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Introduction to the "Refinitiv API Samples" Github group

Olivier Davant
Product Manager Product Manager

Overview

In this article I would like to briefly introduce you to the Refinitiv API Samples Github group. I will explain what you can find in there and how to search this very useful group.

The Refinitiv API Samples Github group

This group has been created and is maintained by Refinitiv teams. It contains source code projects specifically created for the Refinitiv Developer Community. The purpose of these projects is to teach Refinitiv APIs and to show them in action in the context of various use cases.
These source code projects contain: 

  • Source code examples related to API tutorials published on the Refinitiv Developer Community portal.
  • Stand alone example applications that demonstrate how to use one or several Refinitiv APIs in the context of a basic or a more advanced use case.
  • Source code related to articles published on the Refinitiv Developer Community portal.

Projects are presented in individual Github repositories and come with a README.md file that explain the purpose of the projects, provide links to the related tutorials or articles and give instructions to build and/or run the demonstrated source code.

Repository naming convention

For better clarity and better ease of search, repositories of the Refinitiv API Samples group use the following naming convention.

Repositories names are made of 5 parts separated by a dot '.' character. The goal of this structured naming is to give you a quick overview of the content of each project. The 5 parts provide you with indications about:

  • The project type: indicates if the project is related to an Article, an Example or a Tutorial.
  • The APIs list: indicates the APIs used in by the project. A short name has been defined for each Refinitiv API. Here is the current list that may be completed over time:
    • ETA: Enterprise Transport API
    • EMA: Enterprise Message API
    • EikonAPI: Any of the Refinitiv Eikon APIs (Web & Scripting,.Net, COM)
    • AppStudio: AppStudio APIs for developing Refinitiv Eikon apps.
    • DSS: DataScope Select APIs
    • RTH: Refinitiv Tick History APIs
    • RKD: Refinitiv Knowledge Direct API
    • OpenPermID: Open PermID and Calais Tagging APIs
    • RFA: Robust Foundation API
    • OpenDACS: Open DACS API
    • …

For projects that involve several APIs, this part is made of several acronyms in alphabetic order and separated by a dash '-' character. 

  • The programming language: indicates the programming language used by the project. A short name is defined for each programming language. Here is the current list that may be completed over time:
    • Cpp: For C++
    • Java
    • C#
    • Javascript
    • Python
    • …
  • The technology: This is an optional part that gives an indication on the technology used by the project. Here is the current list that may be completed over time:
    • COM
    • NET
    • REST
    • SOAP
    • …
  • The name of the project : A name that briefly describes the project.

These five parts are always given in this specific order so that you can visually browse the repositories of the group very quickly. 

Here are some examples of names:

  • Tutorial.EikonAPI.Python.CompanyTearsheetEstimates
  • Example.EikonAPI.Python.NewIssuesInTheNews
  • Article.EMA.Java.ChainExpander
  • Example.EMA.Java.SpeedGuide
  • Example.AppStudio-DSS-TRTH.Javascript.SpreadSMALastIndexComponents

As you may have realized, all these repositories have been created at the same level, as a flat structure. At first glance it may seem a bit confusing and disorganized, but this has been made on purpose. As you will see in the next section, this flat structure combined with the naming convention and the Search Repositories feature of the Github group brings you a very powerful searching facility. 

 

How to search this group?

If you come to browse and search the Refinitiv API Samples Github group, this certainly means that you are looking for something that will help you in your work with Refinitiv platforms, APIs or data. Then, depending on your actual need you may want to search from different perspectives. For example, if you are learning an API, you may want to browse the projects related to this specific API; if you are a beginner you may just be interested in tutorials for this API; if you are a more advanced user you may be interested in use case examples. Or maybe you do not focus on any specific API but you would like to discover what is available for your preferred programming language or topic. 

The combination of the naming convention described above, the flat structure of repositories and the Search Repositories feature provided by Github precisely allows you to search from these different perspectives. 

 

 

For example, to search for the materials related to a specific API, you just have to type the API short name in the Search repositories field. Here is an example with "EMA" that displays all examples, tutorials and articles related to the Elektron Message API:

 

 

Here is another example with "EMA article" that only displays the repositories related to Elektron Message API articles:

 

As you can see, it is very easy to narrow down your search by adding the appropriate keywords to the Search repositories field. As Refinitiv teams are adding more and more learning materials over time, this search facility is a key feature that helps you in discovering the learning materials that are just right for you.

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