Tags

A feature of Blogger is the ability to assign one or more tags to a post. This allows you to extract, at the drop of a hat, all of the posts that have a similar tag. It has been a bone of contention that this has proven difficult to extract using the API provided by Google. Despite leaving queries on various forums (fora), the Gorse Fox has had no clues how to do this.

Applying a bit of lateral thinking, the Gorse Fox has come up with an alternate approach. He can make a simple list of all of the tags - then, butchering some code he already has tested, he can seek all of the posts associated with each, one by one. So this will give him the post-id of each posting with, say, the RPI tag. Having got this, he can then return to his code and insert the relevant tags in the existing private blog for each associated post. Base components of this are now in place, but the Gorse Fox still has to write the code to do this on a regular basis.

The frustrating part is that part of the code is dependent on the API provided for Python programs by Google. Because of the obscure way the API processes command line parameters, the Gorse Fox has spent several hours trying to insert three extra parameters. What a faff that was. He has, eventually, cracked it and his tests work. He does suspect, however, that some of the inherited (and previously unused) parameters may now be lost forever!

At least all of the remaining code can be written in Rexx or Rexx/SQL. This should accelerate development by several orders of magnitude.

Frustration

The Gorse Fox got a brief email from Cousteau-Cub. She had been to the doctor, in Trang. It appears that her bought of illness over the past week or so is actually the result of peptic ulcer caused by the prolonged use of the medication she takes. Looks like she is going to have a very bland diet for the next month or so whilst she takes more medication to sort out the ulcer.

Most of the rest of the day was spent getting very frustrated trying to get simple bits of code to work. This is code that, in his preferred language, he could code and test in two or three minutes. Writing in this different language it took the whole day to get the right incantation. Never mind, in the end he sorted it out, and tomorrow he can make progress.

The evening was spent with a bit of binge-watching. We made the most of our Amazon Prime subscription and waded through a batch of Bosch (Season2) episodes. We have saved the last two episodes for another evening, but have thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Dodging showers

The Silver Vixen is out with her coven today. They have pooled transport and taken just one large broomstick up to the Quilt Show at Sundown Park. This meant that Jasper has been left in charge, and the Gorse Fox is around to make sure he is fed.

There have been some torrential showers this morning, and as this is written, there is thunder rattling round. There was, however, a brief respite mid-morning and the Gorse Fox took the opportunity to walk round to the shops to recycle some Nespresso pods and to pick up some cash from the ATM. The sun was shining through his little trip, but soon disappeared when he got home.

AT home he has been working (and he uses that word in its loosest term) on his current code project. As explained, a lot was dependent on getting to use OAuth 2.0. Well, the Gorse Fox can report that he has cracked it and his basic code is now working. He can now successfully access his blog from a program. Now the basic framework is in place, he will refine the code over the next few days.