A2z provides a simple Ruby DSL to retrieve product information from the Amazon Product Advertising API.
Add this line to your application's Gemfile:
gem 'a2z'
And then execute:
$ bundle
Or install it yourself as:
$ gem install a2z
The basis of the A2z gem is the A2z::Client. A client can be used to search
for items or lookup a specific item available on Amazon.
Instantiating a client requires an API key, secret, and tag. To obtain
these, you'll need to create an Amazon Product Advertising API account.
Once you have these, create the client as follows:
client = A2z::Client.new(key: 'YOUR_KEY', secret: 'YOUR_SECRET', tag: 'YOUR_TAG')
By default, a client will search within Amazon US (i.e.: amazon.com). This can
be customized by passing a country option when initializing your client.
Valid country options are :ca, :cn, :de, :es, :fr, :it, :jp,
:uk, and :us. For example:
client = A2z::Client.new(country: :us, ...)
Alternative, the country can be changed after the client has been initialized.
client.country = :us
Within a Rails application, you'll probably want to keep your key, secret, and
tag information out of source control. One way to do this is to store this
information in a YAML file such as config/amazon.yml. For example:
key: YOUR_KEY
secret: YOUR_SECRET
tag: YOUR_TAG
This file can then be used in the following manner:
config = YAML.load_file(Rails.root.join('config', 'amazon.yml'))
client = A2z::Client.new(config)
Once you have instantiated an A2z::Client instance, browsing category nodes
can be done through the browse_node_lookup method.
response = client.browse_node_lookup(1000)
The return value is an A2z::Responses::BrowseNodeLookup object. The above
example would make the following calls possible.
response.valid? # => true
response.operation_request # => #<A2z::Responses::OperationRequest ...>
node = response.node # => #<A2z::Responses::BrowseNode ...>
node.id # => 1000
node.name # => "Subjects"
node.root? # => true
node.ancestors.size # => 1
node.children.size # => 30
ancestor = node.ancestors.first # => #<A2z::Responses::BrowseNode ...>
ancestor.id # => 283155
ancestor.name # => "Books"
ancestor.root? # => false
child = node.children.first # => #<A2z::Responses::BrowseNode ...>
child.id # => 1
child.name # => "Arts & Photography"
child.root? # => false
By default, Amazon assumes the response group to be "BrowseNodeInfo". Additional response groups "MostGifted", "MostWishedFor", "NewReleases", and "TopSellers" can be requested as well, allowing access to top items per the following example code.
node = response.node # => #<A2z::Responses::BrowseNode ...>
node.most_gifted.size # => 10
node.most_gifted.first # => #<A2z::Responses::TopItem ...>
node.most_wished_for.first # => #<A2z::Responses::TopItem ...>
node.new_releases.first # => #<A2z::Responses::TopItem ...>
node.top_sellers.first # => #<A2z::Responses::TopItem ...>
For more information on interacting with A2z::Responses::TopItem and
A2z::Responses::OperationRequest objects, refer to their respective sections
below. With regards to children, only the direct children are included in a
response. However, ancestors are nested all the way to the top-most parent.
The following code demonstrate the full collection of methods provided when performing a browse node lookup.
response = client.browse_node_lookup(1000) do
response_group 'TopSellers'
end
Required arguments and argument values vary depending upon how you use the API. For a full list of arguments and when they are required vs. optional, refer to Amazon's BrowseNodeLookup documentation.
Once you have instantiated an A2z::Client instance, searching for products
can be done through the item_search method.
response = client.item_search do
category 'Music'
keywords 'Dave Matthews Band'
end
The return value is an A2z::Responses::ItemSearch object. The example above
would make the following calls possible.
response.valid? # => true
response.total_results # => 435
response.total_pages # => 44
response.items.size # => 10
response.items.first # => #<A2z::Responses::Item ...>
response.more_search_results_url # => "http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?camp=2025&creative=386001..."
response.operation_request # => #<A2z::Responses::OperationRequest ...>
For more information on interacting with A2z::Responses::Item and
A2z::Responses::OperationRequest objects, refer to their respective sections
below.
