Introduction
Overview
Integrating with the SDK
Initializing the SDK
Requesting Recommendations
Handling and Displaying Recommendations
Handling Clicks on Recommendations
Using the Sample Applications

Introduction

About This Document

This document describes the Outbrain mobile SDK for the Android platform. It is intended for Android mobile app developers who want to integrate the Outbrain product into their code. The document describes the main Outbrain interface functions.

Software Requirements

The Outbrain SDK is a Java package, and is compatible with API version >= 14. In addition, you will need to use the Google Play package.

Outbrain Application Review

A finalized build must be sent to Outbrain QA at least one week (5 working days) prior to your anticipated release date. We may request changes which will require additional dev resources and could delay your release. We reserve the right to remove our recommendations or restrict the app from generating Outbrain revenue if required changes are not incorporated prior to release. Builds can be submitted via TestFlight or HockeyApp to test-devices@outbrain.com. Your Account Strategist can provide more details.

Recommendation Display Guidelines and Limitations

The recommendations that Outbrain provides are time-sensitive and should be used within one hour of receiving them. Recommendations are intended for specific users at specific times, and any caching or delay in their presentation will have a negative impact on their performance (and the user experience).
The following limitations and guidelines must be applied to the Outbrain recommendations’ display:

• Storing/caching recommendations with the intent of delaying their presentation on the page is prohibited.
• Co-mingling of Outbrain recommendations with other content links within the same container is prohibited, unless mutually agreed upon between the client and Outbrain.
• Altering or replacing an Outbrain recommendation’s text or image is prohibited.
• All paid recommendations must be uniquely labeled in a manner that can be reasonably associated with the relevant content, as mutually agreed upon between the client and Outbrain.

Overview

The Outbrain Recommendation User Experience

While a user is viewing a page on your mobile app, you can display content recommendations that may be interesting to him or her. You can recommend both related content within your own app, and 3rd-party content recommendations. You can choose how and when to display the recommendations, whether as a footer, in-feed or other format.

The image below illustrates how a user might view Outbrain recommendations:

The Outbrain Workflow

The Outbrain workflow consists of the following main actions:

• Request content recommendations related to a specific article or app location.
• Receive a list of recommendations and display them.
• When a user clicks on a recommendation, navigate to the recommendation.
• Important: The Outbrain SDK provides the developer an interface for fetching and receiving recommendations in the form of OBRecommendationResponse which encapsulates the json response from the server. Please note that developers should be responsible for implementing the actual UI of the recommendations in their app. Developers are more than welcome to use Outbrain UI examples which can be found in our Sample Apps: Catalog and Journal.

Working with Recommendation Widgets

A widget is a UI component, implemented within the app. When you design your app, you decide which widgets will display Outbrain recommendations and respond to clicks on them.

For each widget displaying Outbrain recommendations, you must consult with your Outbrain account manager and decide on a suitable configuration. The configuration refers to settings such as:

• The number of recommendations to be displayed in the widget.
• Whether thumbnail images should be displayed for each recommendation.
• Whether to recommend articles or videos.

Once these settings are determined, your account manager assigns a unique ID for each different widget configuration. This is the value you pass in the widgetId parameter when calling fetchRecommendations.

For example, the Outbrain Journal sample app uses 4 widgets, each with a unique widget ID:

• In-stream – the widget appears within homepage or section front content titles.
• Drawer – a dynamic widget that appears at the bottom of the display when the user scrolls up, which can be expanded to show additional recommendations.
• Footer – a widget that’s displayed constantly at the bottom of the page.
• Interstitial – a widget that appears in between article pages.

These widget types are illustrated in the following images:

Integrating with the Outbrain SDK

Updating from an older version of the SDK:

Before continuing to the next steps – please remove OutbrainSDK.jar from the project and all its dependencies.

2 Steps Require to integrate Outbrain SDK with your code:

1) In the project’s build.gradle file (NOT the app module build.gradle) –> under “all projects” –> “repositories” add the following:

maven {
    url 'https://dl.bintray.com/outbrainmobile/obsdk'
    credentials {
        username = "OutbrainPublishers"
        password = "*****************"
    }
}

• Please contact your Account Manager in order to receive a valid password.

