I’ve run into a roadblock on the Less Wrong Study Hall reprogramming project. I’ve been writing against Google Hangouts, but it seems that there’s no way to have a permanent, public hangout URL that also runs a specified application. (that is, I can get a fixed URL, or a hangout that runs an app for all users, but I can’t do both)
Any of the programmers here know a way around that? At the moment it’s looking like I’ll have to go back to square zero and find an entirely different approach.
Could you have a server that knows where the dynamic url is at all times, and provides a redirect? So I’d hit up lwsh.me and it would redirect me to
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/etc …that would create an effectively permanent url, even though the hangout itself would change urls.
Looking at the Hangouts API, it appears that when the app is initialized you could call getHangoutUrl() and then pipe it back to the server. This could probably be used in a pretty dynamic manner too… like whenever anyone uses the app, it connects with the main server and adds that chat to the list of active chats...
To get a permanent URL, the workaround was that you could schedule a hangout very far in the future. Are you saying that you can’t run a specified application on that?
I’m not sure what you mean by “runs an app for all users”, Are you writing a separate app that you want the hangout to automatically open on entry? Doesn’t it make more sense to do this the other way around?
Possibly. I know it used to be possible and the capability was lost in a change, so maybe they changed it back while I wasn’t looking. I also got a PM recently noting that lightirc supports webcams; that might be an even better option since it would give us server control.
I’m busy being sick right now, but I’ll take a new look at things once I’m functional again.
I’ve run into a roadblock on the Less Wrong Study Hall reprogramming project. I’ve been writing against Google Hangouts, but it seems that there’s no way to have a permanent, public hangout URL that also runs a specified application. (that is, I can get a fixed URL, or a hangout that runs an app for all users, but I can’t do both)
Any of the programmers here know a way around that? At the moment it’s looking like I’ll have to go back to square zero and find an entirely different approach.
Could you have a server that knows where the dynamic url is at all times, and provides a redirect? So I’d hit up
lwsh.meand it would redirect me tohttps://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/etc…that would create an effectively permanent url, even though the hangout itself would change urls.Looking at the Hangouts API, it appears that when the app is initialized you could call
getHangoutUrl()and then pipe it back to the server. This could probably be used in a pretty dynamic manner too… like whenever anyone uses the app, it connects with the main server and adds that chat to the list of active chats...To get a permanent URL, the workaround was that you could schedule a hangout very far in the future. Are you saying that you can’t run a specified application on that?
A qualified “yes, exactly”: I haven’t found a way to do it, which is different from saying a way doesn’t exist.
I’m not sure what you mean by “runs an app for all users”, Are you writing a separate app that you want the hangout to automatically open on entry? Doesn’t it make more sense to do this the other way around?
The app runs within Google Hangouts (like drive, chat, youtube, effects) which is part of the draw of using that platform.
Of course it does, but reality in this case does not appear to make sense. :-(
Adding apps to permanent Google Hangouts works for me—shouldn’t we revisit this option?
Possibly. I know it used to be possible and the capability was lost in a change, so maybe they changed it back while I wasn’t looking. I also got a PM recently noting that lightirc supports webcams; that might be an even better option since it would give us server control.
I’m busy being sick right now, but I’ll take a new look at things once I’m functional again.