The following code is likely not a real-world example of how you would use the client to perform a search; it is only intended to demonstrate the full collection of methods provided when performing an item search.
client.item_search do
category 'Books'
keywords 'Harry Potter'
actor 'Adam Sandler'
artist 'Muse'
audience_rating 'PG-13'
author 'J.K. Rowling'
brand 'Timex'
browse_node 17
composer 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart'
condition 'Refurbished'
conductor 'Leopold Stokowski'
director 'Judd Apatow'
include_reviews_summary true
item_page 1
manufacturer 'Sony'
merchant_id 'SOME_MERCHANT_ID'
maximum_price 49.99
minimum_price 10.50
min_percentage_off 20
music_label 'Universal'
orchestra 'Antonio Vivaldi'
power 'subject:history and (spain or mexico) and not military and language:spanish'
publisher 'EMI'
sort 'inverse-pricerank'
title 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'
truncate_reviews_at 0
variation_page 2
response_group('RelatedItems') do
related_item_page 2
relationship_type 'Episode'
end
end
Required arguments and argument values vary depending upon how you use the API. For a full list of arguments and when they are required vs. optional, refer to Amazon's ItemSearch documentation.
Once you have instantiated an A2z::Client instance, looking up a product can
be done through the item_lookup method.
response = client.item_lookup do
id '059035342X'
end
The return value is an A2z::Responses::ItemLookup object. The example above
would make the following calls possible.
response.valid? # => true
response.item # => #<A2z::Responses::Item ...>
response.operation_request # => #<A2z::Responses::OperationRequest ...>
For more information on interacting with A2z::Responses::Item and
A2z::Responses::OperationRequest objects, refer to their respective sections
below.
The following code is likely not a real-world example of how you would use the client to perform a lookup; it is only intended to demonstrate the full collection of methods provided when performing an item lookup.
client.item_lookup do
category 'Books'
id '059035342X'
id_type 'ASIN'
merchant_id 'SOME_MERCHANT_ID'
truncate_reviews_at 0
variation_page 2
response_group('RelatedItems') do
related_item_page 2
relationship_type 'Episode'
end
end
Required arguments and argument values vary depending upon how you use the API. For a full list of arguments and when they are required vs. optional, refer to Amazon's ItemLookup documentation.
Item lookup and item search response objects generally include one or more
A2z::Responses::Item objects accessible via the #item and #items
instance methods, respectively.
For example:
response = client.item_search { ... } # => #<A2z::Responses::ItemSearch ...>
item = response.items.first # => #<A2z::Responses::Item ...>
item.asin # => "B008FERRFO"
item.keys # => ["artist", "manufacturer", "product_group", "title"]
item.title? # => true
item.artist? # => true
item.manufacturer? # => true
item.product_group? # => true
item.composer? # => false
item.title # => "Away From The World (Deluxe Version)"
item.artist # => "Dave Matthews Band"
item.manufacturer # => "RCA"
item.product_group # => "Music"
item.editorial_reviews.size # => 1
item.editorial_reviews.first # => #<A2z::Responses::EditorialReview ...>
item.offers.size # => 1
item.offers.first # => #<A2z::Responses::Offer ...>
item.offer_summary # => #<A2z::Responses::OfferSummary ...>
item.detail_page_url # => "http://www.amazon.com/Away-From-World-Deluxe-Version/dp/B008FERRFO..."
When an item lookup or item search includes the "Images" response group, items
will also have their small_image, medium_image, large_image, and
image_sets attributes populated, assuming they are included in the API
response.
response = client.item_lookup do
id 'B008VVEJNE'
response_group 'Images'
end
item = response.item
item.small_image # => #<A2z::Responses::Image ...>
item.medium_image # => #<A2z::Responses::Image ...>
item.large_image # => #<A2z::Responses::Image ...>
item.image_sets.size # => 2
item.image_sets.keys # => [:primary, :variant]
item.image_sets[:primary] # => #<A2z::Responses::ImageSet ...>
Refer to the Image Sets and Images sections below for more information on using these objects.
