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I'm developing a Java app in GAE, which offers an API through Google Cloud Endpoints.

Basically it receives requests in the endpoints and uses a number of web services from different providers, stores some data and returns some data through the endpoints...

I understand that my app is conceptually a backend, because it doesn't provide any web page, but only the endpoints, don't you think so?

But there's no way to create only a backend, without being associated to any frontend app, is there? At least Google Plugin for Eclipse only allow you to "Generate App Engine Backend", from an existing app, and moreover this app must be an Android project...

I'm using it as a frontend and there's no problem, but apart from the conceptual issue, I've read that backends are kind of optimized to be backends, with more memory and CPU...

MikO
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2 Answers2

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I think you're just confused because the Cloud Endpoints documentation uses the word 'backend' to refer to the entire cloud-hosted server implementation. It doesn't specifically refer to the use of GAE backend instances. Endpoint requests can be served by frontend or backend instances, based on how you set them up and the url being accessed.

dragonx
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  • Thanks for the info. Yes, I'm quite confused... Could you please explain in a bit more detail the last sentence: "*Endpoint requests can be served by frontend or backend instances, based on how you set them up and the url being accessed*"? – MikO May 13 '13 at 16:52
  • Just set up your URLs as usual for GAE. If it's a url for a frontend instance, then it'll go to a frontend instance, if it's a url for a backend instance, it'll go to a backend instance. – dragonx May 13 '13 at 17:50
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From the App Ending docs:

  • "When an application is called to serve a web request, it must issue a response within 60 seconds"

  • "App Engine Backends are instances of your application that are exempt from request deadlines and have access to more memory (up to 1GB) and CPU (up to 4.8GHz) than normal instances."

So unless you're requests are doing something crazy, you don't need to use a backend. In the google-plugin-for-eclipse, "generate appengine backend" is talking about creating a backend for your android app... a server for your android app to contact (in this case your android app is the frontend and you're appengine app is the backend). In the example app you can remove the web side (index.html) to the appengine application and you'll have no web frontend. Index.html is using the gapi javascript library to make endpoints calls to your appengine service.

loosebazooka
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