How I created the application, but was forced to close due to the law
On January 26, 2014, I created the MCKO for Android application. A cool joke that has gained some popularity. But more about that later.
MCKO (MTSKO) is an electronic diary for Moscow schools. It so happened that he is terrible. It's just HORRIBLE, and if you log in from a phone, it stops working altogether. With all his ugliness, hell, one of the most popular in Moscow. Probably, he was forced to use the top, the state.
Left: this is how the site looks like if you just log in from the phone (the table has moved out) Center: this is what a magazine looks like if you zoom in Right: this is what the site looks like if you return back after approaching. In short, it was impossible to use it.
')
After I was filled with the site, an idea came to me, and not whether to create an application? That's just interesting, I’m the one from the phone I go in or there are a lot of people like me?
There is a thought, there is a realization. Rummaging through the code, I found Yandex.Metrico there, which, fortunately, was open. My eyes fell terrible statistics.
Two million visits per phone per month. This is a huge number. 2 million tormented and cried, going to the site.
I understood. We must act.
Having podnuzhivshis and having worked on the application from force of 3-4 days I had the first version. Yes, she had glitches. Sometimes the table with DZ went beyond the screen (if it is large), the design was not so hot, but it was better than MCKO - and the most important thing is that you didn’t have to choose the date from which to take into account the estimates. The application knew that today such a trimester (or a quarter) and showed estimates for the desired time period.
To implement, I chose Cordova.
This is the first version. About it was written only on my page in VK and by the end of the day the application was on 13 phones. A week later, there were already 102 installations. It was fun.
January 28 (after 2 days) there was an update that carried a list of minor improvements.
Quote from post:
On January 31, a new version came out, with chips that no magazine has. This feature is called “rating tracking.” In the settings, you had to choose a point for which you want to complete a trimester, a quarter or a half-year - and then magic began. The application, taking into account your results, allocated items. For example, I expect to finish the trimester by 5. I have 5 in biology, 4.7 in algebra, 4.5 in physics, 4 in history.
The application will propose to focus on the story, the average will highlight physics. On algebra and biology will offer less attention.
After this update, the number of races per day increased by 2 times.
On February 6, I launched my own personal statistics, because I realized that Google gives little information and is lying a little.
Probably, you have already noticed the column "number of schools." Look at the number 151. In the 151st school there was at least 1 person who used my application, and this does not take into account those who did not indicate this in their data.
On February 8, a new label was conquered. The application was installed on 200 (!) Devices; On the same day I released a new update. There were no major changes in it. Only new design and fix heaps of bugs. However, the design still lagged.
It's funny, but on March 2, the deputy director of our school gave me 5 stars. Success.
The next version was long in coming. Her exit was March 10. At this point there were 600 users. This update is the biggest of all and the coolest. The most noticeable - the design has changed. He became really mobile. Secondly, the appearance of the DZ display has changed. To hell with signs that went abroad. Now everything is beautiful.
Another added section "performance". I thought that there was no need to look at the list of assessments, as I only care about the final grade and marks for yesterday and today. But once the people asked, I did.
The fourth is caching. Why download something again when it is already downloaded? Thanks to this information was saved. And if there is caching, then speed increases, traffic is saved. Previously, the application used 50-100 times less traffic than viewing a magazine through a browser, and now it's even scary to present a figure.
The fifth is traffic encryption. I worried about what happens rarely in principle, but if we set to work, we will do it well. The data that your phone sends and receives can, in theory, be “overheard”. From this update ALL traffic has been encrypted. No crook can "overhear" your password or ratings. Using our application has become safer than using the official website.
The sixth is a new data loading algorithm that allows you to quickly load data, as much as possible.
Seventh - light weight. Once it hit me. People talk about their application at school, and the children are such a people that if they don’t download right now, they’ll be forgotten at home. Previously, the application weighed 5.5 MB, and now 340 KB. Due to this, it could be downloaded directly through the mobile Internet and not spend a lot of money.
Over time, the popularity of the application grew. More and more users used it, but more and more often the server fell, which is why the application stopped working. On April 13, the load became so big that the server could not stand up anymore. As soon as he gets up, he will immediately fall.
From the picture it is clear that I considered this a DDOS, but as it turned out - no. This is an overload. Yes, at that time there were 1,200 users, there were 150 thousand requests to the server per day. 125 per capita. Why do they need to learn DZ or results so many times? I did not know then.
In short, by killing the day, I optimized the server so much that he would have accepted another 1,200 users.
Statistics on the 15th
April 22, I closed the application. It turns out that I violated the law on personal data, although I encrypted all traffic and asked people for permission to tick. If I did not close the application, then my uncles would come to me and give me a pretty fine. For further work, it was necessary to obtain a permit, which was well worth it and was made quite difficult. In short, it was not profitable for me to do this.
By showing the user a farewell message, the application was removed from Google search.
UPD1. I went to the office. They do not care. They asked to close it, although I offered to give for free.
MCKO (MTSKO) is an electronic diary for Moscow schools. It so happened that he is terrible. It's just HORRIBLE, and if you log in from a phone, it stops working altogether. With all his ugliness, hell, one of the most popular in Moscow. Probably, he was forced to use the top, the state.
