evansims.com: Web APIs by Example, Part I: Twitter • Evan Sims
Dan Ozuna
· 2 years ago
Hi. I am a blind webmaster for a non-profit Veterans organization. I've been asked to install WordPress and set things up so that the "most recent" posts appear on our home page. Is using PHP and API calls something I can use to get this done? I'm a total newbie when it comes to this and I would appreciate any help/advice on this.
Evan Sims
· 2 years ago
Hi Dan,
As far as I know WordPress doesn't have any API for that sort of thing, though it does have an API (called MetaWeblog) that lets you use clients to create and edit posts. Assuming your WordPress installation is going to be on the same site as the homepage you want to display your "Most Recent" posts on, you can just write a PHP script to query your WordPress database, pull the latest posts, and output it on your page.
If you're not familiar with PHP, you might try Googling around; I imagine this sort of thing is pretty popular. It's a simple enough script to write though, so don't be afraid to dig into the PHP documentation and try it.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions.
stef
· 2 years ago
Hey Evan, nicely written post thanks for the insight on twitter api. Lead me into looking up a couple of other site api's ( delicio.us, google, amazon, paypal ). There are a LOT of sites nowadays offering different methods to interchange with their services, and it is very interesting to see the methods the big guys use to allow access to their data.
Short note for Dan, Wordpress is nice, for blogging but if your site is community oriented, I will throw in a quick word for Drupal. It has integrated blogs , customisable themes, tons of modules, and after the small initial learning curve ( 1 month, about ), you will find yourself 'hooked'.
Retrieving queries of last posts (from multiple blogs) , with Drupal is very easy. for an example see my **unfinished ** homepage, www.3wsimple.com/ , sorry it s not really up to date I am badly overloaded. But it should give you a good idea. Hop on to drupal.org, if you want more info, or contact me through above site if you need a helping hand. End of shameless plug, thanks for the nice read evan !, keep up the nice work !
Evan Sims
· 2 years ago
Thanks very much for the tips, stef, and the kind words. Good luck with your site!
Dan Ozuna
· 2 years ago
Hi Evan,
I did a few Google searches and came across this bit of PHP. I've been going through the PHP documentation and a nice tutorial I found. But in the mean time could you look at this code for me? Are there any Changes/enhancements I should make?
Thanks for the tip about Drupal. A few people I know have said that they use it and love it. They also say it is very screen reader friendly which is a big plus. I've taken a quick look at it, but haven't had the time to really dive in. May I ask what language your site is in? It's always... interesting to hear when my screen reader switches to a different language and starts butchering it. At least I think it is butchering it. Just curious. Thanks again.
hans
· 2 years ago
thanks for the reply on the e-mail I will try to post another comment to try to repeat the error :)
All Comments
As far as I know WordPress doesn't have any API for that sort of thing, though it does have an API (called MetaWeblog) that lets you use clients to create and edit posts. Assuming your WordPress installation is going to be on the same site as the homepage you want to display your "Most Recent" posts on, you can just write a PHP script to query your WordPress database, pull the latest posts, and output it on your page.
If you're not familiar with PHP, you might try Googling around; I imagine this sort of thing is pretty popular. It's a simple enough script to write though, so don't be afraid to dig into the PHP documentation and try it.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions.
Short note for Dan, Wordpress is nice, for blogging but if your site is community oriented, I will throw in a quick word for Drupal. It has integrated blogs , customisable themes, tons of modules, and after the small initial learning curve ( 1 month, about ), you will find yourself 'hooked'.
Retrieving queries of last posts (from multiple blogs) , with Drupal is very easy. for an example see my **unfinished ** homepage, www.3wsimple.com/ , sorry it s not really up to date I am badly overloaded. But it should give you a good idea. Hop on to drupal.org, if
you want more info, or contact me through above site if you need a helping hand. End of shameless plug, thanks for the nice read evan !, keep up the nice work !
I did a few Google searches and came across this bit of PHP. I've been going through the PHP documentation and a nice tutorial I found. But in the mean time could you look at this code for me? Are there any Changes/enhancements I should make?
# " rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: "> in
Thanks for the tip about Drupal. A few people I know have said that they use it and love it. They also say it is very screen reader friendly which is a big plus. I've taken a quick look at it, but haven't had the time to really dive in. May I ask what language your site is in? It's always... interesting to hear when my screen reader switches to a different language and starts butchering it. At least I think it is butchering it. Just curious. Thanks again.