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RadioReference.com Web Service3.1

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Revision as of 11:31, 18 September 2008 by Blantonl (talk | contribs) (→‎Overview)

Overview

RadioReference.com is pleased to announce the 3.1 release of the RadioReference.com Web service to the development community. Version 3.1 is based on the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), which is a standard for exchanging XML-based messages over computer networks.

The 3.1 release is an important one for developers of application that use RadioReference data, since it provides developers with a much easer to use abstract interface to the data, and it also provides a number of new features and data access methods for RadioReference.com data.

Some new features and methods include:

  • Access to FCC License Data and FCC License proximity searches
  • Function tag data available for frequencies and talkgroups
  • Location based information
  • Searches across states, counties, and metro areas for radio data
  • User profile and subscription information
  • United States Zip code information
  • Better error handling

RRWsdl

The Web service WSDL can be found at the following URL:

Common Input Parameters

All input parameters are clearly documented in the WSDL, however the following notes are important.

Most methods on the SOAP interface require authentication information, which should be submitted in an array called "authInfo" with the following members:

$authInfo = ("appKey" => "yourAssignedAppKey",
             "username" => "RRMemberUserName",
             "password" => "RRMemberPassword")

Parameters:

appKey = Your assigned application key.  Developers should apply for a separate application key
         for each application they designed to use the Web service.  This parameter is required.
         
         Application Keys can be requested at http://www.radioreference.com/apps/account/?tab=api

username = The member's RadioReference.com Username
password = The member's RadioReference.com Password
  • NOTE: You should never, ever hard-code a username and password into an application. A user of your application should always be prompted for their RadioReference.com username and password. For access to the Web service, that member's account must be in good standing and paid in full as a Premium Subscriber on RadioReference.com.

Suggested Uses of New Features

These following methods and features are new to the Web service. A short description and potential application of the new methods are listed below.

Method: getZipCodeInfo

getZipCodeInfo returns the countyId, stateId, city name, latitude and longitude for a United States zip code. A software developer could prompt a user for a zip code and then execute programming actions or data reporting based upon a user's zip code.

Method: getUserData

getUserData returns the current authenticated user's premium subscription status. This would allow a software developer to report to the user the status of their subscription and when it is set to expire.

Methods: getCountyFreqsByTag / getAgencyFreqsByTag

getCountyFreqsByTag returns an array of frequency data based on a specified county and Tag. A software developer could program "All Fire Dispatch Frequencies in El Paso County, Colorado" with this specified Web service query.

Methods: searchCountyFreq / searchMetroFreq / searchStateFreq

These methods return an array a frequency data based on the requested location entity and frequency. Within a software application, an user could potentially specify their "home" county, state, or metro area, and have frequency results instantly shown to them when searching specific ranges for activity.

Support Mailing List

There is a dedicated YahooGroups mailing list for announcements and support related to the Web service. All developers of applications that use the Web service are highly encourage to subscribe to this list:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/rr_web_service/

Developer Tutorials and References