Update 6/2014: working version here: https://reactivemusic.net/?p=7013
notes
The zapier.com trigger method of sending tweets from Max is limited by number of tweets and sync rate. So it would be nice to set up another intermediary server program in ruby or php which eliminates the middle-man and just sends tweets directly.
Or you could use the mxj searchTweet program, which has been updated to do this on the search side.
twitter gem
update: Got it working with this gem: https://github.com/sferik/twitter. Its much easier than dealing with xively.
docs: http://rdoc.info/gems/twitter
how to destroy a tweet: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10640811/twitter-gem-how-to-get-the-id-of-a-new-tweet
how to get a timeline: http://bobbyprabowo.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/simple-twitter-gem-tutorial/
example of error handling code:
MAX_ATTEMPTS = 3
num_attempts = 0
begin
num_attempts += 1
retweets = Twitter.retweeted_by_user("sferik")
rescue Twitter::Error::TooManyRequests => error
if num_attempts <= MAX_ATTEMPTS
# NOTE: Your process could go to sleep for up to 15 minutes but if you
# retry any sooner, it will almost certainly fail with the same exception.
sleep error.rate_limit.reset_in
retry
else
raise
end
end
Another useful SO post: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16618037/twitter-rate-limit-hit-while-requesting-friends-with-ruby-gem/16620639#16620639