Announcing IPP v2.11

We’re excited to announce that IPP v2.11 is now live and available for IPP partners. This release is another in a series focused on extending developer tools and data services, as well as improving the shopping, buying, and user experience for end customers.

IPP v2.11 CONTENTS

1. SERVER BUSINESS LOGIC TOOLS AND SERVICES – BETA
Server Business Logic (SBL) enables developers to deploy server-side java servlets on IPP servers and publish their own APIs. Developers can also use SBL to replace client-side logic, which allows you to manage and maintain one set of code to support multiple client side applications that span devices and application instances.

For example, a web app, mobile app, and desktop plug-in can all rely on a single set of server-side logic for key functions. Processing data operations using IPP’s server- side business logic engine improves application performance and reduces network traffic. Key use cases supported include PDF or Excel output generation or aggregation of data calls, so that instead of six client-side calls an app can make one call to SBL, with SBL then retrieving and aggregating the data sets into a single client side response.

This release of IPP SBL includes the following capabilities:

• Tooling-integrated Eclipse plug-in
  • Right-click deploy
  • Continuous integration build-to-deploy
• Built-in authentication and identity
• Access to other web services
  • Internal proxy to Intuit data and auth services
  • Outbound proxy to access external services
• Managed container
• System monitors CPU, memory, returned bytes; if thresholds are exceeded, request is stopped

SBL is now available in public Beta. Review the documentation and register for the SBL webinar to learn more.  For those unable to attend the webinar, we’ll post it on the IPP Webinars page after it has aired.

2. OAUTH SERVICES – BETA
OAuth (Open Authorization) is an open protocol to allow secure API authorization in a simple and standard method across applications. OAuth is a simple way to publish and interact with protected data.

• OAuth support for unattended scenarios
  • Allows unattended scenarios for secure IPP data access and update when customer is not present within application enabling event driven or time based features
• Sign-in with integrated OAuth for Mobile and Desktop Connected Apps (gadget/plug-in)
  • IPP supports mobile and connected applications that work with web apps (i.e. not stand-alone). This release includes easy “sign-in” with mobile-optimized sign-in pages. Sign-in uses our new OAuth standard and allows long lived access tokens for use up to six months. In the future, IPP will expand this to include sign-up/account creation.

OAuth is now available in public Beta. Review the documentation and register for the OAuth webinar to learn more.  For those unable to attend the webinar, we’ll post it on the IPP Webinars page after it has aired.

3. INTUIT DATA SERVICES FOR QUICKBOOKS DESKTOP DATA
There are a number of new data sets. We’ve also made enhancements and improvements to Intuit Data Services (IDS) for QuickBooks desktop data.

All of the new objects and behaviors listed below work with v2 of the IDS API. Developers must use v2 of the IDS API to utilize these new services. Previous IDS versions (e.g. v1) are supported but will not include new objects/behaviors; developers are urged to migrate to the latest API version at their earliest convenience.

The following data elements and methods have been exposed via REST API as well as added to the IPP Flex framework. These data elements and methods previously released in BETA quality as part of previous releases.
New IDN objects / methods now in production quality:

• Names
  • Company update
• Accounts Receivable and Items (money in)
  • Invoice update
  • Estimate update
  • Sales tax code read
• Time
  • Timeactivity create and update

Other IDS enhancements available:

• Reporting data services
  Developers can now access summary report data for the following reports:
  • Profit and Loss Standard Report
  • A previous bug has been fixed now allowing access to a standard P&L report
  • Custom Transaction Detail report
• Transaction numbering generator
  IDS now generates unique transaction document numbering in the cloud for web applications. This allows QuickBooks users to distinguish transactions created outside of QuickBooks desktop. It generates a web-based number that will be separate from QuickBooks desktop — a unique prefix-based numbering with a sequential numerical increment for each transaction type with one shared schema per realm.
• Random Access Iterator
  Random Access Iterator allows requests for a designated number of query results in output, allowing support for scenarios in which devices or connections timeout. This provides seamless re-requests for query output. This feature is especially valuable to provide an enhanced experience for mobile data scenarios.

For more information on IDS capabilities, please review the platform release notes.

4. INTUIT APP CENTER END-USER ENHANCEMENTS
Enhancements have been made to Intuit App Center improving the end-user experience. This release includes enhancements to detect existing accounts earlier in the process and enhancements to prevent users from creating additional accounts.

• Action Required: Updated and finalized new toolbar design
  Design for the new toolbar has been updated and finalized. Developers will have time after the release of 2.11 to do final testing (please contact developer relations for information on the new toolbar). The new toolbar will be enabled for all end-users once it has been tested and verified by developers.
• Redesigned Sign-Up/Sign-In (SUSI) first screen
  The first SUSI screen has been redesigned incorporating both the login and new account functions. Users now follow a single flow with both options (instead of separate flows previously). This change detects an existing account in the first step; previously users would go down the new account flow and would only be notified of an existing account after completing the new account screen.
• Improvements in detecting and notifying users of existing accounts
  The new account page has also been enhanced to detect existing accounts upon exit of the first email address field. Users are prompted with a “speech bubble” on detection of existing account and can go back to login or recover a forgotten password.
• Improvements in messaging IE6 as an unsupported browser
  The end-user messaging for unsupported browsers has been redesigned from a pop-up to a separate web page. Because the default settings for IE6 blocked pop-ups, users would only see the unsupported browser messaging by viewing the alert from the alert bar. Now the messaging is displayed in a standard web page and not subject to pop-up blocker settings.
• Upcoming changes to streamline QuickBooks data setup
  A new streamlined data setup process will be released as part of a forthcoming QuickBooks update (currently targeting end of October). The update will enable a handoff between IPP and QuickBooks to launch data setup directly from IPP. Current QuickBooks data setup is initiated from QuickBooks and requires manual intervention by the user.

Visit the Intuit App Center.

5. SOFTWARE UPDATES / FIXES
For a complete list of software updates / fixes included in IPP v2.11, please review the Intuit Partner Platform release notes here.