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Re: Phht! on screenscaping

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On 9/30/11 9:04 AM, Roedy Green wrote:
> All his would be so much easier if the bookstores would offer an
> alternate computer-friendly api.  You could give them an ISBN, and
> they could give you back some XML, JSON, CSV etc, with a single Yes/No
> instock field.  It would take them all of an hour to cook something
> up.  Sometimes they do it, but make it so complicated and so volatile
> you might as well screenscrape.
>
> Ditto companies that sell posters, or sell anything else via
> affiliates need that sort of API.

As an employee of a company that has introduced an XML API (which is 
used both internally and externally) , I can speak with experience that 
it takes far more than an hour to cook up.  Not only that, but it 
requires constant maintenance and operational support.  It *is* worth it 
for the company because it provides benefits (easier to support an 
front-end webapp which doesn't connect to databases, easy to provide 
data to partners, etc...), however for an average book-store, providing 
that data through an API may actually cost them money, rather than save 
them.  The data itself probably has value, and the maintenance of the 
system to provide that data has a cost.

I would love it if all data was available freely (as in free speech and 
free beer).  I would also love it if all data could be standardized and 
normalized appropriately.  I'd also like a unicorn and world piece.  I 
think all of those things come together, but I'd expect to see a unicorn 
before any of the others. Genetically engineer a narwhal crossed with a 
pony.

The rest is much more complicated.

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Phht! on screenscaping Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-09-30 09:04 -0700
  Re: Phht! on screenscaping markspace <-@.> - 2011-09-30 10:10 -0700
  Re: Phht! on screenscaping Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-09-30 10:24 -0700
    Re: Phht! on screenscaping markspace <-@.> - 2011-09-30 10:30 -0700
      Re: Phht! on screenscaping Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-09-30 10:40 -0700
      Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2011-09-30 21:19 -0400
  Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2011-09-30 21:21 -0400
  Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-09-30 22:53 -0300
    Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2011-09-30 22:11 -0400
      Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-10-01 09:09 -0300
        Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2011-10-01 15:48 -0400
        Re: Phht! on screenscaping Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-10-01 19:22 -0700
          Re: Phht! on screenscaping Movable Hype <mhype101@snortwad.net> - 2011-10-02 03:40 +0000
          Re: Phht! on screenscaping Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-10-02 10:20 -0300
            Re: Phht! on screenscaping Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-10-02 08:43 -0700
              Re: Phht! on screenscaping Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-10-02 16:22 -0700
          Re: Phht! on screenscaping Martin Gregorie <martin@address-in-sig.invalid> - 2011-10-02 12:11 +0000
    Re: Phht! on screenscaping Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-10-01 19:03 -0700

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