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• How to expose new API methods in the HTTP Reporting API – Introducing the Piwik Platform

  26 février 2015, par Thomas Steur — Development

  This is the next post of our blog series where we introduce the capabilities of the Piwik platform (our previous post was How to write UI tests for your plugin). This time you’ll learn how to extend our Reporting API. For this tutorial you will need to have basic knowledge of PHP.

  What is Piwik’s Reporting API ?

  It allows third party applications to access analytics data and manipulate miscellaneous data (such as users or websites) through HTTP requests.

  What is it good for ?

  The Reporting API is used by the Piwik UI to render reports, to manage users, and more. If you want to add a feature to the Piwik UI, you might have to expose a method in the API to access this data. As the API is called via HTTP it allows you to fetch or manipulate any Piwik related data from anywhere. In these exposed API methods you can do pretty much anything you want, for example :

  • Enhance existing reports with additional data
  • Filter existing reports based on custom rules
  • Access the database and generate custom reports
  • Persist and read any data
  • Request server information

  Getting started

  In this series of posts, we assume that you have already set up your development environment. If not, visit the Piwik Developer Zone where you’ll find the tutorial Setting up Piwik.

  To summarize the things you have to do to get setup :

  • Install Piwik (for instance via git).
  • Activate the developer mode : ./console development:enable.
  • Generate a plugin : ./console generate:plugin --name="MyApiPlugin". There should now be a folder plugins/MyApiPlugin.
  • And activate the created plugin : ./console plugin:activate "MyApiPlugin"

  Let’s start creating an API

  We start by using the Piwik Console to create a new API :

  ./console generate:api

  The command will ask you to enter the name of the plugin the created API should belong to. I will simply use the above chosen plugin name “MyApiPlugin”. There should now be a file plugins/MyApiPlugin/API.php which contains already an example to get you started easily :

  class API extends \Piwik\Plugin\API
  {
      public function getAnswerToLife($truth = true)
      {
          if ($truth) {
              return 42;
          }
   
          return 24;
      }
   
      public function getExampleReport($idSite, $period, $date, $wonderful = false)
      {
          $table = DataTable::makeFromSimpleArray(array(
              array('label' => 'My Label 1', 'nb_visits' => '1'),
              array('label' => 'My Label 2', 'nb_visits' => '5'),
          ));
   
          return $table;
      }
  }
  Télécharger

  Any public method in that file will be available via the Reporting API. For example the method getAnswerToLife can be called via this URL : index.php?module=API&method=MyApiPlugin.getAnswerToLife. The URL parameter method is a combination of your plugin name and the method name within this class.

  Passing parameters to your method

  Both example methods define some parameters. To pass any value to a parameter of your method simply specify them by name in the URL. For example ...&method=MyApiPlugin.getExampleReport&idSite=1&period=week&date=today&wonderful=1 to pass values to the parameters of the method getExampleReport.

  Returning a value

  In an API method you can return any boolean, number, string or array value. A resource or an object cannot be returned unless it implements the DataTableInterface such as DataTable (the primary data structure used to store analytics data in Piwik), DataTable\Map (stores a set of DataTables) and DataTable\Simple (a DataTable where every row has two columns : label and value).

  Did you know ? You can choose the response format of your API request by appending a parameter &format=JSON|XML|CSV|... to the URL. Check out the Reporting API Reference for more information.

  Best practices

  Check user permissions

  Do not forget to check whether a user actually has permissions to access data or to perform an action. If you’re not familiar with Piwik’s permissions and how to check them read our User Permission guide.

  Keep API methods small

  At Piwik we aim to write clean code. Therefore, we recommend to keep API methods small (separation of concerns). An API pretty much acts like a Controller :

  public function createLdapUser($idSite, $login, $password)
  {
      Piwik::checkUserHasAdminAccess($idSite);
      $this->checkLogin($login);
      $this->checkPassword($password);
      
      $myModel = new LdapModel();
      $success = $myModel->createUser($idSite, $login, $password);
      
      return $success;
  }
  Télécharger

  This is not only easy to read, it will also allow you to create simple tests for LdapModel (without having to bootstrap the whole Piwik layer) and you will be able to reuse it in other places if needed.

