Messaging

This page highlights the steps you will need to follow to begin integrating chat messaging into your products

The message payload is always the same regardless of which Development Kit the user is using. Users also have a choice on what type of message they want to send.‌

Message Types

Amity supports the sending and receiving of 5 types of messages. They are Text, Image, Audio, File, and Custom.

Image

Amity will automatically optimize the image and when queried, will return the image in small, medium and large sizes. If the image is marked as isFull on upload, the original size of the image can also be returned.

Specifications on image size

When an image is uploaded, it is automatically resized into multiple sizing options. The size of the image is determined by its longest dimension (in pixels) with the aspect ratios being unchanged.

The maximum file size of an image cannot exceed 1 GB.‌

Message Format

When a user is observing messages, the message will always appear in this format.

{
  "status": "string",
  "data": {
    "messages": [
      {
        "messageId": "string",
        "parentId": "string",
        "childrenNumber": 0,
        "channelId": "string",
        "userId": "string",
        "type": "string",
        "tags": [
          "string"
        ],
        "data": {
            "text": "string"
        },
        "isDeleted": true,
        "channelSegment": 0,
        "createdAt": "2020-01-02T06:54:59.244Z",
        "updatedAt": "2020-01-02T06:54:59.244Z",
        "editedAt": "2020-01-02T06:54:59.244Z",
        "flagCount": 0,
        "hashFlag": {
          "bits": 0,
          "hashes": 0,
          "hash": [
            0
          ]
        },
        "reactions": {
            "reactionName": 1,
        },
        "reactionsCount": 0,
        "myReactions": [
          "string"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "users": [
      {
        "userId": "string",
        "roles": [
          "string"
        ],
        "displayName": "string",
        "flagCount": 0,
        "metadata": {},
        "hashFlag": {
          "bits": 0,
          "hashes": 0,
          "hash": [
            0
          ]
        },
        "createdAt": "2020-01-02T06:54:59.244Z",
        "updatedAt": "2020-01-02T06:54:59.244Z"
      }
    ]
  }
}

‌

Messages Description

Name

Data Type

Description

Attributes

messageId

string

The id of this message

Content

parentId

string

The messageId of the parent of this message

Content

childrenNumber

integer

The number of messages with parentId of this message

Content

channelId

string

The name of the channel this message was created in

Content

userId

string

The name of the user this message was created by

Content

type

string

The message type

enum*: text custom image file

tags

Array.<string>

The message tags

Content

data

Object

The message data (any text will be stored in text key)

text: Text message

isDeleted

boolean

The message has been marked as deleted

Content

channelSegment

integer

The sequence number of a message in channel

Content

createdAt

date

The date/time the message was created at

Content

updatedAt

date

The date/time the message was updated at

Content

editedAt

date

The date/time the message was edited at

Content

flagCount

integer

The number of users that have flagged this message

Content

hashFlah

Object

A hash for checking internally if this message was flagged by the user

Content

reactions

Object

The reaction data (stored as a reactionName and counter key/value pair)

Example: { like: 1, dislike: 2 }

reactionsCount

integer

The total number of reactions on this message

Content

myReactions

Array.<string>

A list of user's reactions on this message

Content

Messages are JSON content containers that can weigh up to 100KB and will be synchronized among all channel users in real-time. If a message requires larger binary data (such as when sending files), we recommend to upload the data to another cloud storage service, such as AWS S3, and store the URL to the content in the message data.

In addition the JSON message type, the SDK also provides support for common text and image message types. These additional types are built on top of the standard JSON message layer.

In case of image messages, the SDK freely provides a cloud storage service that will process and store all images uploaded: you don't need to setup and manage a separate cloud storage service for this common case.

All messaging methods are contained in a EkoMessageRepository class. Before calling any messaging methods, you must ensure to first instantiate a repository instance using the EkoClient instance you created on setup.

let messageRepository = EkoMessageRepository(client: client)

Sending Messages

All message sending methods are designed to be robust enough to work under any network conditions. When you send any message, that message will automatically be put into a queue incase of any unforeseen unstable network conditions. Once the SDK reconnects to the server, it will automatically resend all the queued messages.

Additionally, sent messages are always returned in message queries, even before they have been delivered to the server. This provides the user with a fluid messaging flow: when a user sends a message, that sent message will appear in the message stream right away (instead of waiting until it has been confirmed by the server). To check or display the current status of message delivery for your application, use the syncState property in the message model.

Every message sending method returns you a live object. This live object should be observed until message has been synced with the server.

Text Messages

Initiate the messaging with the following scripts, depending on your platform of choice.

var token: EkoNotificationToken?