Top items are accessible on browse nodes when performing browse node lookups with a response group of "MostGifted", "MostWishedFor", "NewReleases", and "TopSellers".
top_item = node.top_sellers.first # => #<A2z::Responses::TopItem ...>
top_item.asin # => "B00AQ3K8IU"
top_item.title # => "Hopeless"
top_item.product_group # => "eBooks"
top_item.actor # => nil
top_item.artist # => nil
top_item.author # => "Hoover, Colleen"
top_item.detail_page_url # => "http://www.amazon.com/Hopeless-ebook/dp/B00AQ3K8IU..."
Image sets are accessible on items when the "Images" responses group is included as part of an item lookup or item search request. Image sets are relatively simple objects, only including a category name and hash of images keyed by size.
For example:
item_set = item.image_sets[:primary] # => #<A2z::Responses::ImageSet ...>
item_set.category # => "primary"
item_set.images.keys # => [:swatch, :small, :thumbnail, :tiny, :medium, :large]
item_set.images[:swatch] # => #<A2z::Responses::Image ...>
Refer to the Images section below for more information on using this objects.
Images are accessible on items and through item sets when the "Images" response group is included as part of an item lookup or item search request. Images include only vital information, including the URL, width, and height in pixels.
For example:
response = client.item_lookup do
id 'B008VVEJNE'
response_group 'Images'
end
image = response.item.large_image # => #<A2z::Responses::Image ...>
image.url # => "http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411%2BCDuXoSL.jpg"
image.width # => 297
image.height # => 500
Offers are accessible on items when the "Offers", "OfferListings", or "OfferFull" response group is included as part of an item lookup or item search request.
offer = item.offers.first # => #<A2z::Responses::Offer ...>
offer.price # => #<Money fractional:699 currency:USD>
offer.price.format # => "$6.99"
offer.amount_saved # => #<Money fractional:699 currency:USD>
offer.amount_saved.format # => "$6.99"
offer.percentage_saved # => 50
offer.listing_id # => "oRHYBpasjoYr7hV0Ji5g6wjyJVv4xj1ZKnYRnsLsdzvcYotTARQNNueaVBzRP2CJCq..."
offer.condition # => "New"
offer.availability # => "Usually ships in 24 hours"
offer.super_saver_shipping_eligible? # => true
For more help on working with Money objects, refer to the RubyMoney gem page.
Offer summaries are accessible on items when the "Offers", "OfferFull", or "OfferSummary" response group is included as part of an item lookup or item search request.
offer_summary = item.offer_summary # => #<A2z::Responses::OfferSummary ...>
offer_summary.lowest_new_price # => #<Money fractional:699 currency:USD>
offer_summary.lowest_used_price # => #<Money fractional:699 currency:USD>
offer_summary.total_new # => 28
offer_summary.total_used # => 17
offer_summary.total_collectible # => 0
offer_summary.total_refurbished # => 0
For more help on working with Money objects, refer to the RubyMoney gem page.
Editorial reviews are accessible on items when the "EditorialResponse" response group is included as part of an item lookup or item search request. Editorial response objects only include the source and the content.
review = item.editorial_reviews.first # => #<A2z::Responses::EditorialReview ...>
review.source # => "Product Description"
review.content # => "Breakout pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen releases her..."
Item lookup, item search, and browse node lookup response objects include an
A2z::Responses::OperationRequest accessible via the #operation_request
instance method.
For example:
response = client.item_lookup { ... } # => #<A2z::Responses::ItemLookup ...>
op_req = response.operation_request # => #<A2z::Responses::OperationRequest ...>
op_req.request_id # => "fc5d5321-a347-4e65-9483-9655e8d9cf16"
op_req.request_processing_time # => 0.087729
op_req.headers.class # => Hash
op_req.headers['UserAgent'] # => "Jeff/0.4.3 (Language=Ruby; localhost)"
op_req.arguments.class # => Hash
op_req.arguments['Operation'] # => "ItemLookup"
This gem is new, and as such is lacking a full feature-set for interacting with the Product Advertising API. For example, many of the available operations have not yet been implemented.
Additionally, not much testing has been done yet, so there are many combinations of arguments that may result in errors or exceptions being thrown by the gem.
As such, any and all external help is encouraged and much appreciated!
To contribute:
- Fork it
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b my-new-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -am 'Added some feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin my-new-feature) - Create new Pull Request
A2z is released under the MIT License.