Daq Syndication Developer Notes

v0.2. Interactive Drama & Entertainment, BBC. January 2006. M Chadburn. celebdaq@bbc.co.uk

This document provides an overview of the editorial and game data publicly available from sites using the Daq engine.

Price Elasticity, Capital Gains, and Claudia Winkleman.

Daq is a multi-player trading engine from the BBC's interactive Drama & Entertainment department. The system provides the underlying functionality for the popular Celebdaq and Sportdaq games.

Celebdaq cleverly combines modern celebrity obsession, microeconomic theory, and the ruthless gluttony of the stock market trading floor while imparting the concept of supply and demand to its audience. Sportdaq provides much the same using popular sporting personalities as the trading issues.

The FAQ pages of each game provide help and details about the game play specifics.

General Notes

Both Celebdaq and Sportdaq are freely available but require a simple registration process. If you're not signed up, you should be!
No personalised data is available yet (eg. RSS feed of your portfolio).
No game engine transaction functionality (eg. buying shares over SOAP), or otherwise, yet.
We would prefer that existing or new applications repurposing any Daq game data use the data advertised in this document rather than from scraping the website HTML.
URLs contained within in the feeds are prefixed with BBC tracking code (eg. /go/rss/celebdaq/-/ ), please retain.
Data is publicly available over HTTP at the advertised URLs.
Editorial data is published in RSS 2.0 format, the game data in RSS 2.0, a bespoke XML format, and XSSI env vars for internal usage.
Changes in, and discussions of, this data will take place on BBC Backstage website and mailing list.
The game data feeds will not be regenerated if errors are found other than in the course of the normal publishing schedule.
Please familiarise yourself with BBC and Backstage terms of use.
To discuss suitable usage, alternate formats, or other dropoff/collection methods please mail celebdaq@bbc.co.uk.

Issues and Genres

Daq revolves around the buying and selling of issues. In both Sportdaq and Celebdaq markets issues refer to real-life people, occasionally referred to as their popular moniker (eg. 'BB Nadia' refers to Nadia Almda from Big Brother). Each issue has a unique numerical 'issueid', a market 'code', and belongs to a single 'genre'. Knowing these three pieces of information can help tie the various threads of the data together.

Editorial Data

Notes

Editorial data is published manually to an approximate weekly schedule.
Editorial data is published by a separate system to the live Daq engine, this might explain inconsistencies between the two set of feeds. eg. date formats.
News by genre and issue are just subsets of the main news feed.
The news by issue data has only recently been changed to generate RSS. The changes will take a while to filter through the system resulting in older, non-newsworthy share issues being malformed/invalid feeds. If this causes anyone a problem we can regenerate the entire news archive, just ask.

Celebdaq Editorial Feed List

Site Editorial: http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/daqdiary/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/dividends/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/news/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/statements/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/toptraders/rss2.xml
News by Genre - sample: http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/news/genre/pop/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/news/genre/fashion/rss2.xml; ... or any other valid genres
News by Issue - sample: http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/news/issue/SVEN/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/news/issue/SIEMIL/rss2.xml; ... or any other valid issue codes

Sportdaq Editorial Feed List

Site Editorial: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/news/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/dividends/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/statements/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/toptraders/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/winbonuses/rss2.xml
News by Genre - sample: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/news/genre/cricket/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/news/genre/golf/rss2.xml; ... or any other valid genres
News by Issue - sample: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/news/issue/ALEFER/rss2.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/news/issue/ROGFED/rss2.xml; ... or any other valid issue codes

Game Data

Notes

Where each item contains a <link>, this is typically a call to action to the issue's buy/sell shares page. At the moment you need to be registered and logged in to visit these pages.
To help identify the individual items the RSS data contains issue ID/CODE/DESCRIPTION in the title.
URLs should conform to this naming convention http://www.bbc.co.uk/[daq-instance]/syndication/[internal-version]/[feed-name][FORMAT][item-quantity].[mime-type]?[filter1]+[filterN]
Currency is stated in Sterling to two decimal places
Percentage is stated to two decimal places.
Feeds are typically published within 4 minutes of being generated, though this might be delayed for a variety of reasons.
Column inches are added throughout the week then set to zero when dividends are paid out. If the RSS looks empty, this is probably the reason why.
The default sort order is by issue id, though some data is ordered by the primary value of the feed. Eg. dividends are sorted by highest dividend
Mini-league table data is available in an XML format but switched off by default. Contact celebdaq@bbc.co.uk for more information.

OPML

Celebdaq Game Data Feed List

Column Inches - an indexed value denoting the daily press coverage each issue received (published nightly)
: http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesRSS2filter.xml?SVEN+VIBECK+PETBUR; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesXMLall.xml
Dividends - summary of dividend payments (published nightly): http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsRSS2filter.xml?SVEN+VIBECK; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsXMLall.xml
Issue - data about each issue (published every 20 minutes): http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/issueRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/issueRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/issue/issueXMLall.xml
Price History - issue trading statistics (published nightly): http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/pricehistory/dailyRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/pricehistory/dailyRSS2filter.xml?VIBECK; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/pricehistory/dailyXMLall.xml
Transaction - market movement and transaction statistics (published every 60 minutes): http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/celebdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeXMLall.xml

Sportdaq Game Data Feed List

Column Inches - an indexed value denoting the daily press coverage each issue received (published nightly)
: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesRSS2filter.xml?SVEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesRSS2filter.xml?MICOWE+TIMHEN+LINDAV; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/columndata/columninchesXMLall.xml
Dividends - summary of dividend payments (published nightly): http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN+LINDAV; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/dividends/dividendsXMLall.xml
Issue - data about each issue (published every 20 minutes): http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/highesthourlyXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/lowesthourlyXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/issueRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/issueRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/issue/issueXMLall.xml
Price History - issue trading statistics (published nightly): http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/pricehistory/dailyRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/pricehistory/dailyRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/pricehistory/dailyXMLall.xml
Transaction - market movement and transaction statistics (published every 60 minutes): http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostboughtXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mostsoldXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/mosttradedXMLall.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeRSS2all.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeRSS2filter.xml?TIMHEN; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeRSS2q20.xml; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportdaq/syndication/1/transaction/netchangeXMLall.xml

Bugs

Genre (AKA category in RSS) value is not being defined in any of the data structures passed to the templates, hence missing from all output.