See example:

compile 'com.outbrain.obsdk:obsdk:1.5.3.ga1'

Initializing the Outbrain SDK

The Outbrain Class

The Outbrain class defines a singleton object that is your main interface with the Outbrain SDK. Your app calls its public static methods in order to interact with the Outbrain server. The Outbrain singleton instance is created automatically; you do not need to create it.

Registering Your App’s Configuration

You will need to register your app’s Outbrain configuration once during the initialization of your app, before calling any other Outbrain method. The register function takes two parameters:
* appContext – your ApplicationContext object.
* appKey – a string that contains the application key you’ve received from your Outbrain account manager.

Here is an example of how to call Outbrain.register:

try {
    Outbrain.register(appContext, appKey);
}
catch (OutbrainException ex)
{
    // handle exception
}

Working in Test Mode

While you are developing your app and debugging the integration with Outbrain, you must configure the SDK to work in test mode. This prevents Outbrain from performing operational actions such as reporting and billing, for clicks that were not made by your app’s users.

Here is an example:

Outbrain.setTestMode(true); // enable test mode when debugging

During the development and testing phase, call setTestMode during your app’s initialization, but remember to remove this call before submitting your app to the app store.

Requesting Recommendations

Calling fetchRecommendations

When you want to request content recommendations, call Outbrain.fetchRecommendations. Outbrain will send a response containing a list of recommendations, based on the request parameters and the Outbrain configuration.

fetchRecommendations takes two parameters:
* request – an instance of OBRequest, containing the request details (see OBRequest Properties).
* listener – an instance of RecommendationsListener, which is a response listener that you must implement to handle the request’s success or failure ((See Handling and Displaying Recommendations).

Here is an example of how to call Outbrain.fetchRecommendations:

OBRequest req = new OBRequest(currentUrl, widgetId);

Outbrain.fetchRecommendations(request, new RecommendationsListener() {
    @Override
    public void onOutbrainRecommendationsSuccess(OBRecommendationsResponse recommendations) {
        //Do something with the recommendations (i.e populate UI components)
    }

    @Override
    public void onOutbrainRecommendationsFailure(Exception ex) {
        //Handle failure (write to log, hide the UI component, etc...)
    }
});

Creating a Recommendation Request

Setting OBRequest Properties

When creating an OBRequest object to provide to fetchRecommendations, set the following properties:

1. url (mandatory) – the URL of the page for which you’re requesting recommendations. (See Request URL for more details.)
2. widgetId (mandatory) – the widget ID (see Request Widget ID for more details).
3. widgetIndex (optional) – the widget index, required if there is more than one widget on the same app page (see Request Widget Index for more details).

Request URL

There are two types of URLs for which you can request recommendations:

• An article or video page
• A home page or section front

In the case of a home page or section front, please consult with your Outbrain account manager about how to construct the URL.

Request Widget ID

There may be one or more locations in your app where you want to display content recommendations. In addition, you may need to display recommendations in several different widgets on the same page.

Widget IDs are pre-assigned by your account manager, after you define your display requirements for the specific widget. The widget ID maps to settings related to the widget’s display, the number of recommendations returned, etc.

For example, the Journal sample app uses 4 different widget IDs:

• ID “APP_1” for the in-stream homepage widget.
• ID “APP_2” for the interstitial widget.
• IDs “APP_3” and “APP_4” for footer and drawer widgets on article pages.

// create request with mandatory parameters : URL and WidgetID
OBRequest request = new OBRequest();
request.setUrl(post.url);
request.setWidgetId("APP_1");

Request “Widget Index”

The widget index is a numeric, zero-based value assigned sequentially to all widgets on the same page. If you plan to use (or already using) more than one widget on a single page on your Mobile app – you’ll have to implement the fetching of the recommendations in a specific order according to the guidelines below:

As a side note, it’s important to note that on Mobile apps there is no “real page”, so the meaning of a “page” in this context is a “screen” or a “page” in which 2 widgets or more are shown to the user.

For example, if you have 3 widgets on a page, you’ll assign the indexes 0, 1 and 2 to these widgets. The widget index is used to differentiate between widgets on the same page, so as not to duplicate recommendations sent to different widgets. Widgets on the same page may be of different types (e.g. footer and drawer), or may be multiple instances of the same type (e.g. multiple in-feed), that should display different recommendations.

