Category: interactive media art

Send and receive Tweets using Max via OSC to a background ruby server.

An advantage of this method is that both the patch and the server are  compact and easy to understand. The Max patch does things in a Max way. And likewise with the ruby scripts.

download

https://github.com/tkzic/internet-sensors

folder: twitter-ruby

files

Max

• twitter-client.maxpat

ruby

• twitter-server-send.rb (for sending Tweets)
• twitter-server-get.rb (for receiving Tweets)

ruby gems

The ruby script requires installation of the following gems

• json
• osc-ruby
• twitter

For example:

# sudo gem install twitter

Twitter authorization

In addition to having a Twitter account, you will need to set up a Twitter application from the developer site here:

https://dev.twitter.com/apps

Good instructions on how to do this can be found in this stackoverflow.com post under this heading: So you want to use the Twitter v1.1 API?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12916539/simplest-php-example-for-retrieving-user-timeline-with-twitter-api-version-1-1

When you get to step 5 – in the instructions – instead of writing your own code, just use a text editor to copy your access tokens into these ruby programs:

• twitter-server-send.rb
• twitter-server-get.rb

Replace the strings in this line of code by copying and pasting the appropriate ones from your Twitter application:

twitterClient = Twitter::REST::Client.new do |config|
  config.consumer_key = "mqQtoYh16343tDFG3BK7QQ"       
  config.consumer_secret = "X0KexjlK49fhhrnn9EztapZfATCQqWCc5fXVJH2pE"      
  config.oauth_token = "205589709-5krgh9FR3KkLGRDnewiU7GKKBMA6i2La84c"       
  config.oauth_token_secret = "LNARAeooN2vkklkF006GRdihQ5D8YYkm8dYvEs68M"  
end

instructions

(note: currently running with ruby version 2.0) Display your ruby version by typing: ruby –version

Sending Tweets

• Open the Max patch: twitter-client.maxpat
• In a terminal window run the ruby script:

# ./twitter-server-send.rb

• In the Max patch, type in a Tweet. Press the green button to send. 

• When you have tweeted enough, end the ruby server program by typing <ctrl-c>

 Receiving Tweets

• Open the Max patch: twitter-client.maxpat
• In a terminal window run the ruby script:
• From Twitter, send a Tweet to the user name embedded in the server

# ./twitter-server-get.rb

Both ruby servers can run at the same time.

What’s next?

• Parse incoming Tweets into various components
• Combine the 2 Ruby servers

revision history

• 5/21/2014 – refactored app names. Added receive server
• 5/19/2004 – moved to twitter-ruby folder
• 1/18/2014 – minor fixes to ruby server for current ruby version 2.0
• 9/7/2013 – uses oauth to communicate directly to Twitter from ruby