Left: this is how the site looks like if you just log in from the phone (the table has moved out) Center: this is what a magazine looks like if you zoom in Right: this is what the site looks like if you return back after approaching. In short, it was impossible to use it.
')
Create application
After I was filled with the site, an idea came to me, and not whether to create an application? That's just interesting, I’m the one from the phone I go in or there are a lot of people like me?
There is a thought, there is a realization. Rummaging through the code, I found Yandex.Metrico there, which, fortunately, was open. My eyes fell terrible statistics.
Two million visits per phone per month. This is a huge number. 2 million tormented and cried, going to the site.
I understood. We must act.
First version
Having podnuzhivshis and having worked on the application from force of 3-4 days I had the first version. Yes, she had glitches. Sometimes the table with DZ went beyond the screen (if it is large), the design was not so hot, but it was better than MCKO - and the most important thing is that you didn’t have to choose the date from which to take into account the estimates. The application knew that today such a trimester (or a quarter) and showed estimates for the desired time period.
To implement, I chose Cordova.
This is the first version. About it was written only on my page in VK and by the end of the day the application was on 13 phones. A week later, there were already 102 installations. It was fun.
Update 1
January 28 (after 2 days) there was an update that carried a list of minor improvements.
Quote from post:
The main purpose of the update is to make the application more convenient, simpler, more enjoyable. Otherwise, work on application usability.
What's new?
1) The application works smoother;
2) Added loading animation;
3) Added scrolling days in the section ("What asked?");
4) The text is scaled to fit the screen;
5) Added support for small screens;
6) Minor fixes.
The only problem is that the design has been debugging since the first version.
Update 2
On January 31, a new version came out, with chips that no magazine has. This feature is called “rating tracking.” In the settings, you had to choose a point for which you want to complete a trimester, a quarter or a half-year - and then magic began. The application, taking into account your results, allocated items. For example, I expect to finish the trimester by 5. I have 5 in biology, 4.7 in algebra, 4.5 in physics, 4 in history.
The application will propose to focus on the story, the average will highlight physics. On algebra and biology will offer less attention.
After this update, the number of races per day increased by 2 times.
Create personal statistics
On February 6, I launched my own personal statistics, because I realized that Google gives little information and is lying a little.
Probably, you have already noticed the column "number of schools." Look at the number 151. In the 151st school there was at least 1 person who used my application, and this does not take into account those who did not indicate this in their data.
Update 3
On February 8, a new label was conquered. The application was installed on 200 (!) Devices; On the same day I released a new update. There were no major changes in it. Only new design and fix heaps of bugs. However, the design still lagged.
It's funny, but on March 2, the deputy director of our school gave me 5 stars. Success.
Update 4 latest
The next version was long in coming. Her exit was March 10. At this point there were 600 users. This update is the biggest of all and the coolest. The most noticeable - the design has changed. He became really mobile. Secondly, the appearance of the DZ display has changed. To hell with signs that went abroad. Now everything is beautiful.
Another added section "performance". I thought that there was no need to look at the list of assessments, as I only care about the final grade and marks for yesterday and today. But once the people asked, I did.
The fourth is caching. Why download something again when it is already downloaded? Thanks to this information was saved. And if there is caching, then speed increases, traffic is saved. Previously, the application used 50-100 times less traffic than viewing a magazine through a browser, and now it's even scary to present a figure.
The fifth is traffic encryption. I worried about what happens rarely in principle, but if we set to work, we will do it well. The data that your phone sends and receives can, in theory, be “overheard”. From this update ALL traffic has been encrypted. No crook can "overhear" your password or ratings. Using our application has become safer than using the official website.
The sixth is a new data loading algorithm that allows you to quickly load data, as much as possible.
Seventh - light weight. Once it hit me. People talk about their application at school, and the children are such a people that if they don’t download right now, they’ll be forgotten at home. Previously, the application weighed 5.5 MB, and now 340 KB. Due to this, it could be downloaded directly through the mobile Internet and not spend a lot of money.
Hosting can not stand
Over time, the popularity of the application grew. More and more users used it, but more and more often the server fell, which is why the application stopped working. On April 13, the load became so big that the server could not stand up anymore. As soon as he gets up, he will immediately fall.
From the picture it is clear that I considered this a DDOS, but as it turned out - no. This is an overload. Yes, at that time there were 1,200 users, there were 150 thousand requests to the server per day. 125 per capita. Why do they need to learn DZ or results so many times? I did not know then.
In short, by killing the day, I optimized the server so much that he would have accepted another 1,200 users.
Statistics on the 15th
Death of good
April 22, I closed the application. It turns out that I violated the law on personal data, although I encrypted all traffic and asked people for permission to tick. If I did not close the application, then my uncles would come to me and give me a pretty fine. For further work, it was necessary to obtain a permit, which was well worth it and was made quite difficult. In short, it was not profitable for me to do this.
By showing the user a farewell message, the application was removed from Google search.
UPD1. I went to the office. They do not care. They asked to close it, although I offered to give for free.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/239647/
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