  Calling APIs of other plugins

  For example if you want to fetch an existing report from another plugin, say a list of all Page URLs, do not request this report by calling that method directly :

  \Piwik\Plugins\Actions\API::getInstance()->getPageUrls($idSite, $period, $date);

  . Instead, issue a new API request :

  $report = \Piwik\API\Request::processRequest('Actions.getPageUrls', array(
  
      'idSite' => $idSite,
  
      'period' => $period,
  
      'date'   => $date,
  
  ));

  This has several advantages :

  • It avoids a fatal error if the requested plugin is not available on a Piwik installation
  • Other plugins can extend the called API method via events (adding additional report data to a report, doing additional permission checks) but those events will be only triggered when requesting the report as suggested
  • If the method parameters change, your request will most likely still work

  Publishing your Plugin on the Marketplace

  In case you want to share your API with other Piwik users you can do this by pushing your plugin to a public GitHub repository and creating a tag. Easy as that. Read more about how to distribute a plugin and best practices when publishing a plugin.

  Isn’t it easy to create a API ? We never even created a file ! If you have any feedback regarding our APIs or our guides in the Developer Zone feel free to send it to us.

• Encode Frames to Video with C Library

  31 juillet 2018, par NetherGranite

  For the sake of continuity, let us assume "RGB values" are the following :

  typedef struct RGB {
  
      uint8_t r, g, b;
  
  } rgb;

  However, if you feel that a different color space is more appropriate for this question, please use that instead.

  How might I go about writing 2D arrays of RGB values to a video in C given an output format and framerate ?

  Before I continue, I should specify that I wish to be able to do this all within one program. I am trying to add functionality to an application that would allow it to compile videos frame by frame without having to leave it.

  Additionally, my needs for this functionality are extremely basic ; I simply need to be able to set individual pixels to certain colors.

  The closest I have come to a solution so far is the C library FFmpeg. Allow me to describe what I was able to learn on my own :

  After looking through its documentation, I came across the function avcodec_send_frame(avctx, frame), whose parameters are of the types AVCodexContext* and const AVFrame* respectively. If these are not the right tools for what I am trying to do, please ignore the rest of the question and instead point me towards what I should be using.

  However, I do not know which fields of avctx and frame must be set manually and which do not. The reason I assume some do not is because both are extremely large structures, but correct me if I am wrong.

  Question 1 : What values of an AVCodecContext and AVFrame must be set ? Of these, what is/are the recommended value(s) for each of them ?

  Additionally, I was only able to find instructions on how to initialize an AVFrame (using av_frame_alloc() and av_frame_get_buffer()) but not for an AVCodexConstant.

  Question 2 : Is there a proper way to initialize an AVCodexConstant ? And just in case, is the method of initializing an AVFrame described above correct ? Do any of the fields of either have a proper method of initialization ?

  Also, I was not able to find official documentation on how to take this AVCodexConstant (which I assume contains the video information) and turn it into a video. I apologize if the documentation for this is easy to find and I just missed it.

  Question 3 : How do I turn an AVCodexConstant into a file of a given format ?

  And, given my limited knowledge :

  Question 4 : Are there any other parts to this process that I am missing, and do I have any of the above parts wrong ?

  ---

  Please keep in mind that I found out about FFmpeg for the first time very recently, and as a result, I am a complete beginner to this. Additionally, my experience with C is very limited, so I would greatly appreciate it if you could note which files need to be included with #include.

  Feel free to even go as far as recommending something other than FFmpeg, just as long as it is written in C. I do not need power-user options, but I would greatly prefer flexibility in what audio and video file types the library can handle.

  ---

  Addressing Potential Duplicates

  I appologize for how long this section is ; I just want to have my bases covered. I heavily apologize, however, if this is in fact a duplicate of a question that I was just unable to find.