...

let newMessage = messageRepository.createTextMessage(withChannelId: "channel1", text: "Hello World!")

token = newMessage.observe { [weak self] (liveMessage, error) in
    guard let message = liveMessage.object else { return }
    
    if message.syncState == .synced {
        // We can stop observing once message is created on server
        self?.token?.invalidate()
    }
}

Image Message

To send an image message, you must pass in a valid UIImage instance instead. The SDK will resize and process the image object before sending it to the server. You can also pass in an optional caption as part of the message, this caption will be accessible under the data property in the message model, under the caption key.

let image = UIImage()
var token: EkoNotificationToken?

...

let newMessage = messageRepository.createImageMessage(withChannelId: "channel1", image: image, caption: "Hello Image!", fullImage: false)

token = newMessage.observe { (message, error) in
    // Observer block gets called when message is created
}

Use the fullImage parameter to request to upload the image at its original resolution. Note that this can drastically reduce the speed of message sending, depending on the original image size. If the fullImage is set to false, then the uploaded image size will be up to 1500x1500 pixels.

File Message

To send a file message, you must pass in an NSData instance of the selected file and file name for the file. The default file name is file. The SDK will check the size of the data whether it is exceeding the limitation or not before sending it to the server. If the size of the data is more than the limit than the callback will return an Error object with the Dictionary of the error information that you can parse it and show an error message.

let data = Data()
var token: EkoNotificationToken?

...

let newMessage = messageRepository.createFileMessage(withChannelId: "channel1", 
                                             data: data,
                                             filename: "myfile.pdf",
                                             caption: "some caption"
                                             tags: nil,
                                             parentId: nil)
                                                 

token = newMessage.observe { (message, error) in
    // ...
}

Viewing File Message

The server will automatically generate a filename for you under the fileName key on the message data property, based on the file name that you choose to use. We advised that you handle the file size issues beforehand, as currently our limitation is set to less than 1 GB.

Audio Message

You can send small voice clips as a message.EkoMessageRepository provides createAudioMessage: a method to send voice clips to other users. It accepts voice clips as a NSData instance.

var token: EkoNotificationToken?

...

let newMessage = messageRepository.createAudioMessage(withChannelId: "channel-id", audio: <Data>, fileName: "audio-file-name.m4a", parentId: nil, tags: [])

token = newMessage.observe { (message, error) in
    // ...
}

Custom Message

To send a custom message, you must pass in a Dictionary instance. The server will populate this as a JSON format. Later on, you must parse it by yourselves depending on the key and value that you set earlier on.

// Sending an integer
let data = ["anykey": 10]

// Sending an array
let data = ["anykey": [10, 14]]

// Sending a dictionary of an array of integer
let data = ["anykey": ["anykey": [10, 12]]]

...

let newMessage = messageRepository.createCustomMessage(withChannelId: "channel1", data: data)

token = newMessage.observe { (message, error) in
    // ...
}

Viewing Custom Message

A custom message will be sent as a JSON format. If you wish to show the message, remember to parse the value. You are responsible to parse your own custom type data.

Message Query

To query for a list of all messages in a channel:

let messagesCollection: EkoCollection<EkoMessage> = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: channelId, reverse: false)

self.messagesNotification = messagesCollection.observe { collection, change, error in
  
  // refresh tableview with latest message data
}

This method will return a LiveObject of all messages in the specified channel. You can observe the LiveObject in order to update your view whenever you receive new messages.

Get single message for some message

To get a specific message:

let messageObject = messageRepository.getMessage(messageId!)

token = messageObject?.observe({ message, error in
  // Do something with the message
})

Message First Fetch

While the SDK will always return messages in chronological order, developers can ask for the messages to be returned starting from the oldest first, or the newest first.

On a typical messaging application, the messages are fetched from the latest (newest) first, and then more older messages are explored.

let messagesCollection = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", reverse: true)

...

// When necessary load more (older) messages
messageCollection.loadPrevious()

There are other situations where fetching the oldest messages is preferred, for example for archiving purposes or in community forums.

let messagesCollection = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", reverse: false)

...

// When necessary load more (newer) messages
messageCollection.loadNext()

Message Filtering

Like for channels, we also have various ways to obtain messages that only match specific criteria:

the includingTags and excludingTags parameters let you filter messages based on the tags set (or not set) in each message
the filterByParentId and parentId parameters let you filter messages by their relationship:
- when filterByParentId is set to false, any message will match.
- when filterByParentId is set to true and no parentId is passed, query for all messages without a parent.
- when filterByParentId is set to true and a parentId is passed: query for all messages with the parentId as parent.

// queries for messages tagged as "games", and not tagged as "staff-only"
let messagesCollection = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", 
                                                    includingTags: ["games"],
                                                    excludingTags: ["staff-only"],
                                                    reverse: false)

// queries for messages without a parent
let messagesCollection2 = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", 
                                                     filterByParentId: true,
                                                     parentId: nil,
                                                     reverse: false)

// queries for children messages of a message with id "999"
let messagesCollection3 = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", 
                                                     filterByParentId: true,
                                                     parentId: "999",
                                                     reverse: false)   

// queries for messages without a parent and tagged as "games", and not tagged as "staff-only"
let messagesCollection4 = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", 
                                                     includingTags: ["games"],
                                                     excludingTags: ["staff-only"],
                                                     filterByParentId: true,
                                                     parentId: nil,
                                                     reverse: false)

Message Comment

For commenting a message, we can observe the comment on the message from EkoMessageRepository and observe the message with specific channelId, and force the filterByParentId to true, and inject the parentId of the message. (See message filtering section)

For creating a comment, we can pass the parentId to the message creation.