Guidelines for Fetching Recommendations Multiple Times in a Single Page

1. Please make sure that you set the “widget index” variable for each request, i.e. the first request should be sent with idx=0, the second with idx=1 and so on.

2. The second call for “fetchRecommandations” should be executed from the callback (success or failure) of the first request. The reason we ask our developers to do this is as follows: the response of the first request contains a token from the server that should be sent together with the second request. This is all done “behind the scene” by the SDK, however in order for this to work the SDK has to wait for the response of the first call. Meaning, you, the developer, have to make sure this logic works well within your app.

The code is from Outbrain “Journal” sample app:

    @Override
    public void fragmentBecameVisible() {
        if (! didGetRecommendations) {
            fetchRecommendations(OBDemoWidgetID2);
        }
    }

    private void fetchRecommendations(String widgetId) {
        OBRequest request = new OBRequest();
        request.setUrl(post.url);
        request.setWidgetId(widgetId);
        if (widgetId.equals(OBDemoWidgetID3)) {
            request.setWidgetIndex(1);
        }
        // Default index is 0 so the first request will be according to guidelines. 
        Outbrain.fetchRecommendations(request, this);
    }

    @Override
    public void onOutbrainRecommendationsSuccess(final OBRecommendationsResponse recommendations) {
        String requestWidgetId = recommendations.getRequest().getWidgetJsId();
        didGetRecommendations = true;

        // Response from the first "fetch" call
        if (requestWidgetId.equals(OBDemoWidgetID2)) {
            // First set the result of the first call on the screen, 
            // we can't be sure the second response will be "success".
            setRecommendationsForDrawer(recommendations);
            fetchRecommendations(OBDemoWidgetID3);
        }

        // Response from the second "fetch" call    
        if (requestWidgetId.equals(OBDemoWidgetID3)) {
            setRecommendationsForFooter(recommendations);
        }

    }

    @Override
    public void onOutbrainRecommendationsFailure(Exception ex) {
        Log.e("OB", "failure = " + ex.getMessage());
        ex.printStackTrace();
    }

Please note the following:

1. The flow starts at fragmentBecameVisible() – there we fetch recommendations for OBDemoWidgetID2.

2. On the “success” callback we call the second widget OBDemoWidgetID3

3. In fetchRecommendations() for the second widget (OBDemoWidgetID3) we set idx=1

Handling and Displaying Recommendations

Handling the OBRecommendationsResponse

After your app calls fetchRecommendations, Outbrain calls your recommendations listener’s onOutbrainRecommendationsSuccess method, while providing an OBRecommendationsResponse object. Using this object, you can iterate over the list of recommendations and display them in your app.

Here is an example of an onOutbrainRecommendationsSuccess implementation:

public void onOutbrainRecommendationsSuccess(
                          final OBRecommendationsResponse recResponse)
{
        int numRecs = recResponse.getAll().size();

        for (int i = 0; i < numRecs; i++)
        {
            OBRecommendation rec = recResponse.get(int index);
            // displaying the recommendation

        }
}

Displaying a Recommendation

Each OBRecommendation object contained within the OBRecommendationsResponse has the following properties:

• content - the recommendation's title.
• thumbnail – a thumbnail image (OBThumbnail object) related to the recommendation. This property is optional, and is included only if the widget is configured to display images.
• sourceName – the name of the recommendation's source (publisher). For paid recommendations this is the site name, and for organic recommendations this is the section name.
• isPaid – indicates whether this a paid or organic recommendation.
• isVideo – indicates whether the recommendation points to an article containing a video clip.

// Example: displaying a specific recommendation
// getting the recommendation
OBRecommendation rec = recResponse.get(index);
// getting the title
String title = rec.getContent();
// .... populate the relevant UI component with the title

// getting the source
String source = rec.getSource();
// .... populate the relevant UI component with the source

// getting image URL
if (rec.getThumbnail() != null) {
   String imageURL = rec.getThumbnail().getUrl();
   // .... populate the relevant UI component with the image
}

// handling paid VS organic recommendation
If (rec.isPaid()) {
   //....Show disclaimer, add paid icon, etc…
}
// handling video VS article
if (rec.isVideo()) {
   //Add video icon on recommendation
}

Displaying Thumbnail Images

The thumbnail image is defined by the OBThumbnail object returned within OBRecommendation. It contains the following properties:

• width – the image width in pixels
• height – the image height in pixels
• url – a URL pointing to the image file. Use the URL to render the thumbnail image (see examples in the Outbrain sample apps).

