Information for developers

Developing a VIXML application should be no more difficult than designing a website in HTML. Once a developer is familiar with the VIXML syntax, all they need to do is create a VIXML document with a text editor and place the file on a web server. After linking their phone number to the file's URL the application is ready to run. Some sample files can be found here.

Applications hosted on Vivatel's server have access to a typical website environment, with PHP, a MySQL database, and FTP access, so developers can apply their web development skills to this platform with minimal re-training.

The Frequently Asked Questions section provides more advice on VIXML application development. If you encounter a problem not covered by this section, please let us know and we'll add it. Our aim is to provide developers with all the information they need.

Outbound video and voice calls can be initiated through Vivatel's HTTP API. A VIXML application is run automatically when the recipient answers their phone, and you can elect to be notified when the call is completed.

Vivatel provides a previewing interface for developers to test their VIXML application in a browser. Given the application's URL, it displays a graphical depiction and also provides clickable links to simulate keypress events. This allows rapid prototyping and leads to significantly shorter development times.

Finally, to assist with all aspects of developing and maintaining an application, Vivatel provides customers with a content management system. This interface allows files to be uploaded, copied, renamed, edited, deleted, and previewed. In addition, it can convert video files to the 3G phone's native MPEG-4 format. Although VIXML can convert video files on the fly, pre-converting uses more sophisticated algorithms that result in significantly better quality.