NAME
Ham::Reference::QRZ - An object oriented front end for the QRZ.COM Amateur Radio callsign database
VERSION
Version 0.02
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 keysMETHODS
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 stringset_password()
Usage : $qrz->set_password( $password );
Function : set the password for your QRZ subscriber login
Returns : n/a
Args : a stringset_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 integerget_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/ais_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/aerror_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/aDEPENDENCIES
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, <brad at n8qq.com>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright 2008-2009 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.