DigitalNZ APIs in action

Posted on 27 July 2009 by Thomasin

One of the best ways to explain the benefits of having an open API (Application Programming Interface) to data in the DigitalNZ discovery system is to show it in use. What’s an API? In short, it’s a way for software applications to ‘talk to’ each other, and a way for developers to ‘talk to’ applications. We use an API to share data with other applications.

The Indicommons website summarises it like this:

"Open APIs allow services and collections to become interconnected, the experience of outside developers to be engaged, and new tools and spaces to be fashioned to benefit the community at large."

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen two new examples that really demonstrate the joy of a ‘joined up’ web of data. Both Te Papa and Auckland City Libraries have recently launched systems that draw links to content from other organisations into their local search experiences. Take a look below to see the DigitalNZ API in action.

Te Papa Collections Online

Thumbnail images of kahu kiwi (kiwi feather cloaks).

http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search.aspx?term=kiwi

Try a search for something like kiwi and check out the right hand panel. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the Te Papa collections, maybe it’s available from another DigitalNZ content provider. If you’ve got questions about how they did this, drop them a line on the Te Papa blog.

Chinese Digital Community

Chinese Digital Community web page.

http://chinesecommunity.org.nz/en/site/search/topics/for/beijing?search_terms=beijinghttp://chinesecommunity.org.nz/

This is a really neat application of the new External Search Sources Rails Engine developed by Katipo Communications for Kete and other Ruby on Rails applications. It uses an RSS feed to draw results in from other sites, including the DigitalNZ search system via our API. Seeing tools like these coming to light is fantastic, and we look forward to seeing more examples of developers working with the DigitalNZ API to make NZ content easier to find share and use. Let us know if you’ve got something in the pipeline too.


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