Searching for Code to access Azure Table Storage

NETMF & Gadgeteer
21

I definitely would recommend table storage - it is easier to work with in almost every way. I will get the code up there this week.

However, you probably do not want to convert my code to use the native networking. I created this stack specifically for non-native networking devices like the ESP8266 series. I am pretty sure there are existing Azure stacks that are compatible with the native networking - in fact, I think some of my code was derived from another open-source Azure project (though I don’t have my notes handy so I can’t provide the reference).

Maybe someone else here can point you to a stack that is compatible with built-in networking, so you don’t need to re-convert mine back.

22

@ mcalsyn - is it possible to access TableStorage entities with merely the Internet Browser?
Indeed it was rather combersome to reconvert your code but I got it mostly working. However I learnt a lot by analyzing your code. I got this other blob example that I mentioned before working too with your authentication routine. The author of the other example did not calculate the signature in his NETMF code but used a web APP which returned the signed Authorization. So I needed to get your code running.

23

The answer, like with most things, is ‘it depends’. It depends partly on what you mean by ‘merely the internet browser’. Does that mean “with an URL I can write on a napkin” or “with the full power of the browser, including jscript”? Blobs are easy to set up for anonymous access by URL. Storage table rows can be similarly accessible, though you need to set up a Shared Access Token, which will generally involve code somewhere.

You can give read-only url-based access to a storage table via a Shared Access Token. However, that shared access token should be generated by your web app when it constructs you page content, or obtained via a request to a web api, because SAS tokens are only valid for a period of time. They are leases, not permanent keys.

Blobs are easier to read with simple http/https requests, but they don’t support metadata and are not searchable. You can probably simulate things like sites and date ranges by using carefully constructed container and blob names to support iteration over a range.

24

@ mcalsyn - Thanks for the explanation.
I will try to realize my thoughts of how Blob Storage can be used as an easy way to survey sensor data.
When I got it ready, I’ll post it here on CodeShare.
I’m looking forward to see your code for TableStorage.