Advanced: Other Ways of Getting the Data from the API: In most cases, the website will offer an API (Application Programming Interface) and offer a free developer account to use it. Once you sign up, they give you a key to use to request the data. The line to use will look something like this: http://api.worldweatheronline.com/free/v1/weather.ashx?key=xxxxx&q=20770&num_of_days=3&format=csv" It contains the following info: the website is http://api.worldweatheronline.com/ we are using the free version, which is version 1 - free/v1/ we are asking for the weather - weather.ashx Our key is key=xxxxx (this is a fake key. You put your key in place of the 'xxxxx') Our zip code is q=20770 We want the weather for 3 days - num_of_days=3 We want the data to be comma separated - format=csv (that means each piece of information is separated with a comma) For Yahoo Weather, you would use something like this: "http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?w=44418&u=c" The data will be returned to you in one of 3 forms: 1. CSV - or comma separated values 2. JSON - JavaScript Object Notation - good link = JSON 3. XML - eXtensible Markup Language - good link = XML You will have to write the code to find and get the data you want. Geocoding - Latitude, Longitude If the website that you are using requires the latitude,longitude, you can get that from Google Map's API. Do a Google search on "Geocoding API" and you will find more information e.g. https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA&key=API_KEY Good Source of geocoding APIs - here Reading The Data 1. Reading CSV Formatted Data: -start------------------------------------------The Data that is returned ---------------------------------------- #The CSV format is in following way:- #First row will always contain the current weather condition. if for any reason we do not have current condition it will have 'Not Available'. #The current weather condition data is laid in the following way:- #observation_time,temp_C,weatherCode,weatherIconUrl,weatherDesc,windspeedMiles,windspeedKmph,winddirDegree,winddir16Point,precipMM,humidity,visibility,pressure,cloudcover # #The weather information is available in following format:- #date,tempMaxC,tempMaxF,tempMinC,tempMinF,windspeedMiles,windspeedKmph,winddirDegree,winddir16Point,weatherCode,weatherIconUrl,weatherDesc,precipMM # 02:26 AM,6,122,http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0004_black_low_cloud.png,Overcast,4,6,210,SSW,0.2,93,16,1013,100 2014-03-19,7,44,4,38,9,14,130,SE,296,http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0017_cloudy_with_light_rain.png,Light rain,3.2 2014-03-20,13,55,1,34,17,27,283,WNW,113,http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0001_sunny.png,Sunny,0.0 2014-03-21,14,58,6,43,9,15,259,WSW,119,http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0003_white_cloud.png,Cloudy,0.0 -end------------------------------------------The Data that is returned ---------------------------------------- This is the code that we will use to get the data we want: put url "http://api.worldweatheronline.com/free/v1/weather.ashx?key=8njy9mweqps3vhuk95mgd2xe&q=20770&format=csv" into field "weather" put item 2 of line 9 of field "weather" into field "temp" put item 5 of line 9 of field "weather" into field "sky" We can get rid of the field "weather" now that we know what the data looks like and use a variable - "x" This is the code that we will use to get the data we want: put url "http://api.worldweatheronline.com/free/v1/weather.ashx?key=8njy9mweqps3vhuk95mgd2xe&q=20770&format=csv" into x put item 2 of line 9 of x into field "temp" put item 5 of line 9 of x into field "sky" 2. Reading JSON Formatted Data: -start------------------------------------------The Data that is returned ---------------------------------------- { "data": { "current_condition": [ {"cloudcover": "100", "humidity": "93", "observation_time": "02:27 AM", "precipMM": "0.2", "pressure": "1013", "temp_C": "6", "temp_F": "43", "visibility": "16", "weatherCode": "122", "weatherDesc": [ {"value": "Overcast" } ], "weatherIconUrl": [ {"value": "http:\/\/cdn.worldweatheronline.net\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0004_black_low_cloud.png" } ], "winddir16Point": "SSW", "winddirDegree": "210", "windspeedKmph": "6", "windspeedMiles": "4" } ], "request": [ {"query": "20770", "type": "Zipcode" } ], "weather": [ {"date": "2014-03-19", "precipMM": "3.2", "tempMaxC": "7", "tempMaxF": "44", "tempMinC": "4", "tempMinF": "38", "weatherCode": "296", "weatherDesc": [ {"value": "Light rain" } ], "weatherIconUrl": [ {"value": "http:\/\/cdn.worldweatheronline.net\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0017_cloudy_with_light_rain.png" } ], "winddir16Point": "SE", "winddirDegree": "130", "winddirection": "SE", "windspeedKmph": "14", "windspeedMiles": "9" }, {"date": "2014-03-20", "precipMM": "0.0", "tempMaxC": "13", "tempMaxF": "55", "tempMinC": "1", "tempMinF": "34", "weatherCode": "113", "weatherDesc": [ {"value": "Sunny" } ], "weatherIconUrl": [ {"value": "http:\/\/cdn.worldweatheronline.net\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0001_sunny.png" } ], "winddir16Point": "WNW", "winddirDegree": "283", "winddirection": "WNW", "windspeedKmph": "27", "windspeedMiles": "17" }, {"date": "2014-03-21", "precipMM": "0.0", "tempMaxC": "14", "tempMaxF": "58", "tempMinC": "6", "tempMinF": "43", "weatherCode": "119", "weatherDesc": [ {"value": "Cloudy" } ], "weatherIconUrl": [ {"value": "http:\/\/cdn.worldweatheronline.net\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0003_white_cloud.png" } ], "winddir16Point": "WSW", "winddirDegree": "259", "winddirection": "WSW", "windspeedKmph": "15", "windspeedMiles": "9" } ] }} -end------------------------------------------The Data that is returned ---------------------------------------- We can add returns to make it more readable and see it's "tree" structure: (It consists of many - "name:value" pairs) -start------------------------------------------The Data made to look nice ---------------------------------------- { "data": { "current_condition": [ {"cloudcover": "100", "humidity": "93", "observation_time": "02:27 AM", "precipMM": "0.2", "pressure": "1013", "temp_C": "6", "temp_F": "43", "visibility": "16", "weatherCode": "122", "weatherDesc": [ {"value": "Overcast" } ], "weatherIconUrl": [ {"value": "http:\/\/cdn.worldweatheronline.net\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0004_black_low_cloud.png" } ], "winddir16Point": "SSW", "winddirDegree": "210", "windspeedKmph": "6", "windspeedMiles": "4" } ], "request": [ {"query": "20770", "type": "Zipcode" } ], "weather": [ {"date": "2014-03-19", "precipMM": "3.2", "tempMaxC": "7", "tempMaxF": "44", "tempMinC": "4", "tempMinF": "38", "weatherCode": "296", "weatherDesc": [ {"value": "Light rain" } ], "weatherIconUrl": [ {"value": "http:\/\/cdn.worldweatheronline.net\/images\/wsymbols01_png64\/wsymbol_0017_cloudy_with_light_rain.png" } ], "winddir16Point": "SE", "winddirDegree": "130", "winddirection": "SE", "windspeedKmph": "14", "windspeedMiles": "9" }, {"date": "2014-03-20", "precipMM": "0.0", ...etc } ] } } -end------------------------------------------The Data made to look nice ---------------------------------------- This is the code that we will use to get the data we want: 1. New Versions of LiveCode (8.1.0 and higher) In the newer versions of LiveCode, the JSON code is included. If your imported data is in the variable: "mydata" the following code will unpack it into a lookup Array:
to get the temp_C you would write: put xArray["data"]["current_condition"]["temp_F"] into fld "Temp" 2. Current and Previous versions of LiveCode - using EasyJSON
3. Reading XML Formatted Data: This is the data that is returned: -start------------------------------------------The Data that is returned ---------------------------------------- <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><data><request><type>Zipcode</type><query>20770</query></request><current_condition><observation_time>02:28 AM</observation_time><temp_C>6</temp_C><temp_F>43</temp_F><weatherCode>122</weatherCode><weatherIconUrl><![CDATA[http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0004_black_low_cloud.png]]></weatherIconUrl><weatherDesc><![CDATA[Overcast ]]></weatherDesc><windspeedMiles>4</windspeedMiles><windspeedKmph>6</windspeedKmph><winddirDegree>210</winddirDegree><winddir16Point>SSW</winddir16Point><precipMM>0.2</precipMM><humidity>93</humidity><visibility>16</visibility><pressure>1013</pressure><cloudcover>100</cloudcover></current_condition><weather><date>2014-03-19</date><tempMaxC>7</tempMaxC><tempMaxF>44</tempMaxF><tempMinC>4</tempMinC><tempMinF>38</tempMinF><windspeedMiles>9</windspeedMiles><windspeedKmph>14</windspeedKmph><winddirection>SE</winddirection><winddir16Point>SE</winddir16Point><winddirDegree>130</winddirDegree><weatherCode>296</weatherCode><weatherIconUrl><![CDATA[http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0017_cloudy_with_light_rain.png]]></weatherIconUrl><weatherDesc><![CDATA[Light