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Twilio Cookbook
Twilio Cookbook

Twilio Cookbook: The Twilio cookbook will enable all kinds of telephone usage, including SMS, on your websites. It's a totally practical guide with a hands-on approach to help you dig deep into the enormous potential of telephone facilities on the Web.

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Profile Icon Roger Stringer
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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2 (5 Ratings)
Paperback Sep 2013 266 pages 1st Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Roger Stringer
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$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2 (5 Ratings)
Paperback Sep 2013 266 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$22.99 $32.99
Paperback
$54.99
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Renews at $19.99p/m
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Twilio Cookbook

Chapter 2. Now We're Cooking

In this chapter we will cover the following:

  • Tracking account usage

  • Screening calls

  • Buying a phone number

  • Setting up a voicemail system

  • Building an emergency calling system

Introduction


In Chapter 1, Into the Frying Pan, we brought to you some handy recipes for Twilio; we're going to continue that in this chapter.

First, we'll show you how to generate usage records that come in handy for tracking usage across your Twilio account, especially when you have a web app that has customers using it daily.

Call screening lets you check calls that are actually answered by a person; if a machine answers, we move on to the next phone number.

Buying a phone number is also handy when you have multiple users and want to let them purchase a phone number to use for their own account.

A voicemail system lets you give callers a voice mailbox to store messages in and then sends you an e-mail with the transcribed message.

Finally, the emergency calling system will try a list of phone numbers when you find yourself in an emergency situation, to find someone who answers.

Tracking account usage


Tracking your call usage is important if you handle a lot of calls or if you have a site that has multiple users.

My website, theinterviewr.com, looks through hundreds of calls being made each week; this call usage tracking helps me know which users are making which calls so that I can see who's heavily using the network and who is not.

This also helps me analyze things and make sure I'm actually charging users reasonably per call.

Getting ready

The complete source code for this recipe can be found in the Chapter2/Recipe1 folder in the code bundle available at www.packtpub.com/support.

How to do it...

We're going to build a usage tracking system now to let us look at how our Twilio account is being used. Perform the following steps to do so:

  1. Download the Twilio Helper Library from https://github.com/twilio/twilio-php/zipball/master and unzip it.

  2. Upload the Services/ folder to your website.

  3. Upload config.php to your website and make sure the following variables are set:

    <...

Screening calls


Call screening is a useful ability to have on your calling systems. For example, let's say you have three people on call in your support department and you want to call the first available agent.

This recipe will try and connect to each phone number available in a given array and check to see if a person answers or not; if a person does, it connects the call.

Getting ready

The complete source code for this recipe can be found in the Chapter2/Recipe2 folder.

How to do it...

We're going to build a call-handling system that will forward calls to our list of agents; the first agent who accepts the call by pushing a button will get the call.

  1. Download the Twilio Helper Library from https://github.com/twilio/twilio-php/zipball/master and unzip it.

  2. Upload the Services/ folder to your website.

  3. Upload config.php to your website and make sure the following variables are set:

    <?php
      $accountsid = '';  //  YOUR TWILIO ACCOUNT SID
      $authtoken = '';  //	YOUR TWILIO AUTH TOKEN
      $fromNumber...

Buying a phone number


Buying a phone number is an integral part of the Twilio system. If you have multiple users, you can assign each user their own phone number.

Twilio gives you options to pass on numbers to your users, so you can actually search for phone numbers.

You can search by postal code; patterns, such as STRINGER; or for phone numbers near your location.

I've found this ability handy for systems with multiple users or for setting up business numbers for various purposes, such as sales, support, or unique phone numbers for campaigns that are being run at the time.

Getting ready

The complete source code for this recipe can be found in the Chapter2/Recipe3 folder.

How to do it...

Are you ready to learn how to buy a phone number? This recipe will take you step by step through the process.

  1. Download the Twilio Helper Library from https://github.com/twilio/twilio-php/zipball/master and unzip it.

  2. Upload the Services/ folder to your website.

  3. Upload config.php to your website and make sure the following...

Setting up a voicemail system


All companies need a voicemail system, from a small one-person company to a big 100-person company.

This voicemail system will be set up as one big mailbox that people can call into and leave a message. The message is then e-mailed to you along with a transcription of the message.

Getting ready

The complete source code for this recipe can be found in the Chapter2/Recipe4 folder.

How to do it...

Let's build a simple voicemail system that can serve as a mailbox for your company.

  1. Download the Twilio Helper Library from https://github.com/twilio/twilio-php/zipball/master and unzip it.

  2. Upload the Services/ folder to your website.

  3. Upload config.php to your website and make sure the following variables are set:

    <?php
      $accountsid = '';  //  YOUR TWILIO ACCOUNT SID
      $authtoken = '';  //	  YOUR TWILIO AUTH TOKEN
      $fromNumber = '';  //  PHONE NUMBER CALLS WILL COME FROM
    ?>
  4. Create a file on your website called voicemail.php, with the following code:

    <?php
    include 'Services...

