Posted May 24, 2011 at 7:39 pm by Akshay
I spent a while trying to complete the Themeforest.net author quiz, but while doing so I landed up compiling an answer key. Posting it here – just in case someone needs it:
- If you’d like to use an asset within your file that someone else created and you’re unsure whether you’re allowed to, what should you do? – Ask a lawyer or the asset’s license holder
- Who decides how files are priced? – The ThemeForest staff
- Who is responsible for copyright violations in submitted files? – The author
- What will happen if your submission does not validate (excluding browser-specific CSS)? – It will be rejected
- Who is responsible for testing files to make sure there are no errors? – The author
- Who is responsible for copyright violations in submitted files? – The author
- Which of the following would be an appropriate file title? – CoPilot – WordPress and Tumblog Theme
- What should you do if another author has copied one of your files? – Contact Envato support
- Your file must work properly in which browsers? – All major browsers
- What will happen if your submission does not include documentation? – The item will be rejected
- What is most likely to happen if your file is visually unappealing? – It will get rejected
Note: This may not be valid if Themeforest.net changes their author quiz. Last checked validity May 24, 2011
Posted June 24, 2009 at 7:56 pm by Akshay
Stock Exchanges around the world currently publish datafeeds in CSV format. This is quite portable and easy to implement, however it cannot be directly used in your web applications without server side code. Also these official feeds are generally very expensive and affordable only by enterprise level developers. Thats where Stock Market Data (SMD) API comes in place. This simple HTTP webservice presents a snapshot of the latest stock market data in various Web 2.0 formats such as JSON, RSS, ATOM, MDDL (Market Data Definition Language – XML for Market Data) or a good old CSV. Currently SMDAPI supports NASDAQ Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange, India (NSE) but we are actively working on supporting others soon.
Please note that SMD API is currently released as Beta and is quite unstable in nature. I am still experimenting with everything from the domain name of this service (smdapi.co.cc which is a temperory one) to the API structure itself. I am also very much open to ideas which I can incorporate in this project before it officially released.
Update: The API is currently no more supported in interest of this method I lately discovered. Please contact me at akshay[dot]raje[at]gmail.com if you need any help / consulting in this regard.
Posted May 19, 2009 at 6:49 pm by Akshay
This is in continuation to my concept note on BSE and NSE syndication feeds. Here are some more sketchy details about the planned service.
Data source: Currently I am considering to scrap the stock exchange website pages using cURL and then parsing the DOM structure of the raw source. Once the service grows big enough, a subscription to an official data feed can be considered.
Output formats: I realized that RSS was a bad idea after all, however I discovered a very evolved XML specification for market data representation called Market Data Definition Language (MDDL). Apart from MDDL the other output formats could be a simpler XML (home grown format); good old csv (light, easy and time tested) and JSON (for direct use in client side apps). As JSONP is natively cross domain, it can be easily integrated without any server side technology. This means that users of this service can start their own ‘Get Quote’ apps on their website irrespective of the server or the host they use… just plain javascript code.
Lets get down to an example here. This is the current get quote output from NSE (exchange) for ACC (stock). An example output in MDDL would look like this sample mddl-xml. This as such is the plan and I am eagerly awaiting some feedback on this one before I start off with the actual code.
Posted May 15, 2009 at 12:57 am by Akshay
Consider this. Our stock market sites gear themselves as Web 2.0 services and start publishing data in the form of RSS, XML or JSON feeds. Imagine receiving corporate announcements in your RSS aggregator or even better… track your portfolio thru your aggregator. Further, picture what the developer community can do using this. Stock feeds can be parsed using widget frameworks like Google Gadgets, OpenSocial or plugin architectures to be dispayed on sites, blogs or social networking profile pages. Basically the possibilities are limitless.
But the reality is that our stock markets won’t do it. Not at least so soon. To fill in this gap I am planning to start a service which will parse BSE or NSE pages and convert them into RSS, XML or JSON feeds. It will be a simple HTTP service which will answer your request in the desired format. I will start work as soon I find a some time off my current projects. Till then, give it a thought and let me know what do you think of this.
20 Comments 
Leave a comment »
RSS
Social bookmarks
Hi, My name is Akshay Raje. I am a self taught freelance web designer and developer. I love travel and am a great movie buff too. This blog is about my projects and experiments with web technologies. 
