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Geuis
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Posted - 2009.01.28 18:52:00 -
[1]
I'm curious if there are plans to publish API data in a JSON format in addition to the existing XML form. This would open the door for additional types of application development. |
Arous Drephius
Perkone
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Posted - 2009.01.28 19:05:00 -
[2]
Edited by: Arous Drephius on 28/01/2009 19:05:44 Surely it's not that hard to parse XML in the language of your choice? |
Geuis
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Posted - 2009.01.28 19:26:00 -
[3]
The question isn't about parsing. Its about opening up data to alternate formats. Just because you don't want JSON doesn't mean that I or someone else doesn't. JSON is a lighter-weight data transfer format than XML. Its also natively recognized by Javascript, which opens up the possibility of browser-based applications communicating directly with the API. |
Coconut Joe
VIRTUAL LIFE VANGUARD Intrepid Crossing
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Posted - 2009.01.28 20:03:00 -
[4]
Originally by: Geuis The question isn't about parsing. Its about opening up data to alternate formats. Just because you don't want JSON doesn't mean that I or someone else doesn't. JSON is a lighter-weight data transfer format than XML. Its also natively recognized by Javascript, which opens up the possibility of browser-based applications communicating directly with the API.
Um, XML is natively 'natively recognised' by Javascript. Might I point that you'll be more productive in life by researching alternative solutions to a problem yourself, instead of moaning on a message board in a vain attempt to get things changed the way you want. |
Dragonaire
Caldari Corax.
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Posted - 2009.01.28 20:19:00 -
[5]
JSON would be find but useless really except if CCP started letting you install your own pages on their servers since Javascript only lets you talk back to the server it came from. Since that's unlikely to happen any time soon so you then have to host something at your site where what ever you are using server side to serve the data can do the conversion to JSON already. I know PHP has extensions for that and I'm sure most other languages do too or you can write one easy enough.
I just hope CCP doesn't go through with their plans to move to something with even more overhead like they've been talking about. All the other Web Services systems like SOAP, XML-RPC have a lot more overhead then the simple RESTful XML system we have now and might exclude some programming languages from access it without a lot more work. |
Pwett
Minmatar QUANT Corp. QUANT Hegemony
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Posted - 2009.01.28 22:42:00 -
[6]
XML is really just a standard.
If you want it in JSON, then just code yourself up an XML to JSON converter. |
Brynden Blackfish
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Posted - 2009.01.29 01:08:00 -
[7]
Edited by: Brynden Blackfish on 29/01/2009 01:10:14
I'd hate to see what you do with this, but here you go. |
Azazel Mordred
Minmatar Cloak of Shadows
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Posted - 2009.01.29 07:14:00 -
[8]
To be honest, I'd also love to have the API available in JSON format.
Seems a lot of people seem to have missed the fact that JSON is applicable way beyond simple JavaScript and AJAX-type applications, and is every bit as "standard" as XML is. The actual API responses would be considerably smaller, and in my experience, actually working with and parsing JSON data is much easier than working with XML, in nearly any language, and involves a lot less overhead.
It would also not involve any different calling methods than the current API requests, CharacterSheet.xml.aspx would simply be available as CharacterSheet.json.aspx.
Regardless, I very much doubt we'll see the API available in different formats (time/effort would far outweigh the benefits from CCP's end), so it's kind of a moot point anyway (and doing your own XML to JSON conversion is also a rather pointless exercise as you've just defeated half the point). |
Geuis
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Posted - 2009.01.29 08:03:00 -
[9]
Edited by: Geuis on 29/01/2009 08:04:03 Thank you for having the only nice response, Azazel. This is the first time I've posted on this forum and it will probably be my last. A simple "No, I doubt EVE will do it for reason X" would have been more than sufficient. Instead, the people that replied really only demonstrated that this place is 90% trolls like most other public forums around the world. To Dragonaire, you obviously have absolutely no idea how javascript, ajax, and browsers work. Indeed, JSON is the *only* way to do cross-domain javascript. If the api supported JSONP like most modern web service APIs, then it would drastically open up the possibilities for the types of 3rd party apps that people could build. It would make it possible to build web-based apps around the API without the need for a middle-tier proxy. The "simple RESTful XML system" that EVE uses is not a true REST system anyway. A true REST system would utilize http's GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE commands exclusively to interface with the API.