Building an emergency calling system


I'm a type-2, insulin-dependent diabetic. I also drive two hours every day—to my office and back. So, after I spent a week in the hospital last year, I decided to set up an In Case Of Emergency (ICE) system so that I could call one number and have it try multiple numbers at once.

Getting ready

The complete source code for this recipe can be found in the Chapter2/Recipe4 folder.

How to do it...

This emergency calling system will try a group of numbers at the same time; the first number to answer will get connected.

  1. Download the Twilio Helper Library from https://github.com/twilio/twilio-php/zipball/master and unzip it.

  2. Upload the Services/ folder to your website.

  3. Upload config.php to your website and make sure the following variables are set:

    <?php
      $accountsid = '';  //  YOUR TWILIO ACCOUNT SID
      $authtoken = '';  //	  YOUR TWILIO AUTH TOKEN
      $fromNumber = '';  //  PHONE NUMBER CALLS WILL COME FROM
    ?>
  4. Create a file on your website called ice.php, with...

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Key benefits

  • Teaches software developers to programmatically make and receive phone calls and send and receive text messages using Twilio's web service APIs
  • The only book that teaches you how to set up your own conference calling system or how to build a PBX for your company, or how to build a local solution that can tell you the weather where you are
  • Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to complete the task as efficiently as possible

Description

Have you ever wanted to integrate phone features into a project you were working on? Maybe you wanted to send SMS messages to your customers about the latest sales? Maybe you want to set up a company directory with voice mail? Or maybe you want to add two factor authentication to your web sites to verify your users? Since Twilio was launched in 2007, developers have had a way to do these tasks. The power of Twilio's API is huge and lets you add any type of phone solution to your web site from 2-factor authentication for verifying your users, to setting up a company directory and a voice mail system. The possibilities are endless. "Twilio Cookbook" is your Swiss army knife for Twilio development, providing you with a number of clear step-by-step exercises. It helps you take advantage of the real power of the Twilio API, and gives you a good grounding in using it in your websites. This book looks at the Twilio API, and breaks down the mystery and confusion that surrounds adding telephone functionality to your websites. As you go through the recipes, you will learn how to take advantage of the Twilio API quickly and painlessly. You will learn how to build your own IVR system, company directory, and voicemail box, and also how to set up a 2-factor authentication system to verify users, track orders via SMS, send surveys using SMS, allow users to buy phone numbers, set up and delete sub-accounts, and check to see if a human is answering a phone call. We will also combine Twilio with other APIs to build a handy local search system such as a local business search, movie listings search, and web search. If you want to take advantage of using Twilio's API to add telephone functionality to your websites, then this book is for you. "Twilio Cookbook' will leave you with a black belt in Twilio development and enable you to integrate the API into your websites.

Who is this book for?

This book is great for developers who already have knowledge of PHP and MySQL and who want to learn about integrating Twilio's API into their websites for telephone solutions.

What you will learn

  • Add 2-factor authentication to your web apps to verify your users
  • Set up a company directory
  • Buy a phone number
  • Conduct surveys using SMS
  • Set up a conference calling system
  • Use APIs to build a local search system for finding businesses, movies, and weather forecasts
  • Delve into SMS messaging and learn how to set up order tracking, bulk SMS sending, and a group chat system
  • Set up an appointment reminder using SMS
  • Build an interactive IVR menu system
  • Build your first PVR
  • Learn about OpenVBX plugins to extend its existing functionality
  • Verify that a person is answering the phone and not a machine

Product Details

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Publication date : Sep 18, 2013
Length: 266 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781782166061
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Length: 266 pages
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Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781782166061
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Tools :

