How to measure latency between Google Apps Script project and Google Cloud Platform regions

If you are debugging your Google Apps Script application, you find useful to measure time spent on requests. There are several regions (now 20) and zones (now 61) in Google Cloud Platform. (source)

G Suite and their smart-and-powerfull tool App Script are running on the same infrastructure. Integration between Apps Script and some GCP service (e.g. Vision API, Natural Language API, Cloud Functions) is not through Google private network, but through public internet (in other words: you are calling REST APIs with UrlFetchApp). That means, it is good to care about your region.

If you would like to get more insights and find out where your application is "hosted", you can use code snippet.


It measures latency between your Apps Script application and several GCP regions around the world. UrlFetchApp makes HTTP requests to VMs running in each region.

Here is my result:
(Apps Script Project Timezone: Paris, Europe, computer located: Prague, Czech republic)

[19-06-03 13:09:05:115 PDT] us-east1: 8.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:116 PDT] global: 10.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:116 PDT] us-east4: 33.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:117 PDT] northamerica-northeast1: 60.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:118 PDT] us-central1: 86.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:118 PDT] us-west1: 142.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:119 PDT] us-west2: 144.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:119 PDT] europe-west2: 183.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:120 PDT] europe-west1: 195.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:120 PDT] europe-west4: 197.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:121 PDT] europe-west3: 204.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:121 PDT] southamerica-east1: 246.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:122 PDT] europe-north1: 258.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:122 PDT] asia-northeast1: 319.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:123 PDT] europe-west6: 343.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:124 PDT] asia-east1: 389.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:124 PDT] australia-southeast1: 421.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:125 PDT] asia-east2: 433.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:125 PDT] asia-southeast1: 463.0 ms
[19-06-03 13:09:05:125 PDT] asia-south1: 563.0 ms

Inspiration and browser version is located here: http://www.gcping.com/

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Deploy Google Apps Script web app as an Android application

The main advantage of serverless Google Apps Script against of serverless Cloud Functions is online editor (IDE) not only for writing code for server-side, but even for client-side. You can create HTML web application with HTMLService

Google has recently introduced (G Suite update 12/2018) option to deploy web application as a native Android application for G Suite users. If you are reading this, you are probably power-user so you can imagine what you are able to do now! Yes, deploy native Android application with Google Apps Script.

Notes:
-To use web apps, your user’s devices must have Google Chrome installed

1) Create a new Script at https://script.google.com

2) Insert code snippet into code.gs


3) Create a new HTML file and rename it to "view.html"

4) Edit HTML for your future über-cool-application (just for now, insert Hello World!)

5) Open menu Publish --> Deploy as web app and copy URL address

6) It is time setup in G Suite. Open Google Admin console (https://admin.google.com) and pick category Device management

7) Then choose App Management from left panel.

 8) In App Management you will see section in the middle of page - Manage apps for Android devices. This section contains button Manage whitelisted apps. Click it.

9) Now you are in mobile application management. First, you have to Add a new whitelisted application (with yellow circle button)

10) You will see Google Play directory. Change category (left panel) to Web Apps.

11) For now, you have to again click at Add button (circle button at right bottom of page.

12) Now you can define behaviour of your Android application.
- Title is name of application on home screen
- URL of your Google Apps Script (from step 5)
- I recommend you for display choose Full screen or Standalone
- Icon of your Android application

13) After you click at Create button it will take about 10 minutes to prepare your application.
(There is a small text Not available yet below during preparation )

14) When your application is successfully prepared, then you can click at desired icon

15) During distribution strategy, you can distribute application for all G Suite users or subset according to Organization unit.

16) Last step contains option to automatically install application on all devices (This option doesn't work for me)

17) When you visit Google Play at your phone, then navigate to section Work Apps. Click to application and install it.

The was a final step. Your Google Apps Script application is on mobile's homescreen

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