Ham-Reference-QRZ 0.01 NAME Ham::Reference::QRZ - An object oriented front end for the QRZ.COM Amateur Radio callsign database VERSION Version 0.01 INSTALLATION To install this module, run the following commands: perl Makefile.PL make make test make install SYNOPSIS use Ham::Reference::QRZ; use Data::Dumper; my $qrz = Ham::Reference::QRZ->new( callsign => 'N8QQ', username => 'your_username', password => 'your_password' ); # get the listing and bio my $listing = $qrz->get_listing; my $bio = $qrz->get_bio; # dump the data to see how it's structured print Dumper($listing); print Dumper($bio); # set a different callsign to look up $qrz->set_callsign('W8IRC'); # get the listing and print some specific info $listing = $qrz->get_listing; print "Name: $listing->{name}\n"; DESCRIPTION The "Ham::Reference::QRZ" module provides an easy object oriented front end to access Amateur Radio callsign data from the QRZ.COM online database. This module uses the QRZ XML Database Service, which requires a subscription from QRZ.COM. The QRZ XML Database Service specification states "The data supplied by the XML port may be extended in a forwardly compatible manner. New XML elements and database objects (with their associated elements) may be transmitted at any time. It is the developers responsibility to have their program ignore any unrecognized objects and/or elements without raising an error, so long as the information received consists of properly formatted XML." Therefore, this module will not attempt to list or manage individual elements of a callsign. You will need to inspect the hash reference keys to see which elements are available for any given callsign. This module does not handle any management of reusing session keys at this time. CONSTRUCTOR new() Usage : my $qrz = Ham::Reference::QRZ->new; Function : creates a new Ham::Reference::QRZ object Returns : a Ham::Reference::QRZ object Args : a hash: key required? value ------- --------- ----- timeout no an integer of seconds to wait for the timeout of the xml site default = 10 callsign no you may specify a callsign to look up here, or you may do it later with the set_callsign() method username no you may specify a username to log in with here, or you may do it later with the set_username() method password no you may specify a password to log in with here, or you may do it later with the set_password() method key no set a session key here if you have a valid key so that no time is wasted doing another login. only useful if you are managing the reuse of your own keys METHODS set_callsign() Usage : $qrz->set_callsign( $callsign ); Function : set the callsign to look up at QRZ Returns : n/a Args : a case-insensitive string containing an Amateur Radio callsign. Notes : calling this will reset the listing and bio data to null until you do another get_listing() or get_bio(), respectively. set_username() Usage : $qrz->set_username( $username ); Function : set the username for your QRZ subscriber login Returns : n/a Args : a string set_password() Usage : $qrz->set_password( $password ); Function : set the password for your QRZ subscriber login Returns : n/a Args : a string set_key() Usage : $qrz->set_key( $session_key ); Function : set a session key for retrieving data at QRZ Returns : n/a Args : a string Notes : this is useful only if you already have a valid key before the first login during a particular instance of the module. set_timeout() Usage : $qrz->set_timeout( $seconds ); Function : sets the number of seconds to wait on the xml server before timing out Returns : n/a Args : an integer get_listing() Usage : $hashref = $qrz->get_listing; Function : retrieves data for the standard listing of a callsign from QRZ Returns : a hash reference Args : n/a Notes : if a session key has not already been set, this method will automatically login. if a there is already listing information set from a previous lookup, this will just return that data. do a new set_callsign() if you need to refresh the data with a new call to the qrz database. get_bio() Usage : $hashref = $qrz->get_bio; Function : retrieves data for the biography of a callsign from QRZ Returns : a hash reference Args : n/a Notes : if a session key has not already been set, this method will automatically login. if a there is already biographical information set from a previous lookup, this will just return that data. do a new set_callsign() if you need to refresh the data with a new call to the qrz database. login() Usage : $session = $qrz->login; Function : initiates a login to the QRZ xml server Returns : a hash reference of the session data Args : n/a Notes : this generally shouldn't need to be used since the get_listing() and get_bio() methods will automatically initiate a login to the server if it hasn't already been done. get_session() Usage : $session = $qrz->get_session; Function : retrieves the session information from the most recent call to the XML site Returns : a hash reference of the session data Args : n/a is_error() Usage : if ( $qrz->is_error ) Function : test for an error if one was returned from the call to the XML site Returns : a true value if there has been an error Args : n/a error_message() Usage : my $err_msg = $qrz->error_message; Function : if there was an error message when trying to call the XML site, this is it Returns : a string (the error message) Args : n/a DEPENDENCIES * XML::Simple * LWP::UserAgent * An Internet connection * A QRZ.COM subscription that includes access to the QRZ XML Database Service TODO * Improve error checking and handling. * Session key reuse between instances (maybe). * Look into any possible needed escaping, filtering, etc. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This module accesses data from the widely popular QRZ.COM Database. See http://www.qrz.com SEE ALSO * In order to use this module you need to have a subscription for the QRZ XML Database Service. See http://online.qrz.com * The technical reference for the QRZ XML Database Service is at http://online.qrz.com/specifications.html AUTHOR Brad McConahay N8QQ, "" COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE Copyright 2008 Brad McConahay N8QQ, all rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.