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How do I go about designing this particular application example below?

For example:

I have client, who would like to embed my data feed into this GUI interface. The data is made of names and and descriptions fields. If a user comes along and searches a particular name of a products using the client's interface, then the name parameter will be passed down my data feed, and it will return a search for that query name, back to the clients interface, from my database.

I assume the my real-time data feed will be constructed as an API service.

What requirements would I need to gather from the client's system interface?

Would I need to ask them for the list of parameters they require to query through my data feed?

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  • Where is your data located in relation to the clients application? Are they in the same building? Is your data off site, in your office? Commented Jul 17, 2013 at 16:36
  • Thank you for your response, My data is off site (stored remote server) and the data would be passed to remote client. Thanks for your help. Commented Jul 17, 2013 at 16:38
  • How you intend to craft your services will impact the information you'll potentially need. Please add some more details around your current plans, indicate where changes would be okay, and perhaps add a little more information about the type of data feed that you will be supplying. Commented Jul 17, 2013 at 16:52
  • Dear Glen, thank you for your response. The client require a data feed to their application through an API. I am currently at the stage of drafting the architecture of the API, which i am not quite sure how do i go about doing so, for example, if the client want to query on the name, would the name parameter call the feed "www.domain.com/api/data/?name=" and return the query. Is that how the data feed will work? Commented Jul 17, 2013 at 18:43

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Would I need to ask them for the list of parameters they require to query through my data feed?

In a way: yes.

But are probably two ways you can achieve this:

  1. You ask them what they want to query on;
  2. You tell them what they can query on;

With the former this can lead to opening a huge can of worms, where your client will want to query on EVERYTHING with no constraints at all. If this approach is agreed upon, be prepared to say No when necessary and use common sense where relevant. If a parameter offers no value to search on, don't agree to provide it as a searchable field.

With the latter you tell your client that all you provide to query on are parameters A, B, C. If they want more, i.e. customisation, then charge a few extra $$$

I suspect that you will come to some sort of common ground between your client asking for parameters and your decision to see that it adds value to use a field as a parameter.

Lastly, although the YANGI guys might saw something about this, will this be the only customer you have for your data? If you have 10 customers, do you really want to have 10 different custom search parameter criteria, that can take some time to program and configure for each customer? Or would you want to have a single set of possible search parameters that all customers use?

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  • Thank you for your response and helpful answer. Once, i have decided on the parameters i would like to pass to my client application, I would need to construct an data feed API. My new question is how would the API work, using the scenario above. Any advice would be very much appreciated. If you would like me, to update my current progress in the problem description above, please let me know, I am happy to do so. Thank you. Commented Jul 18, 2013 at 8:16
  • It would be best to open a new question on that. But in short the main points would be around: 1 - Authentication/session management, 2 - secure transmission of data, 3 - passing in multiple parameters in a single query, 4 - many others... Check out: stackoverflow.com/questions/10975863/… and stackoverflow.com/questions/209905/… and msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb412178.aspx and restapitutorial.com keeping in mind points 1-4 as you decide Commented Jul 18, 2013 at 9:08
  • and this: geeknizer.com/… Commented Jul 18, 2013 at 9:10

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