NationStates API (nationdata/regiondata)

[Afforess]

Switching to JSON would break all existing code. It would be a better format, however.

Yeah, but you could keep both API's alive.In fairness to NS, I am pretty sure JSON was formalized after NS was started, so XML was the only choice. But it would be awesome to add JSON now.

[Tlik]

An additional JSON format alongside the XML format, say by adding a "format=json" key-value parameter to url, might be a good compromise.

I can't tell you how useful this would be. I'm horrible at parsing xml.

I had that problem, and then I started using regexes.

Now I've got two problems!

Look at me, I'm funny, I know programmer jokes, I must be cool, come on guys, like me 'cos of my cool programmer jokes!

[[violet]]

In fairness to NS, I am pretty sure JSON was formalized after NS was started, so XML was the only choice. But it would be awesome to add JSON now.

True & true. It's one of those I-should-do-that-when-I-get-time features.

[The Black Hat Guy]

Will the decision about zombies show up in the legislation or happenings shard of the API?

If not, could we get a shard for the current zombie status of a nation for the apocalypse? Pretty please?

[[violet]]

Will the decision about zombies show up in the legislation or happenings shard of the API?

If not, could we get a shard for the current zombie status of a nation for the apocalypse? Pretty please?

Good idea! This will be available via the Nations API in a shard named "zombie". It will describe the nation's current action and the number of survivors, infected, and dead.

[The Black Hat Guy]

Will the decision about zombies show up in the legislation or happenings shard of the API?

If not, could we get a shard for the current zombie status of a nation for the apocalypse? Pretty please?

Good idea! This will be available via the Nations API in a shard named "zombie". It will describe the nation's current action and the number of survivors, infected, and dead.

Thank you!

[Starrie]

some nations, namely http://www.nationstates.net/nation=panauislands, have a motto containing the substitute character, 

this character shows up in the daily dump and breaks most (if not all) xml parsers so i'm having a hard time accessing the data. i might filter out the character first, but that seems like a clumsy solution.

would it be possible to filter out this character (or invalid ones) before generating the daily dump?

thanks!

[Northrop-Grumman]

some nations, namely http://www.nationstates.net/nation=panauislands, have a motto containing the substitute character, 

this character shows up in the daily dump and breaks most (if not all) xml parsers so i'm having a hard time accessing the data. i might filter out the character first, but that seems like a clumsy solution.

would it be possible to filter out this character (or invalid ones) before generating the daily dump?

thanks!

I would be so grateful for something like this. I'm not sure it's my computer slowly degrading or the nations.xml file becoming increasingly larger (probably the former), but I can't go and edit these things out like I used to; opening up the xml file tends to freeze my computer.

[NewTexas]

There is another one with an invalid entity in the dump:

http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/api ... eitstiefel

"�" is not a valid entity

We are with Northrop-Grumman & Starrie on asking if this can be fixed.

[Shadow Afforess]

Thank god I am using Java...the built in SAX parser can be set to even ignore fatal XML encoding errors...

Anyone considered bootstrapping my NS-DUMPS project for avoiding this issue? It converts daily dumps into a SQL database, which you can then use to do whatever which. It can parse even invalid daily dumps.

[[violet]]

I've created a new API version (currently in testing) that outputs UTF-8, which should prevent these kinds of problems in the future. Please check out:

http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/api ... tiefel/v=5
http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/api ... slands/v=5

Now if the Daily Dumps adopt this, is that going to work for everyone, or will it just create new problems? Currently dumps are in ISO-8859-1, with lots of characters escaped as HTML entities.

[Shadow Afforess]

Now if the Daily Dumps adopt this, is that going to work for everyone, or will it just create new problems? Currently dumps are in ISO-8859-1, with lots of characters escaped as HTML entities.

Can you generate a test daily dump with that encoding so I can test my parsers?

[[violet]]

Can you generate a test daily dump with that encoding so I can test my parsers?

Right now I can show you a little one: http://www.nationstates.net/pages/natio ... est.xml.gz

[Shadow Afforess]

Can you generate a test daily dump with that encoding so I can test my parsers?

Right now I can show you a little one: http://www.nationstates.net/pages/natio ... est.xml.gz

Seems to parse ok for me. I counted 2 nations in it.

[Starrie]

also parses perfectly for me. wonderful.

[Northrop-Grumman]

It works well for me, too.

[Eluvatar]

Could region history be added to the region API please?

The foremost reason I'm asking is that it would allow me a fool-proof way to distinguish incarnations of a region (without HTML scraping). (A region can after all be refounded with the same founder...) Exposing this information in the API, however, would also allow for a variety of uses of the information.

[[violet]]

Could region history be added to the region API please?

Done, as "history" shard for regions API.

[Shadow Afforess]

Done, as "history" shard for regions API.

Speaking of API additions, Can whether the delegate of a region is an executive or not be added to the shards or daily dumps please? There is currently no way to determine this short from html scraping...

[Eluvatar]

Could region history be added to the region API please?

Done, as "history" shard for regions API.

Thank you!

The following 4 nations listed in http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/api ... /q=members are not WA nations:

1. nucranova [page]
2. cogiseke [page]
3. kharkovsk [page]
4. xacava [page]

(No WA members were missing from the WA members list )

[Ballotonia]

The following 4 nations listed in http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/api ... /q=members are not WA nations:

1. nucranova [page]
2. cogiseke [page]
3. kharkovsk [page]
4. xacava [page]

(No WA members were missing from the WA members list )

Fixed, and thank you!

Ballotonia

[Shadow Afforess]

Question: Does sending a telegram via the telegram API count as 1 request against the 50-requests-per-30-seconds rate limit? I know the telegram API has it's own rate limits, but I am trying to track down why I am exceeding the rate limit so often...

Edit: If that is not the cause, I would love help from an admin in tracking down why I hit the 15 minute cooldown so often (several times a day with NS++). I log each request and I am not making enough requests according to my logs to reach the rate limit. Clearly I am missing something.

Edit2: Ok I tested by just spam refreshing the example telegram API link in the NationStates API page and it definitely triggers the 50 request rate limit. So each telegram counts as 1 API request as well. :/

[Eluvatar]

Why wouldn't it?

---

I was slightly alarmed to see this event in the world happenings:

Code: Select all

<EVENT id="8144507">
<TIMESTAMP>1385571744</TIMESTAMP>
<TEXT><![CDATA[Regional bans expired.]]></TEXT>
</EVENT>

In context of course, it's the expiration of regional bans in Warzone Australia:

Code: Select all

<EVENT id="8144508">
<TIMESTAMP>1385571745</TIMESTAMP>
<TEXT><![CDATA[@@rileyapolis@@ seized the position of %%warzone_australia%% WA Delegate from @@wintercloak@@.]]></TEXT>
</EVENT>

<EVENT id="8144507">
<TIMESTAMP>1385571744</TIMESTAMP>
<TEXT><![CDATA[Regional bans expired.]]></TEXT>
</EVENT>

Nevertheless, could the text please be changed to the below, or similar, for the sake of clarity?

Code: Select all

<EVENT id="8144507">
<TIMESTAMP>1385571744</TIMESTAMP>
<TEXT><![CDATA[%%warzone_australia%% bans expired.]]></TEXT>
</EVENT>

[Shadow Afforess]

Why wouldn't it?

Because the Telegram API has a separate rate limit entirely. It seems redundant to also restrict it to the standard rate limit when the telegram API has it's own, unique limit...

[[violet]]

Nevertheless, could the text please be changed

Done, for messages logged from now on.