Imaginary maps: Tolkien
Category: API
APIs such as Instagram, Open Streetmap and more
Mapbox Cartogram
It’s a quick start method for Mapbox. Upload a picture, and select the colors on your map from the picture.
Open Streetmap API (embed)
Here Open Street Maps is embedded via a simple i-frame – but it’s just a standard map. Not much Leaflet or Mapbox styling is possible when we use the OSM embed options. But at least you may add a marker via the OSM web page. As far as I can see the marker is made via Leaflet somehow.
Since the AUH is a behemoth building complex. But you can use the pointer in order to pinpoint an entrance or building.
API – what’s out there?
The http://www.programmableweb.com/ is s vast collection of APIs for web developers. It is a fine place to start if you need some API service for your website or app.
APIs – more or less open data
The Instagram API is just one among many APIs. Here is a list of interesting sites:
- http://data.culturehack.org.uk/
- http://museum-api.pbworks.com/w/page/21933420/Museum%C2%A0APIs
- Scotland Open Data http://okfnscot.github.io/open-data-scotland/
- Scalar http://scalar.usc.edu/features/open-api/
- Open Art History http://openarthistory.org/
- 30 Places http://blog.visual.ly/data-sources/
- Open Weather http://openweathermap.org/api
- New York Times http://developer.nytimes.com/docs/times_newswire_api/
These are just a few examples ….
Developers can access the APIs for e.g. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr etc. ( often a developer key, token or client_id is requiered ).
A great portal to many APIs is APIgee – the interface is used by Instagram and many other providers of third part data.
- Get Instagram image feeds – see my example on Instagram.
- Method: find out how to format the URL, that will give you the wanted data.
- As soon as your API sends a satisfying response, you can use the json parser.
- French – http://json.parser.online.fr/
- Hungarian – http://jsonviewer.stack.hu/
- Both are excellent
- The analysis of the json object will give you an idea of how to format strings for the AJAX script, such as:
- data.data.link.url ( etc. )
APIgee
Via Instagram you can open APIgee. In the top left corner there is a drop down menu with access to many APIs. Choose one. Next to the name you’ll find a drop down menu for authentiation. Choose it. If you can work without authentiation so much the better. If not … well try to authentiate with your personal or professional user profile.
The authentiation will give you a token. Add the token to the search string. Then you’re ready to format your jsonp searchstring urls, like this one:
https://api.instagram.com/v1/users/261168726/followed-by?access_token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Workshop
In groups choose an API from a json data provider. Experiment with the API, try to get interesting results – and when you have the data you want – style it with all the arts and tricks you know from CSS and jQuery.
After lunch present your work in plenum.
Upload your work as a group.