Introduction
In addition to performing identity mapping on-demand when an application requires it, it is also possible to perform mapping as part of user registration. This integration requires some configuration and customization of Ringside. The diagram below illustrates the flow of pages when mapping during registration. These steps are broken down in the following sections.
This page refers to the implementation at Moorestown Running Company, using a deployed application and mapping provided by Voomaxer. See the Moorestown Running Company site for the mapping flow, and the Voomaxer Facebook application as an example of using the mapping procedure inline.
Setting up the Registration Page
The first step of inline identity mapping is to configure the registration page by using a "next" parameter when linking to the register.php page. The "next" parameter works like the login.php "next" parameter, except that it is a full URL to anywhere on the Internet, not restricted to any particular application. In this case, the "next" parameter points to a new page on your Ringside instance called "map_bounce.php". This file contains a simple redirect to a URL with the following structure:
path_to_map.php?v=1.0&method=map&api_key={an_app_api_key}&snid={your_network_key}&sid={newUid from $_REQUEST}&network
Note that the registration process will submit a parameter called "newUid" with the uid assigned to the newly-registered user. This is used by map_bounce.php to redirect to the mapping page on the remote network to request that the user map their identity or choose to create a new data set for this newly-created user.
Here is a sample file you can customize for your own network: map_bounce.php
Setting up the Mapping Page
The mapping page uses the parameter "network" passed in from the map_bounce.php page to process the mapping as an inline mapping for a network (as opposed to an on-demand mapping during an application request). The "network" parameter instructs the remote network to use the "postmap_url" configuration parameter to redirect the user back to the originating (host) network's site. In this case, a new page, postmap_landing.html, has been created that directs the user either to their profile page or to the application being hosted on the runningco.com site.
Customizing the Mapping Page
In order to preserve the look and feel of the mapping flow, a custom mapping page can be installed on the deployed network (voomaxer.com in this example). The map.php page looks for a custom mapping page and displays that page for either on-demand or inline mapping. In order to install the page, simply place the custom page in the include_path of the Ringside server, accessible using a path with the following format:
{host_network_key}/map/map.php