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Table of Contents

10 Chapters
Into the Frying Pan Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Now We're Cooking Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Conducting Surveys via SMS Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building a Conference Calling System Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Combining Twilio with Other APIs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Sending and Receiving SMS Messages Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building a Reminder System Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building an IVR System Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building Your Own PBX Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Digging into OpenVBX Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2
(5 Ratings)
5 star 40%
4 star 40%
3 star 20%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Leo Oct 26, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone doing work on Twilio.There is a section of OpenVBX which is a life saver. I got the book in Kindle edition which I think works better for a reference book like this. Twilio has good sample codes but this brings it to another level. I don't think there is another book on Twilio out there or I just couldn't find one.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
GrahamC Oct 24, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I'd been planning to take a look at Twilio for a while now but other projects kept getting in this way so I was looking forward to getting my hands on the Twilio cookbook.I read the book cover to cover over a long weekend and was able to implement the recipes I needed as soon as I returned to the office.I'd thoroughly recommend this book for anyone considering implementing Twilio into their own solutions.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
David Nov 10, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
_Twilio Cookbook_ is a useful introduction, accessible to PHP developers at all levels, to developing apps using Twilio's telephony platform. I had no experience with Twilio before reading this book and I now feel confident that I could easily incorporate Twilio functionality into my own applications.The book is part of Packt's "Cookbook" series, so it contains a fairly structured format for each application/recipe. The format can be roughly summarized in three steps:* What we are going to do: a brief overview of the app/goal* How to do it: the code, the recipe itself* How it works: a more detailed explanation of what the code achieves The book clearly demonstrates how Twilio can be used to implement a wide variety of web-controlled telephony services, including SMS-based or Voice-based two-factor authentication, SMS-based surveys, conference calling, voice-mail with notifications, and others.In general, the recipes often boil down to:1. put a script (or collection of scripts) on your publicly accessible web-server, and2. point your Twilio phone number to that script.Like other reviewers, I would have liked to see more conceptual overview of Twilio's services. But the Cookbook format is geared towards diving right in to code and building bare-bones functional prototypes. You won't find a lot of advanced web best-practices here - there is no MVC or separation of concerns, there is very little error-checking or escaping of user input, the HTML is un-styled, bare-bones links and forms, there are variables in global scope, etc. As such, the recipes are not really suitable for production use.But for the purposes of the book - demonstrating the core functionality of the Twilio system - stripping out all those considerations is actually beneficial, resulting in a clear exposition without any of those potentially distracting (though definitely necessary) aspects of general app-development.In summary, _Twilio Cookbook_ successfully does what it sets out to do. It demonstrates how to implement a wide range of telephony functionality using PHP and Twilio.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Aaron Oct 22, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Some people hear about Twilio and immediately think of all the custom code that they can write.Other people just have a quick problem that they want to solve. This is the book for those types of people.It's a great guide for anyone that's heard about Twilio but doesn't quite know where to begin.I thought that the chapter on building an SMS survey app could easily save thousands of dollars in development costs. Grabbing the author's code as a foundation and then building on top of it is a great way to ship a minimal viable product.Advanced Twilio developers will probably have their own set of "recipes" so this book won't be as useful to them.Overall, the Twilio Cookbook is a very practical, hands-on guide to quickly building some of the most common Twilio use cases. If you want to get your feet wet with some real-world Twilio applications, definitely grab this book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Roy Buyuksimkesyan Oct 06, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
For all of you who are lazy and who do not want to read the full review here is a resume:If you need a crash course on Twilio and if you keep in mind that code you will see in the book is for education purposes only, that's a good book that contain solid, tested-and-true recipes. But if you have some spare time to look around the Twilio API and some expertise with PHP I don't think this book will give you a lot and it might even frustrate you in some points (I especially hated the first two steps in every recipe which are the same).Now let's go on with a little bit of detailed review.Book contains 60 recipes to do simple tasks to complex ones. Source codes for all the recipes are given and they are actually easy to follow. But this book does not contain an overview of the Twilio API only methods used in the recipes. An overview of how the Twilio API works, how the authentication is done, how the library communicates with the actual API or what are the most used classes and functions could have been included. Even if it's a cookbook I think I expected such a part that contained basics should have existed.Source codes could definitely have been better. I would understand writing HTMLs and PHP codes together to keep simplicity but executing queries without escaping parameters is not acceptable for me. That wouldn't have added complexity to the source codes but also provided newcomers who just copy and paste things some kind of awareness and security. I have even noticed the usage of "extract" function which might be very harmful for a novice who is not aware what it does.The idea of tested and true functions is good and it's definitely the main difference between the code you find from the Internet and the the code you will find from this book. It will also give you some insight on what can be done and how but that's all. Some of the recipes caused some sense of unease for me. The recipe containing the Bulk SMS could really be harmful when you want to send an sms to hundreds of people. I think such a warning could have been nice.I'm not really fond of cookbooks. The source code used in the books tend to become oudated pretty fast and when the source code is outdated book is not useful at all. There aren't any basics in the book which will give you a cause to keep the book in your library. To keep the source codes as short as possible and simple as possible, the practices used in the book are not state of the art etiher which might have been a use case for the book to give you an idea of the best practices to use the Twilio API etc.I would have liked a part which included what you cannot do with Twilio, or what kind of workarounds you need to do to overcome a problem. But this is a cookbook so it's not actually the purpose of this book.Returning to the resume, if you don't forget that you can't just copy paste the code used in this book for your production environment, this book will definitely give you a good idea on what Twilio can do. It will be a crash course for a seasoned PHP developer. It will definitely be helpful for anyone who wants to implement some simple tasks with Twilio which will be used by themselves and not by some end user. This book will definitely give you an "idea" on how to implement things but that's it.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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