missing data or missundertanding of endpoint parameter?

or_dvir wrote 6 years ago: 1

i am using the "seasons" endpoint (http://api.tvmaze.com/shows/{showId}/seasons) and i have noticed that in A LOT of seasons (for all kinds of shows) the parameter named "episodeOrder" is null.

here are just a few that i have found in less than a minute:
kirby buckets
mythbusters
downtown abbey
a girl meets world
hells kitchen
world series of poker
key & peele
glue
late show with david letterman
the driver

is this just missing data or am i missing something here? does this parameter not mean the number of episodes in the season? because in some shows (and even some seasons within the same show) this parameter is not null and indeed matches the number of episodes returned using the new endpoint http://api.tvmaze.com/seasons/1/episodes

please advise :)

gazza911 wrote 6 years ago: 1

It is entered on the season itself:

http://www.tvmaze.com/seasons/1/under-the-dome-season-1

That is what it's used for, but it is not automatically calculated.

david wrote 6 years ago: 1

Indeed, episode order is only available when someone has manually entered it. Adding this information is only useful for future seasons, so on many older seasons it won't be available.

If you want to know the number of episodes in a season, the only reliable method would be to request the episode list and count the amount of episodes returned.