Sandbox

Note: The Kachingle Premium Sandbox does not have complete Facebook and Twitter functionality as does the production version of Kachingle Premium. For the time being, please do not use those services in the Kachingle Premium Sandbox.

The Kachingle Premium Sandbox (KP Sandbox) is a test environment. You can use it to test the integration of your web app with the Kachingle Premium API. It is designed to behave like the real Kachingle Premium environment, with the following exceptions:

  • The KP Sandbox uses virtual dollars instead of real dollars for all transactions.
  • The KP Sandbox maintains a separate database of virtual vendors, medallions and KP Subscribers. Your KP Sandbox account is completely separate from your account on the live Kachingle Premium platform.
  • The disbursement system will operate on a shorter time scale than that of the real Kachingle Premium environment. This difference will allow you to see the results of your changes sooner than would be possible in the live system.

Accessing the KP Sandbox and Linking to it

The KP Sandbox can be found at http://sandbox.kachingle.net. Once you have pointed your browser there, you can create an account for yourself and request medallions to use for testing. You will need a valid email account for that purpose.

  1. Click the link that says "sign up" near the upper right corner of the page.
  2. On the next page, enter your email address and a name and password for your account, and click the link that says "Signup" with an arrow.
  3. Wewill send a confirmation email to the address you provided. To complete the signup process, follow the instructions that it contains.
  4. Finally, you will need at least one medallion for your testing. Send us an email at developers@kachingle.com to request one or more medallions. Make sure you include the following information:
    • The username and email of the account that you created.
    • The number of medallions you will need. Most vendors will only need one, but there is no limit to the number you can request. You can also request more at a later time. You should have one per app or premium level.
    • A note specifying that you need these for the KP Sandbox, not the live environment.
    • The Kachingle Premium Bundle or Bundles that you would like your medallions enrolled in.

Once you have received an email confirming that we have created your medallion(s), you will need to log in to the account to get some critical pieces of information.

  1. Click on the tab that says "My Medallions." On that page, you will find the technical information for each of the web apps that you have registered with Kachingle. Each app has a medallion that we use to keep track of your visitors, and each medallion is associated with several pieces of identifying information.
  2. For each medallion you have, record the medallion number. You will need it wherever you need to enter the value app_id.
  3. Next, for each medallion, click on the name of the medallion. At the bottom of the box of information that appears, you will see a list of the Kachingle Premium Bundles that include your app. You will need to record the Kachingle Premium Bundle numbers for each Kachingle Premium Bundle. To find these numbers:
    1. Hover your mouse over the name of a Kachingle Premium Bundle.
    2. Look at the URL that appears at the bottom of your browser.
    3. Record the number that appears after the final equals sign.
    4. When you are finished, return to the "My Medallions" page.
  4. Now click on the "Manage" button for each medallion, and from the page that comes up, record the value app_secret.

Note: Once you have installed the API, you can also get these pieces of information by using the functions it contains.

To link your app to the KP Sandbox (and the KP Sandbox medallions) instead of the live Kachingle Premium service, you only need to change the argument that you pass to the Kachingle class when you instantiate it. So, instead of this line:

$my_kachingle = new Kachingle(Kachingle::use_live_www)
which links your app to the live Kachingle Premium site, you should use this line:
$my_kachingle = new Kachingle(Kachingle::use_sandbox)

There is further information about instantiating the Kachingle PHP class here.

Basic Functions of the Kachingle Premium Sandbox

Creating Virtual Kachingle Premium Subscribers

You will want to create virtual KP Subscribers to experiment with Kachingle Premium as a user, and then, after you do your app integration, you can use these KP Subscribers to test your app's behavior. You can make any number of virtual KP Subscribers for yourself, although you will have to make them one at a time. Every team member can also create their own virtual KP Subscribers. The procedure is basically to sign up for Kachingle Premium in the same way that a real KP Subscriber would sign up.

  1. You will need to have one valid email address or Facebook account for each virtual KP Subscriber you intend to create. We find it convenient to use gmail for this purpose, because you can create multiple accounts easily. However, any working email address will do. We also recommend naming your email addresses systematically so that it is easier to keep track of them, but again, there are no limitations on the names of your accounts.
    Note: Facebook and Twitter functionality is only available in the live Kachingle Premium platform and is not integrated with the KP Sandbox. Please do not use them in the KP Sandboxfor the time being.
  2. Navigate to http://sandbox.kachingle.net. If you are logged in, you will need to log out.
  3. Click the link that says "sign up" near the upper right-hand corner of the page.
  4. On the next page, enter the virtual KP Subscriber's email address, its name and a password in the appropriate boxes and click the link that says "Signup".
  5. A confirmation email will be sent to the virtual KP Subscriber's address. To complete the process, follow the instructions that it contains.
  6. Choose the Kachingle Premium Bundle called "Fixed Bundle of 5 Math Apps" to experiment with first. In the production system you would have to use PayPal or a credit card, but in the KP Sandbox, no money is required so the payment step is skipped in the Sandbox.
  7. In the next dialogue, you must choose between "Be Private!" or "Be Social!" The first option makes all your interactions with Kachingle Premium anonymous to the general public. The second option enables Facebook and Twitter announcemnets. Please note that this is only functional in the production version.
  8. Start kachingling the Math apps and see what happens!

The Virtual Join Flow

Virtual Join Flow is just like the Join Flow on the live site, except that virtual KP Subscribers are not directed to PayPal.

Getting more medallions

If your app or your testing process requires you to have more than one medallion, we are happy to make more for you. Simply request them by writing to us at developers@kachingle.com

Demo Apps in Kachingle Premium Bundles

The KP Sandboxcomes populated with some sample apps and Kachingle Premium Bundles. These demonstrate the basic functionality of the Kachingle Premium platform. You can have your app enrolled in one of these Kachingle Premium Bundles by contacting us at developers@kachingle.com

Coming soon, you will also be able to see the source code for the demo apps!

There are two kinds of Kachingle Premium Bundles: Virtual Bundles and Fixed Bundles. The former are created and designed by the Kachingle Premium Subscriber, while the latter are created and designed by vendors in consultation with Kachingle. Please note that for simplicity, the Kachingle Premium Sandbox only has fixed Kachingle Premium Bundles.


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