  • ffmpeg C API documentation/tutorial [closed] — This question was too open-ended and received answers pointing the asker towards a tutorial at dranger.com, a tutorial that confusingly muddied the waters by focusing heavily on a graphics library of choice. Please do not take this as me saying it is bad ; I am just enough of a beginner that I could not wade through it all.
  • Encoding frames to video with ffmpeg — Although this question seems to have been asking the same thing, it is geared towards Unreal Engine 4, and the asker provided sample code, making it difficult for me to understand which of parts of the accepted answer were necessary for me and which were not.
  • How to write frames to a video file ? — While this also asked the same thing, the accepted answer simply provides a command instead of an explanation of code.
  • YUV Raw frames to video stream — While the accepted answer for this question is a command, the question states that it is looking for a way to encode frames generated by C++ code. Is there some way to run commands in code that I haven’t been able to find ?
  • Converting sequenced frames to video — Not only is the asker’s code written in Python, but it also seems to use already-existing image files as frames.
  • How to write bitmaps as frames to H.264 with x264 in C\C++ ? — The accepted answer seems to describe a process that would take multiple applications, but I could be wrong as I am enough of a beginner that I am not sure exactly what it means other than Step 3.
  • How to write bitmaps as frames to Ogg Theora in C\C++ ? — Although it isn’t a problem that the question specifies the ogg format, it is a problem that the accepted answer suggests libtheora, which appears to only work with ogg files.

• A Comprehensive Guide to Robust Digital Marketing Analytics

  15 novembre 2023, par Erin — Analytics Tips

  First impressions are everything. This is not only true for dating and job interviews but also for your digital marketing strategy. Like a poorly planned job application getting tossed in the “no thank you” pile, 38% of visitors to your website will stop engaging with your content if they find the layout unpleasant. Thankfully, digital marketers can access data that can be harnessed to optimise websites and turn those “no thank you’s” into “absolutely’s.”

  So, how can we transform raw data into valuable insights that pay off ? The key is web analytics tools that can help you make sense of it all while collecting data ethically. In this article, we’ll equip you with ways to take your digital marketing strategy to the next level with the power of web analytics.

  What are the different types of digital marketing analytics ?

  Digital marketing analytics are like a cipher into the complex behaviour of your buyers. Digital marketing analytics help collect, analyse and interpret data from any touchpoint you interact with your buyers online. Whether you’re trying to gauge the effectiveness of a new email marketing campaign or improve your mobile app layout, there’s a way for you to make use of the insights you gain.

  

  As we go through the eight commonly known types of digital marketing analytics, please note we’ll primarily focus on what falls under the umbrella of web analytics. 

  1. Web analytics help you better understand how users interact with your website. Good web analytics tools will help you understand user behaviour while securely handling user data. 
  2. Learn more about the effectiveness of your organisation’s social media platforms with social media analytics. Social media analytics include user engagement, post reach and audience demographics. 
  3. Email marketing analytics help you see how email campaigns are being engaged with.
  4. Search engine optimisation (SEO) analytics help you understand your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). 
  5. Pay-per-click (PPC) or campaign analytics measure the performance of paid advertising campaigns.
  6. Content marketing analytics focus on how your content is performing with your audience. 
  7. Customer analytics helps organisations identify and examine buyer behaviour to retain the biggest spenders. 
  8. Mobile app analytics track user interactions within mobile applications. 

  Choosing which digital marketing analytics tools are the best fit for your organisation is not an easy task. When making these decisions, it’s critical to remember the ethical implications of data collection. Although data insights can be invaluable to your organisation, they won’t be of much use if you lose the trust of your users. 

  Tips and best practices for developing robust digital marketing analytics 

  So, what separates top-notch, robust digital marketing analytics from the rest ? We’ve already touched on it, but a big part involves respecting user privacy and ethically handling data. Data security should be on your list of priorities, alongside conversion rate optimisation when developing a digital marketing strategy. In this section, we will examine best practices for using digital marketing analytics while retaining user trust.

  

  Clear objectives

  Before comparing digital marketing analytics tools, you should define clear and measurable goals. Try asking yourself what you need your digital marketing analytics strategy to accomplish. Do you want to improve conversion rates while remaining data compliant ? Maybe you’ve noticed users are not engaging with your platform and want to fix that. Save yourself time and energy by focusing on the most relevant pain points and areas of improvement.

  Choose the right tools for the job

  Don’t just base your decision on what other people tell you. Take the tool for a test drive — free trials allow you to test features and user interfaces and learn more about the platform before committing. When choosing digital marketing analytics tools, look for ones that ensure data accuracy as well as compliance with privacy laws like GDPR.

  Don’t overlook data compliance

  GDPR ensures organisations prioritise data protection and privacy. You could be fined up to €20 million, or 4% of the previous year’s revenue for violations. Without data compliance practices, you can say goodbye to the time and money spent on digital marketing strategies. 

