Changes class

[duck7000]

If there are any issues with this class or it's methods report it here
All info is in the wiki

[mosource21]

I am going to have a proper look at the whole library "soon" so this is mainly for my reference but also posting to ensure you know that I am still around!

More Days

The ability to get changes from 2-14 days back not just 24 hours would be a great addition.

This is an important for users of the library that have manual runs or if users with any automation hasn't run for over 24 hours and they need to catch up.

Caching

According to the Wiki many classes (Changes / UserAccount / Trending et al) are saying results are not cached - are you saying they do not use the $cache system?

Thanks

[duck7000]

More Days

The ability to get changes from 2-14 days back not just 24 hours would be a great addition.

This is an important for users of the library that have manual runs or if users with any automation hasn't run for over 24 hours and they need to catch up.

Well this is possible but i deliberately didn't include that for 2 reasons:

• The results of only 24 hours are almost up to 10000! so imagine what 14 days will return..? This will hit standard php memory limit and execution time for sure!
• I wasn't sure if anyone would use more then 24 hours so i didn't want to waist my time to set it up.

Edit: i set it up to fetch 14 days (my local server).. it has 472 pages at 100 items a page

    [47199] => Array
        (
            [id] => 1514629
            [adult] => 
        )

It takes several minutes so your php execution time and memory limit must be raised, otherwise it won't work.

There are over 7000 results just for one day for movie alone

And you might think this is something that should be cached? Think about it, this data is different by the minute so it would be a different list every minute..
Or do i think about it the wrong way?

[duck7000]

Caching

According to the Wiki many classes (Changes / UserAccount / Trending et al) are saying results are not cached - are you saying they do not use the $cache system?

Caching is not very useful if the info from those classes are almost constantly changing. I thought about it and concluded that if you use those classes you would want fresh info.
So no those classes don't use the cache system.

It is possible to cache the results of those classes, it just doesn't feel right to me to do so but if you do have a good reason i would certainly consider it.

[mosource21]

More Days

Well this is possible but i deliberately didn't include that for 2 reasons:
* The results of only 24 hours are almost up to 10000! so imagine what 14 days will return..? This will hit php memory limit for sure!
* I wasn't sure if anyone would use more then 24 hours so i didn't want to waist my time.

Wow 10000 updates that is certainly a reason I should be looking at the library! As I use on the command line there is no artificial memory limit. I would certainly use it, but do not feel you have to waste time on it now - just knowing it is possible if needed is enough at this stage.

Caching

Caching is not very useful if the info from those classes are almost constantly changing. I thought about it and concluded that if you use those classes you would want fresh info.
So no those classes don't use the cache system.
It is possible to cache the results of those classes, it just doesn't feel right to me to do so but if you do have a good reason i would certainly consider it.

Summary below with my reasons (not sure if we had a similar discussion for the IMDB version to be honest).

The $cache allows me to limit my usage so I am not hammering the API with unnecessary API requests.

Yes the data does change frequently but from my point of view it may not matter if the data is 30 minutes, 4 hours or even 12 hours out of date in some cases.

If the library uses the $cache functionality I can control whether the data is cached or not. With the library now hard coded to not use the $cache this is now out of my control and produces a major headache for my use.

For example: if you are developing with the library surely having all your API calls cached say for X minutes/hours/days mean you are free to prototype your code as often as you like with it having no impact at all as all the API calls you are making have already been cached?

For me the $cache functionality of the library is one of its main advantages. The $cache not being used is a bit of a disaster really at least with the way I would be using the library.

I am stuck in my ways of using your libraries but doesn't the library already not cache anything if you do not specify the $cache? I do not understand why it has been specifically hard coded so $cache can't be used?

Anyway I am greatly appreciative of the work so far and looking forward to using it - I can just hope my reasoning makes some sense.

Thanks

[duck7000]

If the library uses the $cache functionality I can control whether the data is cached or not. With the library now hard coded to not use the $cache this is now out of my control and produces a major headache for my use.

This is a valid and fair point, i didn't think of it in that way.
Do note that movie, tv and person class are certainly cached, other classes may not.

