Bulk, dated snapshots

[konklone]

We're currently overwriting JSON files in place every minute and every day.

We should also, as a byproduct, save time/date versioned JSON files so that anyone (ourselves included) can use the bulk data at any time to produce reports other than the ones we query Google for directly.

[rebeccawilliams]

+1

[gbinal]

The API we're working to build (#194) should accomplish this goal. I'm going to go ahead and close this in anticipation of that.

[sawyerh]

In case others come across this in their hunt for historical analytics.usa.gov data before 2017:

It looks like, with a little bit of source code searching, you can find historical data through the Wayback machine. The pages won't render the data, because JavaScript, but if you look at the source code you should be able to find links to the JSON data download links, which are also archived by the Wayback machine 🎊

For example: https://web.archive.org/web/20150411075559/https://analytics.usa.gov/data/live/devices.json

[konklone]

@gbinal Did the API ever launch publicly? I don't see it linked from the main dashboard.

[tdlowden]

@konklone we never made a formal public announcement. That said, it'd be worth a link in the footer with a caveat that it's pretty nascent.

[tdlowden]

I attempted it over here 18F/analytics.usa.gov#510