  Don’t sacrifice data quality and accuracy

  Inaccurate and low-quality data can taint your analysis, making it hard to glean valuable insights from your digital marketing analytics efforts. Many analytics tools only show sampled data or use AI and ML to fill data gaps, potentially compromising the accuracy and completeness of your analytics. 

  When your analytics are based on incomplete or inaccurate data, it’s like trying to assemble a puzzle with missing pieces—you might get a glimpse of the whole picture, but it’s never quite clear. Accurate data isn’t just helpful—it’s the backbone of smart marketing strategies. It lets you make confident decisions and enables precise targeting for greater impact.

  Communicate your findings

  Having insights is one thing ; effectively communicating complex data findings is just as important. Customise dashboards to display key metrics aligned with your objectives. Make sure to automate reports, allowing stakeholders to stay updated without manual intervention. 

  Understand the user journey

  To optimise your conversion rates, you need to understand the user journey. Start by analysing visitors interactions with your website — this will help you identify conversion bottlenecks in your sales or lead generation processes. Implement A/B testing for landing page optimisation, refining elements like call-to-action buttons or copy, and leverage Form Analytics to make informed, data-driven improvements to your forms.

  Continuous improvement

  Learn from the data insights you gain, and iterate your marketing strategies based on the findings. Stay updated with evolving web analytics trends and technologies to leverage new growth opportunities. 

  Why you need web analytics to support your digital marketing analytics toolbox

  You wouldn’t set out on a roadtrip without a map, right ? Digital marketing analytics without insights into how users interact with your website are just as useless. Used ethically, web analytics tools can be an invaluable addition to your digital marketing analytics toolbox. 

  The data collected via web analytics reveals user interactions with your website. These could include anything from how long visitors stay on your page to their actions while browsing your website. Web analytics tools help you gather and understand this data so you can better understand buyer preferences. It’s like a domino effect : the more you understand your buyers and user behaviour, the better you can assess the effectiveness of your digital content and campaigns. 

  Web analytics reveal user behaviour, highlighting navigation patterns and drop-off points. Understanding these patterns helps you refine website layout and content, improving engagement and conversions for a seamless user experience.

  

  Concrete CMS harnessed the power of web analytics, specifically Matomo’s Form Analytics, to uncover crucial insights within their user onboarding process. Their data revealed a significant issue : the “address” input field was causing visitors to drop off and not complete the form, severely impacting the overall onboarding experience and conversion rate.

  Armed with these insights, Concrete CMS made targeted optimisations to the form, resulting in a substantial transformation. By addressing the specific issue identified through Form Analytics, they achieved an impressive outcome – a threefold increase in lead generation.

  This case is a great example of how web analytics can uncover customer needs and preferences and positively impact conversion rates. 

  Ethical implications of digital marketing analytics

  As we’ve touched on, digital marketing analytics are a powerful tool to help better understand online user behaviour. With great power comes great responsibility, however, and it’s a legal and ethical obligation for organisations to protect individual privacy rights. Let’s get into the benefits of practising ethical digital marketing analytics and the potential risks of not respecting user privacy : 

  • If someone uses your digital platform and then opens their email one day to find it filled with random targeted ad campaigns, they won’t be happy. Avoid losing user trust — and facing a potential lawsuit — by informing users what their data will be used for. Give them the option to consent to opt-in or opt-out of letting you use their personal information. If users are also assured you’ll safeguard personal information against unauthorised access, they’ll be more likely to trust you to handle their data securely.
  • Protecting data against breaches means investing in technology that will let you end-to-end encrypt and securely store data. Other important data-security best practices include access control, backing up data regularly and network and physical security of assets.

  A fine line separates digital marketing analytics and misusing user data — many companies have gotten into big trouble for crossing it. (By big trouble, we mean millions of dollars in fines.) When it comes to digital marketing analytics, you should never cut corners when it comes to user privacy and data security. This balance involves understanding what data can be collected and what should be collected and respecting user boundaries and preferences.

  

  Learn more 

  We discussed a lot of facets of digital marketing analytics, namely how to develop a robust digital marketing strategy while prioritising data compliance. With Matomo, you can protect user data and respect user privacy while gaining invaluable insights into user behaviour with 100% accurate data. Save your organisation time and money by investing in a web analytics solution that gives you the best of both worlds. 

  If you’re ready to begin using ethical and robust digital marketing analytics on your website, try Matomo. Start your 21-day free trial now — no credit card required.