Github: F# SMS API
This article demonstrates how you can download the latest F# SMS API library from GitHub. You will learn how to download the GitHub Desktop app and sign into it. You will also learn how to clone a repository from the internet. We assume that you have already used GitHub and you are familiar with Visual Studio. You will be presented with some important information and well-structured step-by-step instructions. We hope you will find the presented instructions beneficial.
What is F# SMS API
An SMS API is a type of API that allows developers to integrate SMS messaging into your existing software platforms. SMS APIs enable you to send or receive SMS messages quickly and easily through any website or application. In this instance we are using the Ozeki F# SMS API to send, receive, delete and schedule text messages with Ozeki SMS Gateway.
What is Ozeki SMS Gateway
Ozeki SMS Gateway is a communication software that routes messages between real world entities. It allows you to build up simple communication between shared hardware and software resources of your system. It offers real time information and provides various configuration options to route messages.
How it works
The system architecture is built in the following way (Figure 1). First the user has to download the F# SMS API library from GitHub. This process is also known as cloning. Once the cloning is complete, the repository is ready to use. The F# SMS API sends a Request to Ozeki SMS Gateway running on your desktop or mobile device. The SMS Gateway then sends the SMS Message according to the request. It also returns feedback in form of a Response to you. This response is used to confirm that the message has been successfully sent.
How to download the F# SMS API from GitHub (Quick steps)
To download the F# SMS API from GitHub:
- Create a GitHub account
- Download GitHub Desktop
- Sing into GitHub.com
- Configure Git
- Clone the F# SMS API in Github Desktop
- Open Ozeki.Libs.Rest.FSharp.sln
- Start the F# project
- Check the sent SMS in Ozeki SMS Gateway
Download Github Desktop
In this video, you will learn how to download the GitHub Desktop application. The video will start with opening the download page of GitHub Desktop and it will take you all the way to having the installer on your computer. You will learn what page to visit to get the installer file. The video is only 1 minute long, and you will learn every information you need to complete the download procedure.
Download GitHub desktop
To access the GitHub Desktop download page, you will need to open the link. Here you can get the latest version of the program. Click the purple Download for Windows button (Figure 2). This will start the downloading process. Wait for the browser to finish the process to proceed.
Install Github Desktop
In this video, we will show you how to start the installation process for GitHub Desktop. It will start with launching the installer and will take you all the way to having a working software on your computer. You will also learn how to login to the GitHub Desktop app and how to configure the application. The video is only 1 minute long and very detailed. You will have no problem understanding the steps.
Start the installer
If your browser finished downloading the installer, search for it in the downloads folder on your computer. Click it to start the installation process. It will be an application type file named GitHubDesktopSetup-x64 (Figure 3).
Load page of installer
After you start the installation process, you will be presented with the window visible on Figure 4. It means that the GitHub Desktop is installing at the moment. You don't need to do anything here. The application will launch as soon as this window disappear.
Sign in to GitHub Desktop
The next step is to sign in to the GitHub Desktop application. This will require the login credentials of your GitHub user account. Click the Sign in to GitHub.com button to reach the login window. If you have never used GitHub before, you can create a new user account on this page. Click the Create free account link located above the sign in button. It will take you to the new user account creating page. (Figure 5)
Provide username and password
The button will open a new browser window, where you need to log in (Figure 6). In this page, you need to use the username and password for your GitHub account. Type in both to the correct textbox and click the Sing in button to proceed to the next step.
Configure the Git
The Configure Git page will define what information will be visible as a commit detail. Check the Use my GitHub account name and email address checkbox (Figure 7). It means that the information from your GitHub will be used to identify the commits you create. It will be visible to any other GitHub user. Click the Finish button to confirm your settings.
Clone the Ozeki.Libs.Rest.Fsharp repository
In the following video you will see how to clone a GitHub repository. It will begin with the home page of the GitHub desktop application and will take you right to having the cloned repository on your PC. You can find out which URL to copy and paste to the GitHub Desktop app. The rest is up to the GitHub Desktop. The video is 38 seconds in length, yet it has every one of the steps detailed. You will have no issue following it
.
Clone a repository from the Internet
To make any changes to the repository, you need to download the files to your computer. This means that you can edit them offline. It is necessary to have your own copy of the files before editing. In the Let’s get started page, you can choose to Create a tutorial repository if you would like to learn more about the GitHub desktop. To edit the files of the Ozeki repository, choose the Clone a repository from the internet option (Figure 8). It will open a new window where you need to copy the URL of the repository you wish to clone.
Copy the URL code
Now you need to copy the URL of the repository you wish to make a clone of. To do so, please open GitHub in your browser and open the repository. To copy the URL, you have two possible options. The first option is to search for the green Code button located above the list of files (Figure 9). Click it and look for the URL. If you have found it, click the copy icon on the right. The other method is simply copying the URL from the desktop. This will result in the same URL.
Clone the repository
Paste the URL into the clone repository form. Here you can set which repository to clone with the Repository URL textbox (Figure 10). In the Local path, you need to provide an access path, where a new folder will be created to store the files.
Find the repository on your computer
Open the folder you provided for the Clone the repository. To do so, copy the access path from the form before and past it into the File Explorers top bar (Figure 11). Hit enter and it will start loading the folder.
How to use the repository
In the last video, you will figure out how to utilize the repository you just cloned to you PC. The video will begin with the opened folder where the cloned records are found. It will end with the successfully ran SMS sending project. You will figure out how to launch a project and how to check its log. The video is just 1:31 long and it includes every one of the things you need to do to have a working project.
Launch the Visual Studio Project
To launch the project where you could edit the code, look for the Ozeki.Libs.Rest.FSharp file. Open the file and it will launch Visual Studio. You can edit the code there to your likings. (Figure 12)
Start sending SMS messages
Click the Send Sms button located on the top of the applications GUI (Figure 13).This will start the script and you can start sending SMS messages. In the code editor panel, you can make changes to the code to run it customized.
Response from the project
Now you will get the response from the F# project. You will see the result of the SMS sending process, the recipients phone number and the body of the message. As you can see on Figure 14, you will see it printed on a console window.
Sent SMS in Ozeki SMS Gateway
In case of a successful sending process, you can see the sent message in the Sent folder of the Ozeki SMS Gateway. To reach it, open the Ozeki SMS Gateway and search for the Sent folder under the users' details panel on the left (Figure 15).
Summary
The article above was meant to describe the steps of downloading and using F# projects from GitHub. By following these directions, you can create the solution in a short time. F# SMS API can be used to send text messages from your computer with the help of Ozeki SMS Gateway. It is important to mention that Ozeki SMS Gateway works in any country and can send and receive SMS through various mobile connections, so the data sharing can't be stopped at the borders.
To read more about topics like this, visit Ozeki's tutorial page where you can find information about SMS scheduling and deleting in F#.
Now the only thing to do is to download Ozeki SMS Gateway and let the work begin!
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