Now completing the fourth week of coding, the AtomPub importer is finally starting to take shape. This week I managed to retrieve trackbacks, successfully start importing the previously retrieved data into WordPress, and added a user interface enhancement.
Trackbacks Are Go
If you remember last week, I had some difficulties getting trackbacks working. Well, thankfully that is no longer the case. Earlier this week Joseph Scott helped me figure out the code needed for accessing TypePad’s XML-RPC API. With this addition, all standard blog data is now being imported.
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Alright, that is a sensationalist title, but I needed a strong title to show my hypocrisy. Today, I have made the switch from Safari 3 to Firefox 3. I have realized despite the numerous advantages Safari has with direct operating system integration, Firefox still wins out feature-wise. To help make my decision, I made several lists of the advantages and disadvantages that matter to me. Below are those lists.
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Week 3 of the Summer of Code has been by far the most productive week yet. The main focus of this week was to parse the AtomPub data into a PHP array, and I’m pleased to say this was a success.
The XML Parser
I started the week off by writing the custom XML parser I talked about last week. To do this, I researched several different methods for utilizing PHP’s xml_parse function. Since the parsing occured on an established standard where the tag names will not change on me, I decided to parse the tags based on a tag name switch. This worked well until I started running into nested tags. Although, that problem was quickly resolved with the use of a few class variables.
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While I didn’t blog about last week’s status, significant progress has been made in parsing TypePad and Movable Type AtomPub feeds (well, parsing TypePad feeds). This week started off by completing more research on the AtomPub spec. In order to parse an AtomPub feed, I had to learn about X-WSSE authentication. From there, I found a great X-WSSE class that I included in my test version of WordPress. Then, the fun began.
Movable Type Hates Me
Almost immediately, I was retrieving the RAW XML of TypePad’s AtomPub feed. Unfortunately, I could not say the same for Movable Type. Due to some server configuration issues on my end or possibly a bug in Movable Type, I am unable to retrieve Movable Type AtomPub feeds at the moment. I’ve tried various methods of parsing the feed and each method returns the same cryptographic error message. I’ve called in the experts (my mentor, Lloyd) to help me, but if anyone has any clue as to why Movable Type hates me, I would appreciate the feedback.
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Google’s Summer of Code 2008 is officially underway! This year I am working on creating an AtomPub-based content importer for WordPress. The goal is to import entries and other content from Movable Type and TypePad into WordPress in as few clicks as possible.
Since the AtomPub spec (RFC 5023) is so new, this should prove to be an interesting summer. I will be one of the first to implement a real world use of AtomPub, and I suspect documentation will be scarce. Regardless, I am up for the challenge and can’t wait to see how the end product turns out.
If you’re interested in the progress of this project, just stayed tuned to this blog. I will be blogging weekly updates on my progress, so you will always know where I stand.
