

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The cryptocurrency market has risen to a place of prominence and is growing enormously. It has yielded exceptionally high gains to its investors when compared with the traditional financial markets. Cryptocurrency investments possess the possibility of significant ROI however, the investor needs to ensure that they are doing their due research before investing. Given the emerging nature of the industry, it is also important to assess the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies.

With the number of investors in cryptocurrency on the rise, it is important to stay cautious of the volatile nature and unpredictability of cryptocurrencies. If you've decided to be a part of the cryptocurrency wave and invest in them, it's essential to do the necessary research before making the decision.