// queries for messages tagged as "games", and not tagged as "staff-only"
let commentsCollection = messageRepository.messages(withChannelId: "123", 
                                                 filterByParentId: true,
                                                         parentId: "999",
                                                          reverse: false)       

// Create a comment
let newMessage = messageRepository.createTextMessage(withChannelId: channelId,
                                             text: text,
                                         parentId: parentId)
token = newMessage.observe { (message, error) in
    // ...
}

Viewing Message

Text Message

The following method can return a live object of specific EkoMessage based on messageId. Since it is a live object remember to observe its changes on top of the token.

let messageId = "12345"
let messagesObject = messageRepository.getMessage(messageId)

token = messageObject?.observe { message, error in
    // ...
}

Image Message

Images in messages are not downloaded automatically when the client receives a message. In order to save bandwidth, images should be downloaded only when they're about to be displayed. A typical implementation to trigger the download would be in the tableView:cellForRowAtIndexPath: method. You can download an image using downloadImage: method from the same EkoMessageRepository class. You need to pass the EkoMessage instance and the method provides the appropriate image depending upon the sync state of message.

messageRepo.downloadImage(for: <EkoMessage>, size: .medium) { (imageData, error) in {  
// handle image data here
}

Please use the appropriate image size depending on your use-case in order to save bandwidth.

small is used for image thumbnails, with a maximum image size of 160 pixels per dimension. For example, this should be used for small previews in an image gallery that displays a large amount of images in a grid.
medium is used for standard image display, with a maximum image size of 600 pixels per dimension. It's sized to take up about half of a mobile phone's screen size.
large is used for full screen image display, with a maximum image size of 1500 pixels per dimension.
full is used to get the original image. This size is only valid if the image is uploaded with the property fullImage set to YES. If a full sized image is not available, a large sized image will be returned instead.

The completionHandler can be called multiple times as the SDK will attempt to fetch a local cached version of the image first. If a lower resolution version of the image is cached, it will return that image, while also attempting to fetch the correct size from the server. As such, please make sure the logic implemented in the completionHandler is idempotent.

File/Audio Message

EkoMessageRepository provides downloadFile: method to download the file present in message. The same method can be used to download the audio present in audio message.

Messages Reaction

Reaction Query

To query for a list of all reaction on the specific message in a channel, right now to get the list of reactions is controlled by EkoMessageRepository. We can observe with the same way as observing message, the only thing difference is sending messageId as the parameter. The operation will return an instance EkoCollection of EkoMessageReaction that contains reaction name, message id, reactor id and reactor display name of the user and the reaction used.

var token: EkoNotificationToken?

...

let reactionsCollection: EkoCollection<EkoMessageReaction> = messageRepository.allMessageReactions(withMessageId: message.messageId)
token = reactionsCollection.observe { collection, change, error in  
    // reload your view
}

This method will return a LiveObject of all the reactions of a specific message in the specified channel. You can observe the LiveObject in order to update your view whenever you receive a new reaction on that message.

Add Reaction

For adding a new reaction, we can use EkoMessageReactor to perform its operation. Initialize the reactor with the client and message, don't forget to specify the reaction name as well.

let messageReactor = EkoMessageReactor(client: client, message: message)

messageReactor?.addReaction(withReaction: reaction, completion: { success, error in ... })

Remove Reaction

For removing a new reaction, we can use EkoMessageReactor to perform its operation. Initialize the reactor with the client and message and specify the reaction name.

let messageReactor = EkoMessageReactor(client: client, message: message)

messageReactor.removeReaction(withReaction: reaction, completion: { success, error in ... })

Editing Messages

A special EkoMessageEditor class is also provided for you to perform actions on messages you've sent or received. These actions include editing and deleting an existing message, as well as marking a message as being read by you.

To start, first instantiate a EkoMessageEditor instance with the EkoClient instance you created on setup, as well as a valid messageID.

let editor = EkoMessageEditor(client: client, messageId: "message1")

Edit and Delete

You can only perform edit and delete operations on your own messages. Once the operation is complete, the message's editedAtDate will be set to the current time. This allows you to provide UI to the user to inform the user of specific messages that has been edited, if needed. An optional completion block can be provided to notify you of operation success.

// edit current message with new text
editor.editText("New edited text") { success, error in  ...}


// edit custom message with new data
editor.editCustomMessage(data) { success, error in ...}


// delete current message
editor.delete { success, error in  ...}

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Last updated 3 years ago