The Evolution of SkateConnect: Part 2 – Enhancements, Performance, and Community Integration
🚀 Introduction: Taking SkateConnect to the Next Level
In Part 1, we explored how SkateConnect evolved from an idea into reality—building real-time messaging, interactive maps, and seamless video sharing into a cohesive experience for skaters. Now, it’s time to delve deeper into optimizations, robust deep linking, enhanced camera reliability, and crucial community-driven improvements.
💬 Direct Messaging: Secure, Private, and Real-Time
Skateboarding thrives on direct communication. We expanded SkateConnect’s messaging capabilities to include:
- ✅ Encrypted direct messaging for enhanced privacy.
- ✅ Dynamic group chats that maintain high performance.
- ✅ Efficient message synchronization across multiple devices.
🔹 Technical Challenges:
- Balancing encryption with real-time responsiveness.
- Managing battery efficiency while handling notifications.
- Preventing message duplication across Nostr relays.
✅ Solutions Implemented:
- Leveraged Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for secure yet lightweight messaging.
- Introduced a robust Combine-based event handling system, significantly optimizing performance.
- Developed a custom deduplication strategy to handle message repeats from multiple relays.
The result: Fast, secure, and seamless messaging for all SkateConnect users.
⚙️ Performance & Stability: From Black Screens to Smooth Experiences
Nothing is more frustrating than a glitchy app. We tackled issues like intermittent camera black screens and slow loading times head-on.
- ✅ Eliminated intermittent camera loading issues causing black screens.
- ✅ Optimized video upload performance, ensuring stability even with large skate videos.
- ✅ Streamlined thumbnail generation to improve responsiveness.
🔹 Challenges and Solutions:
- Black Screen Bug: Resolved by explicitly managing camera state transitions using Combine and SwiftUI lifecycle events.
- Video Upload Optimization: Implemented chunked uploads to AWS S3 for stability and improved upload speeds.
- Instant Thumbnails: Thumbnails are now generated immediately on-device, reducing wait time for video sharing dramatically.
SkateConnect now feels fluid, reliable, and ready to capture your skate sessions instantly.
📍 Enhanced Deep Linking: Universal & Custom URL Integration
Effective deep linking transforms SkateConnect from an app into an ecosystem. To improve deep linking:
- ✅ Universal Links (
https://skatepark.chat/channel?...) integrated with robust URL parsing.
- ✅ Custom URL Schemes (
skateconnect://) support easy navigation even when offline.
- ✅ Seamless integration from QR codes scanned externally (e.g., camera app).
🔹 Technical Improvements:
- Updated the
apple-app-site-association file to cover deep linking channels.
- Implemented SwiftUI’s
onContinueUserActivity with NSUserActivityTypeBrowsingWeb to handle deep links smoothly.
The result: Reliable, intuitive linking from external apps and QR codes directly to the app’s correct views.
🎥 Elevating Video Sharing: Faster, Easier, Better
Video sharing is core to the skating experience, and we’ve made it easier than ever:
- ✅ Quick camera access without black screen delays.
- ✅ Streamlined uploads, reducing network bottlenecks.
- ✅ Fast preview generation to enhance user engagement.
🔹 Technical Improvements:
- Optimized camera session management, eliminating black-screen issues.
- Enhanced the
UploadManager with error handling, retry logic, and progress indicators.
- On-device thumbnail generation using
AVFoundation, providing immediate feedback for users.
📝 Contextual Actions & Community Requests
We listened closely to feedback from the SkateConnect community, refining interactions across the app:
- ✅ Context menus now allow adding notes, copying user details, or reporting instantly.
- ✅ Enhanced alerts and confirmation dialogues with more flexibility (e.g., three-button alerts).
- ✅ Conditional UI improvements that streamline user interactions, showing relevant actions based on available data.
🔹 Key UI Changes:
- Implemented
contextMenu for efficient interactions with user details and messages.
- Enhanced SwiftUI’s alerts to allow for better user input (e.g., note-taking with real-time text validation).
- Improved feedback loops for form submissions, clearly indicating success and errors to users.
This user-focused iteration ensures SkateConnect remains intuitive and responsive.
📌 Refined Data Management & SwiftData Integration
Efficient data management means less lag and a better user experience. Key improvements include:
- ✅ Migration strategy based on dynamic app versions, avoiding hardcoded schema versions.
- ✅ Efficient handling of friend notes and crypto addresses, leveraging SwiftData’s powerful relational capabilities.
- ✅ Real-time updates managed through observable objects and
objectWillChange.
🔹 Technical Highlights:
- Eliminated heavy computational operations in favor of memoized computed properties for unread counts.
- Improved SwiftData schema definitions for cleaner and more efficient relationship handling.
- Enhanced data validation (e.g., precise Solana address validation).
🔗 Refined Deep-Linking Experience
We’ve carefully refined deep-linking scenarios:
- ✅ Universal links function seamlessly from external apps, web browsers, and QR code scans.
- ✅ Swift’s
NSUserActivity and onContinueUserActivity are fully leveraged for robust link handling.
- ✅ Ensured reliable parsing from URLs (
https://skatepark.chat/channel/...) to take users directly to content.
🚧 Easy Integration into Existing Projects (Code Plug-in)
All improvements were structured to make them easy to integrate into existing codebases. Modularized SwiftUI views, Combine-driven models, and clear delegation patterns allow:
- Plug-and-play integration with minimal changes.
- Easy-to-follow protocols and event-handling patterns.
- Simplified lifecycle management to avoid UI bugs like black screens.
📅 What’s Next in Part 3?
Building on performance and usability, next we’ll focus on:
- ✅ AI-driven skate spot recommendations.
- ✅ Community voting and moderation tools.
- ✅ Expanded analytics and user insights.
Stay tuned as we continue shaping SkateConnect into the ultimate skateboarding app—by skaters, for skaters.
🏁 Conclusion: Listening, Improving, and Growing Together
By closely integrating community feedback and addressing technical challenges head-on, we’ve improved SkateConnect’s performance, usability, and reliability significantly. From direct messaging to universal linking, every enhancement was built to keep skaters connected, empowered, and informed.
Stay tuned for Part 3—coming soon! 🚀
