Handling daily SMS responses with Twilio and Airtable integration

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1

Hey everyone! I’m new here and could use some help with my Twilio and Airtable setup.

I’ve got a system that sends out daily SMS messages to a group of people. Now I want to check their replies using a Twilio function that looks at an Airtable base. Here’s what I’m trying to do:

  1. Check Airtable for today’s entry
  2. Look at the SMS response
  3. Compare the response to what we expect
  4. Send back a message based on whether they got it right or not

I’ve set up an Airtable base for this, but I’m not sure if my Twilio function is doing the job. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

function handleSmsResponse(context, event, callback) {
  const db = new AirtableDB(context.API_KEY).useBase(context.BASE_ID);
  const smsReply = new SmsResponseHandler();
  const today = new Date();
  const userAnswer = event.Body.toLowerCase();

  db.getRecords('daily_questions')
    .filter(r => r.date === today)
    .fetchAll()
    .then(results => {
      for (let r of results) {
        if (r.expectedAnswer === userAnswer) {
          smsReply.sendMessage(r.correctMessage);
          return callback(null, smsReply);
        }
      }
      smsReply.sendMessage(r.hintMessage);
      return callback(null, smsReply);
    })
    .catch(err => callback(err));
}

Can anyone spot what I’m doing wrong or suggest improvements? Thanks!

2

I worked on a similar integration and noticed a few areas where improvements can be made. One main observation is that while your code structure is clear, you might want to enhance error handling in the middle of the function rather than just at the end. Also, be careful with date comparisons since discrepancies in format may cause logic issues. It might be beneficial to leverage Airtable’s filtering capabilities directly instead of fetching all records. Refactoring the code to use async/await could also improve its readability and maintainability.

In experience, ensuring robust testing for all possible SMS response scenarios is critical, so consider edge cases for both correct and incorrect inputs.

3

Your approach is on the right track, but there’s room for optimization. Consider implementing rate limiting to prevent excessive API calls to Airtable. Also, it’s worth exploring Twilio’s webhook functionality for real-time processing instead of polling. In my experience, handling different response formats (e.g., variations in capitalization or extra spaces) can significantly improve user experience. Lastly, implementing a caching mechanism for frequently accessed data could enhance performance, especially if you’re dealing with a large user base. These tweaks should help streamline your system and make it more robust.

4

hey mate, ur code looks decent. i’d suggest adding some error handling for empty results. also, watch out for timezone issues with that date comparison. maybe use a library like moment.js to handle dates better. good luck with ur project!