1. Web services using browse Application Server Interfaces (Browse APIs)
Functionality: Websites have a variety of functionality available to them depending on the markup language they have employed to present their information to the client interface.
These interfaces range from lower level, static HTML pages, through dynamic HTML and JAVA, javascript, Perl etc to higher order XML.
Web services that provide content to a host site can provide a solution that matches the level of sophistication of the host website. As the web technologies of the host site improve, they get more control over the way the content is manipulated on their site, and in the ways they can provide that content to their clients.
Below you will find examples of browse APIs. The first is using HTML and the second is using Javascript.
Test the HTML feed
This is an example of a webservice for a HTML coded website. It brings results from an external feed provided by EdNA Online and the result is wrapped in the header and footer of the host site.
For this to happen the link above uses the following coding.
http://api.edna.edu.au/browse.html?id=12650&catpath=0,12650&header=http://../style/header.htm&footer= http://../style/footer.htm
The first bit is calling up an API from edna online with the name browse.html. The next bit of code defines the portion of EdNA browse structures being called into the host page. In this instance it is the VET portion with category 12650. The last bit calls up a header and footer to wrap around the called-up results.
Open the HTML browse link above. You will notice that if you select a category it will go to the next category level down, maintaining the look and feel provided. This response will be different in the Javascript example.
In all the examples of web services the windows have had most of the browser properties such as menubar and location stripped from them, and the window size reduced. This is only to provide a contrast between the sibling window from that of the parent from which you are calling the service. For some examples the service is external to the host site, even if it has the host site look and feel. In the link below, the same HTML service as above is returned with the location bar also called. Note that the URL is an EdNA URL.
try this HTML example with location bar
Compare the Javascript feed
This is an example of a webservice using javascript. It brings results from an external feed provided by EdNA Online and the result is wrapped in the header and footer of the host site.
http://api.edna.edu.au/browse.js?id=12650&catpath=0,12650&showdirectory
This is an example of a webservice for a JAVASCRIPT enabled website. It brings results from an external feed provided by EdNA Online. Note that while it wraps the results in the local header and footer, any subsequent link opens in the source website, - in this instance EdNA Online.
Because the javascript needs to be embedded into a host site page the sidebar navigation can be included. See the second javascript example below.
Try this second javascript example with hostsite sidebar navigation
Compare the XML feeds
Two examples provided here of an XML feed and one of a webservice using XML.
The EdNA Online XML browse service enables you to include browse results on your own web page. Results are returned in the EdNA Online XML format. Click on the examples below to see the XML output. They demonstrate the ability to modify parameters.
Example 1
http://api.edna.edu.au/browse.xml?id=0,general,13630
In this example we are using only the mandatory id parameter '0,general,13630',
leaving all other parameters to their default values. This will return Browse
results from the 'Australian Education' category.
Example 2
http://api.edna.edu.au/browse.xml?id=0,general,13630&items=25
In this example an items parameter of 25 has been added. This will overide the default value of 10.
Example 3
For an example of the XML in action on another site visit the Adult and Community Education topics on the Learning Communities Catalyst site: http://www.lcc.edu.au/lcc/browse/0,12691