The image width and height values are those agreed upon and determined by the widget ID.

Outbrain Widget Labeling

Any widget displaying Outbrain recommendations must be labeled with a header that is mutually agreed upon between the client and Outbrain.

To comply with Outbrain labeling guidelines:

1. Add the widget title text agreed upon with Outbrain (e.g. “Promoted stories”).

2. Choose one of the Outbrain logo images from the Outbrain-Resources folder, and add a clickable Outbrain logo to your widget, that opens the following link:
   <a href="http://www.outbrain.com/what-is/default/en-mobile">privacy policy</a>

See Recommendation Display Guidelines and Limitations for additional instructions about how to display Outbrain recommendations.

Handling Clicks on Recommendations

Getting the Recommendation URL

When a user clicks on one of Outbrain’s content recommendations, call Outbrain’s Outbrain.getOriginalContentURLAndRegisterClick method in order to get the content URL to be opened/navigated for your app user. Use the returned value as instructed below:

Here is an example:

// rec is an OBRecommendation object returned in OBRecommendationsResponse
String recommendationUrl = Outbrain.getOriginalContentURLAndRegisterClick(rec);

Please note, developers should open the recommendationUrl "as is", i.e. without any manipulation such as escaping or decoding.

Navigating to the Recommendation

When a user clicks on a recommendation, navigate to it as follows:

• For paid recommendations - open the URL (that you received from Outbrain.getOriginalContentURLAndRegisterClick) in an in-app browser (web view) or an external browser. You can find an example of navigation to an in-app browser in the Journal sample app.

• For organic recommendations - navigate to the organic content using your app’s standard navigation mechanism. You can find an example in the Journal sample app.

@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
String recommendationUrl =      
    Outbrain.getOriginalContentURLAndRegisterClick(item);

    if (item.isPaid()) 
        openNewWebViewIntent(recommendationUrl);
    else 
        openInlineIntent(recommendationUrl);
}

Handling Exceptions

• Outbrain.register may throw an OutbrainException.
• RecommendationsListener.onOutbrainRecommendationsFailure receives an Exception object.

Using the Sample Applications

The Outbrain SDK includes two sample applications that demonstrate how to use the SDK: the Catalog application and the Journal application. Both are located under the Samples folder of your SDK installation. The following sections describe these applications.

The Catalog Sample Application

The Catalog sample application is located under the Samples\Catalog folder of your SDK installation. This application contains a collection of recommendation display layouts, which you can use to get an idea of how to present recommendations in your own app, or even copy the layout code as is.

Catalog first displays a menu of available layouts. Tapping on a layout name displays recommendations in the chosen layout.

The Journal Sample Application

The Journal sample application is located under the Samples\Journal folder of your SDK installation. This application shows a page of articles, with Outbrain recommendations interspersed in between the original articles. The user can swipe the recommendations to the left or right, to see additional recommendations.

Journal app tour:

• Main page, includes in-stream slider recs.
• Article page, includes footer and drawer.
• Interstitial page, includes recommendations.

What's New in Release 1.5.3

1) Improved registration method (no need for config file) - registration to Outbrain can be done with:

try {
    Outbrain.register(appContext, appKey);
}
catch (OutbrainException ex)
{
    // handle exception
}

2) Deprecated functions:

Class OBRequest {
    public String getMobileId()
    public String getSource()
}

3) REMOVED:

isHomepage()

The SDK automatically handle homepage requests, there is no need to set \ get this parameter manually.

4) Stability and performance

• SDK was built with Android Studio 2.0, API 23 (Android 6.0)
• Minimum SDK support is API 14 (Android 4.0)
• All Network operations are handled with OKHttp for best performance.
• Gradle dependency support - SDK can be integrated directly from build.gradle file, no need to download and copy any *.jar file to the project.
• Stability fix for Google known bug in Android 5 - CookieManager, see https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=175124

5) Improve sample apps code

• Compile and run on all Android 6.0 devices
• Supporting all Android sizes.
• Improved performance
• Bug fixes