Here's a link about REST, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer Here's one on JSON http://json.org/ Here's a link on JSONP http://ajaxian.com/archives/jsonp-json-with-padding
Go and teach yourselves something useful, children. |
Ambo
EMMA Test Corp
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Posted - 2009.01.29 08:42:00 -
[10]
Originally by: Geuis Instead, the people that replied really only demonstrated that this place is 90% trolls like most other public forums around the world....
Go and teach yourselves something useful, children.
And so it begins again. |
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Lumy
Minmatar eXceed Inc. Minor Threat.
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Posted - 2009.01.29 12:18:00 -
[11]
Originally by: Ambo
Originally by: Geuis Instead, the people that replied really only demonstrated that this place is 90% trolls like most other public forums around the world....
Go and teach yourselves something useful, children.
And so it begins again.
Pretty much. But let's take the bait.
First of all, not everyone is familiar with every obscure technology/RFC/library. If you propose some feature, please give us some background for the change. Otherwise it really looks like "Hey guys, I'm really lazy to use the format you're providing. Could you make this output just for me?"
Only response you could honestly hope for is trolling (what you didn't get) or disregarding idea (for considering it obsolete) or pointing other way. Your response is ... well, see the quote.
From very little information you provided to us, I can only assume what you need the JSON(P) for. You want to use some obscure javascript library that uses JSONP for cross-domain AJAX scripting to fetch results from EVE API. If you said that first, you would save yourself lots of trouble. And maybe get some useful advice how to bypass cross-domain problem with resources you have.
Just out of curiosity, am I right?
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Dragonaire
Caldari Corax.
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Posted - 2009.01.29 16:50:00 -
[12]
Geuis - As Lumy pointed out if you had give more information to start with you will get better responses to your posts. A one sentence request that is unclear is to what or why you need or want something does get treated harshly around here at time like on most forums. I'll also say I did post when I had just got up and was still half asleep and should have waited until I was more awake so for that I am sorry.
I do know that it isn't a 'pure' RESTful service but it is the most common way that has developed to work around both web servers and most http libraries lack of support for DELETE and PUT. So though it may not be the 'Standard' way of doing it it is the 'standard' i.e. common practice way of doing it.
Thanks Lumy for your post you put it much better than I could have. Most of the uses I've seen JSON used for is where it originally develop in client side data passing to web browser in an AJAX setup which is still I believe the most common use. I've used it before that way in web pages. And yes I've also seen the varies workarounds they have developed to do cross site work but then my point still applies, if you have to get the data from CCP and then turn around and send it back out to the user's browser it's easy to convert it yourself at that time and as Azazel Mordred pointed out it doesn't make sense for CCP to put the effort into trying to support multiple output formats of the same API data.
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Herio Mortis
HYDRA MANUFACTURING Corp O X I D E
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Posted - 2009.01.29 20:29:00 -
[13]
I think another issue could also be server load. I'll happily admit that I am blissfully ignorant about JSON as I am not really a web developer, but would the current caching scheme work in such a setup? Also, if you were to write webapps where the client downloads data directly from CCP you have no real local storage of that data, increasing the amount of requests to the API servers. Even if it would not increase load on the SQL servers, it would probably increase load on the network links and api servers.
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Tonto Auri
Vhero' Multipurpose Corp
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Posted - 2009.01.29 21:21:00 -
[14]
On a side note, there's no things that could require POST, PUT, DELETE... All the API is simple GET requests as it is available read-only. Problem is that API does not utilize native ability of HTTP protocol to pass authorization data as header fields. |
Dragonaire
Caldari Corax.
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Posted - 2009.01.30 02:18:00 -
[15]
Yeah using native authorization would be nicer maybe but can see where it was easier for them to do it the way they did and can make debugging easier at times too. |
Brynden Blackfish
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Posted - 2009.01.30 04:34:00 -
[16]
I imagine CCP doesn't want people hammering the API for every page view or refresh. You know some website owner would embed json directly into the page, or make a Google Widget and have it load every time they performed a search from iGoogle. Sure, it's still possible to abuse the API server client side with XML, but it's less likely.
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