Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek releases API
Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB) has made its API available to the public. API stands for ‘application programming interface’ and enables external applications, for example, websites and mobile apps to access the DDB database via the Internet.
The ‘mobile revolution’ triggered by smartphones and tablets has fundamentally changed how we use the Internet. Data can reach us everywhere, in a variety of situations and contexts, and through many different channels and devices. At the centre of this development is the ‘connected app’ that downloads relevant data via the Internet as the situation demands it. By releasing its API, Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek has opened up Germany’s digital cultural heritage to these connected apps.
Technically, an API is a way for two computer applications to talk to each other over a network (predominantly the Internet) using a common language they both understand. A standard for public APIs based on the REST principle has emerged over the past few years, and has also been applied to the API of Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB provides access to its back-end via the Java API for RESTful Web Services).
The public part of the API currently consists of 15 methods, which can be used to access data from DDB in different ways. The scope and format of data delivered in response to an API request are determined by the purpose allocated to each method.
With the release of our API, users can now decide how, where and in what contexts they want to use the data from the cultural and scientific institutions participating in Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.
To realise this vision, we are dependent on the engagement of dedicated software developers to programme creative applications for our API.
Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek aims to provide its community of developers with the best possible support. At http://api.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/doku you can find extensive documentation with code samples and information on how to register with DDB as a developer.
Over the next months, Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek plans to announce a programming competition for API applications and will host a series of workshops for developers.
We expect that the most convincing and creative ideas for the application of the API will come from DDB’s community of users and data providers.
DDB and its partners plan further innovative developments based on its API in the future. The benefits and level of acceptance of each new development will be tested in beta applications before being added to the DDB portal. A first ambitious application for the DDB-API is already under development with Archivportal-D. Conceivable are similar applications that provide access from a particular perspective or to specific content in the DDB database.
Via the API of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek, metadata will be released exclusively under the CC0 licence. The API Terms and Conditions of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek apply.