So the best approach is to include caching for all methods, the user can decide if it is used or not. I just made decisions based on what i would use/how i would use it but clearly i missed the part that other users might use it in a different way.

I am going to add caching to all methods but that might take some time. It took me almost 1 month to get it dis far.

This is exactly the reason that i NEED the input of you, the user, to get it right. The hard part is always to get user and developer at the same page, but they both see it their way so we must meet in the middle.

That is also why i made all those issue trackers, just to get info from the user.

[duck7000]

Cache is now possible in Changes, UserAccount and all List classes, de rest will follow asap
Edit: cache is now implanted in ALL classes except Search class.

And the up to 14 day date override is also implanted in latest git

So please check it out if/when you have the time

[mosource21]

Thanks for all the changes. 👍

Cache is now possible in Changes, UserAccount and all List classes, de rest will follow asap

I am trying to keep an eye on development but I always feel a bit guilty suggesting changes without having really used the library yet! It is great that you can make the changes so quickly but do not feel you have too.

And the up to 14 day date override is also implanted in latest git

Regarding the 14 day update I completely agree - if you have to run that with 47K updates to process something drastic has gone wrong but the option is there for the end user if they need it.

And you might think this is something that should be cached? Think about it, this data is different by the minute so it would be a different list every minute.. Or do i think about it the wrong way?

It all comes down to how you will use the library.

Fictitious Example 1: Perform limited offline analysis/research of a small subset of data. The analysis may be run many hundreds of times throughout the day. The data may be $cached by 12 hours - there is no impact to the API server apart from the first run. It doesn't matter if a movie has had a spelling mistake fixed or if another new movie has been released these will be picked up the next time the analysis is run say the following day or week (the 12 hour $cache would have expired by then).

Fictitious Example 2: Output titles of newly released movies to a personal website you may want to use a $cache of 30 minutes then the website would display new results every 30 minutes. Even then is it really needed for a webpage to change every 30 minutes? You certainly wouldn't want every single visit to the website to perform a live new query to the API! Does that website get 100 visits a day, 10000 visits a day a million visits a day - that would be a million calls to the API without a cache! A $cache of some form would be required even if it is set to a small time period. [Visits per day for explainable effect - you clearly wouldn't be using the free API if you had a million website visits a day 😆]

By using the $cache mechanism the control is back with the developer. The end user of the library has the tools to make sure they are responsibly using the API and not hammering it to death requesting the same information again and again when it is not needed.

I hope this explanation adds support for the $cache mechanism.

[duck7000]

I am trying to keep an eye on development but I always feel a bit guilty suggesting changes without having really used the library yet! It is great that you can make the changes so quickly but do not feel you have too.

Don't feel guilty, i do and make things if i have the time/or in the mood. So sometimes this runs like a train, other times i do nothing in weeks. Most of the time i do it right away because it is still fresh and in the workflow, otherwise i might forget it.

[duck7000]

Fictitious Example 1: Perform limited offline analysis/research of a small subset of data. The analysis may be run many hundreds of times throughout the day. The data may be $cached by 12 hours - there is no impact to the API server apart from the first run. It doesn't matter if a movie has had a spelling mistake fixed or if another new movie has been released these will be picked up the next time the analysis is run say the following day or week (the 12 hour $cache would have expired by then).

Fictitious Example 2: Output titles of newly released movies to a personal website you may want to use a $cache of 30 minutes then the website would display new results every 30 minutes. Even then is it really needed for a webpage to change every 30 minutes? You certainly wouldn't want every single visit to the website to perform a live new query to the API! Does that website get 100 visits a day, 10000 visits a day a million visits a day - that would be a million calls to the API without a cache! A $cache of some form would be required even if it is set to a small time period. [Visits per day for explainable effect - you clearly wouldn't be using the free API if you had a million website visits a day 😆]

This is a perfect example of how different users use this library!
Personally i would use this library (and imdb library) to fill data in my personal database, so i use the data once. I update that data from time to time but not frequently.

This is exactly why i need your (the user) input to get both users and developer closer together. to prevent the gap between them. This is a common mistake with a lot of developers.