Author of that blog post here:
Thanks for posting it on HN and all that feedback. We wrote this post to provide a nice overview about good libraries our developers stumbled across the last years. So it is definitely not complete and I'm sure that I missed several great libraries. If you have suggestions, please comment here with the library name, quick description and link and I'll add them to the list. Thanks!
1. Xamarin support is heavily requested and we are working on it. Unfortunately I don't have an exact release date yet.
2. That is a very interesting point. Let me discuss that in our team and I'm sure we will come up with a solution. So basically you charge a one time fee for the app and then go back to them if an update is required and charge again for that?
The library sends statistical data back to CloudRail to provide statistics and notifications for required library updates. We handle this in a way that the library still works even if the CloudRail server is down or slow. The data itself flows directly between library and cloud provider. Currently we don't disable libraries because they die anyway without updates eventually.
Yes, our unified interfaces are the lowest common denominator. We provide functionality which is not available among all providers in a separate interface. The only exception are functions where the developer needs to be prepared to get an empty result. E.g. some users just don't set a profile picture on social, so you have to handle it anyways.
Good question, thanks. You are right, in case CloudRail goes down no one will maintain the libraries anymore. Despite the fact that we won't go down :), you have to ask yourself if the risk is really that big? The service definitely saves you time now and for the next X years. How many time would you invest during that period with native integrations? Definitely one by one SDKs to integrate and I bet some of them need to be replaced as well. E.g. Dropbox from v1 to v2 was a complete new API and SDK. I think integrations need to be maintained anyway and in the worst case (CloudRail goes down) you have to invest max the same time compared to manual.
We love open source and this is an option as well.
1) What APIs has your team built before that qualifies them to build this?
Our team has been in the API business for 4 years now with a lot of different projects and products.
2) How will you manage changes, bugs, and obscure documentation issues in the APIs that will be made available through you?
We have a system called API Change Management. Every connected API is monitored for changes. Once something happens or is announced we update our SDKs and put that information back in the system. Afterwards the system checks all SDKs which are implemented by customers and which integrations they use and automatically notify affected ones by email and via our portal.
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4) What language will the API be written in?
Currently we support Node.js, Android, Java and iOS (Swift & Objective-C)
5) Regarding API access security: How will you handle access to multiple APIs for the same client when each API requires a different set of tokens?
We let customers use their own API credentials which they get directly from the providers.
You are right, in the end it is a trade off. CloudRail has no down times, can't touch your data and is as performant as a native implementation. But yes, in case of an API change you have to update the SDK. We have a notification system though. You will get an email if you are affected by a change.
Thanks for your feedback. We'll definitely put a focus on payment APIs.
Each available service in CloudRail needs to be defined once either by us or usually by our community or the API provider itself. If an API changes, the definition needs to be updated as well. After that you'll get a notification and can update your integration as well with just a click. So to answer your question, it depends how fast the community reacts on changes or if the provider cares about the definition itself.
We don't sell any code nor do we sublicense it. It is common that for instance the open source community creates alternative SDKs. And we help them to get users on their API. So it is definitely a win win situation.
As I said, it is a completely new service just under the same domain. The community is interested, so tell me how should I post it here to not get a flag? I'll do it exactly as you tell me.
The good thing about CloudRail is that no data ever passes one of our servers. The intelligence sits in the SDK which is included in your app. Data then flows directly between your app and for instance Dropbox. So even if we are down your integrations will work.
The significant discussion was about our first version which was made just for cloud storage. Now we launched with a generic API and the opportunity for the community to add services as well. The whole thing is even for free... Think that really fits to Hacker News.