Extra Options on the API

Luciam91 wrote 9 years ago: 1

First things first I'd like to say I'm really enjoying using the API as it's definitely one of the easiest API's I have ever integrated with, but I do have a few things I'd like to see added (if possible).

A list of shows associated with a person when you search for them (similar to the Known for section on the website).

Would it also be possible to fire parameters at the API for how it gives back data, for example rather than having just a list of shows it'd be possible to add a GET parameter to define that you want the data back in season format (I've wrote my own converter at the moment, but it'd be a nice feature).

It'd also be nice to be able to have multiple embed parameters? That way you could get things like cast, lastepisode and nextepisode all at once.

Also would it be possible to have a "regular timeslot" added, e.g. Big Bang Theory would have "Fri at 9pm (or whatever the value is)"?

Being able to search by network and get a list of shows or schedule would also be very handy.

Thanks

Scott

david wrote 9 years ago: 1

Thanks for your feedback and kind words!

Person credits: I definitely want to include these. I'm just not sure about the details yet (the format, the amount of data to return, the level of detail), and implementing them isn't very trivial, so just don't expect it on the super short term.

Different output formats: This probably won't happen. For both clarity and performance (caching) reasons, it's best that there is only one way to retrieve any type of information, unless there is a very good reason to offer multiple options.

Multiple embed parameters: let me think about this!

Regular timeslot: We can probably add this, just not sure about the format. Something like "Fri at 9PM" feels a bit too freeform for an API, but I can't think of a better alternative yet either. (Keep in mind that there's also values like "daily" or "monday-thursday", for news- or talkshows).

Get shows by network: I'm not too sure how useful this is (a big network like CBS would have a huge amount of shows in its entire history) without further filtering. What's your exact usecase here?

Luciam91 wrote 9 years ago: 1

The use case for the per network is fairly simple in that a list of shows (no episode or schedule detail) would allow for better formatting on a service. E.g. if I'm watching Arrow and The Flash the chances are I'd be interested in other CW shows so for recommendations it'd be nice.

Freeform, yes I agree and it wasn't a proposed data structure, just that for regular shows it'd be useful data (maybe even a most common timeslot)

I feel the multiple embed parameters would be useful as I'm assuming you cache the episode data on its own anyway so would just be a useful cache pull to supply more data.

I understand in the short term not adding differentiations in output format. I feel the example I gave (per season) may be a fairly common use case? What about changing the default to export shows in a per season fashion?

I'd be interested in helping contribute to the TVMaze project (as based on your servers it is a php project) and potentially chatting through any vulnerabilities or issues with any suggestions

david wrote 9 years ago: 1

It'd also be nice to be able to have multiple embed parameters? That way you could get things like cast, lastepisode and nextepisode all at once.

This is now possible. For example: http://api.tvmaze.com/shows/1?embed[]=episodes&embed[]=cast

david wrote 9 years ago: 1

A list of shows associated with a person when you search for them (similar to the Known for section on the website).

This is now done as well. Check the api documentation for person.castcredits and person.crewcredits.

bb_19 wrote 8 years ago: 1

It'd also be nice to be able to have multiple embed parameters? That way you could get things like cast, lastepisode and nextepisode all at once.
This is now possible. For example: http://api.tvmaze.com/shows/1?embed[]=episodes&embed[]=cast

Is it now also possible to get show info + embed episodes + specials=1 somehow?

Adriel wrote 7 years ago: 1

bb_19 wrote:
Is it now also possible to get show info + embed episodes + specials=1 somehow?

Bump?

I would also like to be able to include specials in my embed.

david wrote 7 years ago: 1

It's unlikely that anything will change regarding specials in the API before we address http://www.tvmaze.com/threads/1888/better-handling-of-specials.

Adriel wrote 7 years ago: 1

aaah, that's a good point. Well I'm happy to wait then. Thanks for the quick reply!