rain]]></weatherDesc><precipMM>3.2</precipMM></weather><weather><date>2014-03-20</date><tempMaxC>13</tempMaxC><tempMaxF>55</tempMaxF><tempMinC>1</tempMinC><tempMinF>34</tempMinF><windspeedMiles>17</windspeedMiles><windspeedKmph>27</windspeedKmph><winddirection>WNW</winddirection><winddir16Point>WNW</winddir16Point><winddirDegree>283</winddirDegree><weatherCode>113</weatherCode><weatherIconUrl><![CDATA[http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0001_sunny.png]]></weatherIconUrl><weatherDesc><![CDATA[Sunny]]></weatherDesc><precipMM>0.0</precipMM></weather><weather><date>2014-03-21</date><tempMaxC>14</tempMaxC><tempMaxF>58</tempMaxF><tempMinC>6</tempMinC><tempMinF>43</tempMinF><windspeedMiles>9</windspeedMiles><windspeedKmph>15</windspeedKmph><winddirection>WSW</winddirection><winddir16Point>WSW</winddir16Point><winddirDegree>259</winddirDegree><weatherCode>119</weatherCode><weatherIconUrl><![CDATA[http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/wsymbols01_png_64/wsymbol_0003_white_cloud.png]]></weatherIconUrl><weatherDesc><![CDATA[Cloudy ]]></weatherDesc><precipMM>0.0</precipMM></weather></data> -end------------------------------------------The Data that is returned ---------------------------------------- We can add returns to make it more readable and see it's "tree" structure: (It looks like HTML tags) -start------------------------------------------The Data made to look nice ---------------------------------------- <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <data> <request> <type>Zipcode</type> <query>20770</query> </request> <current_condition> <observation_time>02:28 AM</observation_time> <temp_C>6</temp_C> <temp_F>43</temp_F> <weatherCode>122</weatherCode> <weatherIconUrl><![http://cdn.worldweatheronline.net/images/png_64/wsymbol_0004_black_low_cloud.png]></weatherIconUrl> <weatherDesc><Overcast ></weatherDesc> <windspeedMiles>4</windspeedMiles> <windspeedKmph>6</windspeedKmph> <winddirDegree>210</winddirDegree> <winddir16Point>SSW</winddir16Point> <precipMM>0.2</precipMM> <humidity>93</humidity> <visibility>16</visibility> <pressure>1013</pressure> <cloudcover>100</cloudcover> </current_condition> ... </data> -end------------------------------------------The Data made to look nice ---------------------------------------- This is the code that we will use to get the data we want: ( The data and its path that we want is marked in 'Purple' ) put revCreateXMLTree( it, true, true, false) into x put revXMLNodeContents( x, "data/current_condition/weatherDesc") into field "sky" put revXMLNodeContents( x, "data/current_condition/temp_C") into field "temp" note: The WorldWeatheronline.com site changed it's free accounts requiring a few changes which are shown below: corrected code with the new site and key: put url "http://api.worldweatheronline.com/premium/v1/weather.ashx?key=YOURKEY&q=20770&num_of_days=3&format=xml" into weather
We do not need field weather anymore now that we know what it looks like. Either make it not visible or delete it and modify the code to use a variable "x" instead: This is the code that we will use to get the data we want: ( The data and its path that we want is marked in 'Purple' ) put revCreateXMLTree( it, true, true, false) into x put revXMLNodeContents( x, "data/current_condition/weatherDesc") into field "sky" put revXMLNodeContents( x, "data/current_condition/temp_C") into field "temp" note: The WorldWeatheronline.com site changed it's free accounts requiring a few changes which are shown below: corrected code with the new site and key: put url "http://api.worldweatheronline.com/premium/v1/weather.ashx?key=YOURKEY&q=20770&num_of_days=3&format=xml" into x That's all there is to it. It looks complicated but that is just because it is so new to you. Do not be overwhelmed by so much data. Just take your time and try to make it more readable. Then look for the items that you want and pull them off the data |
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