In this meeting, the State Changers dove into several complex issues related to integrating different software platforms, including "Xano", "WeWeb", and "Zapier". A significant problem that was addressed involved data triggers and analytics.
The State Changers walked through the issue of an event, called "checkout load", executing numerous workflows leading to multiple records being created each time it fired. This resulted in data duplication and affected the data quality for analytics. After an in-depth discussion, a solution was proposed to separate the concerns between setting the data (which needs to happen once when the page loads) and executing the workflows (which occurs multiple times). Two script tags were created to handle these distinct actions: one to handle the data setup upon page load, and another attached to the workflow for each button click. This modification sought to fix the issue of duplicated data due to repeated setting of data upon each event firing. The State Changers also discussed handling of nullable data, problems with filters, and using update variables for individual fields to prevent unintended changes. The concept of using 'stop and debug' was highlighted as a tool for understanding data flow at any given point. A question regarding storing tokens for authorization headers in the context of security in Lambda functions was addressed. It was clarified that while environment variables were suitable for security, access to the Xano workspace would grant access to those variables anyway, indicating a need for a security audit closer to product release. The meeting wrapped up with the State Changers emphasizing that their present solutions were "good for now" and that these solutions might be revisited and possibly refined once the product gets closer to production. Overall, the meeting offered deep insights into practical problem-solving in software integration, data script tags, workflow execution, data duplication, null data handling, and security of tokens in Lambda functions. It is highly valuable for individuals working on software integrations and looking for ways to resolve similar complex issues.
(Source: Office Hours 6/28/23 )
