NAME
Net::Twitter - A perl interface to the Twitter API
VERSION
This document describes Net::Twitter version 3.03001
SYNOPSIS
use Net::Twitter;
my $nt = Net::Twitter->new(
traits => [qw/API::REST/],
username => $user,
password => $password
);
my $result = $nt->update('Hello, world!');
eval {
my $statuses = $nt->friends_timeline({ since_id => $high_water, count => 100 });
for my $status ( @$statuses ) {
print "$status->{time} <$status->{user}{screen_name}> $status->{text}\n";
}
};
if ( my $err = $@ ) {
die $@ unless blessed $err && $err->isa('Net::Twitter::Error');
warn "HTTP Response Code: ", $err->code, "\n",
"HTTP Message......: ", $err->message, "\n",
"Twitter error.....: ", $err->error, "\n";
}
DESCRIPTION
This module provides a perl interface to the Twitter APIs. See http://apiwiki.twitter.com/Twitter-API-Documentation for a full description of the Twitter APIs.
OMG! THE MOOSE!
Net::Twitter is Moose based. Moose provides some advantages, including the ability for the maintainer of this module to respond quickly to Twitter API changes.
See Net::Twitter::Lite if you need an alternative without Moose and its dependencies.
Net::Twitter::Lite's API method definitions and documentation are generated from Net::Twitter. It is a related module, but does not depend on Net::Twitter or Moose for installation.
METHODS AND ARGUMENTS
- new
-
This constructs a
Net::Twitter
object. It takes several named parameters, all of them optional:- traits
-
An ARRAY ref of traits used to control which APIs the constructed
Net::Twitter
object will support and how it handles errors. Possible values are:- API::REST
-
Provides support for the Twitter REST API methods.
- API::Search
-
Provides support for the Twitter Search API methods.
- API::TwitterVision
-
Provides support for the TwitterVision API. See http://twittervision.com/api.html.
- WrapError
-
Net::Twitter
normally throws exceptions on error. When this trait is included,Net::Twitter
returns undef when a method fails and makes the error available through methodget_error
. This is the way all errors were handled in Net::Twitter versions prior to version 3.00. - OAuth
-
The
OAuth
trait provides OAuth authentication rather than the default Basic Authentication for Twitter API method calls. See the "Authentication" section and Net::Twitter::Role::OAuth for full documentation. - Legacy
-
This trait provides backwards compatibility to
Net::Twitter
versions prior to 3.00. It implies the traitsAPI::REST
,API::Search
,API::TwitterVision
, andAPI::WrapError
. It also provides additional functionality to ensure consistent behavior for applications written for use with legacy versions ofNet::Twitter
.In the current version, this trait is automatically included if the
traits
option is not specified. This ensures backwards compatibility for existing applications usingNet::Twitter
versions prior to 3.00. See section "LEGACY COMPATIBILITY" for more details.
Some examples of using the
traits
parameter innew
:# provide support for *only* the REST API; throw exceptions on error $nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['API::REST']); # provide support for both the REST and Search APIs; wrap errors $nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => [qw/API::REST API::Search WrapError/]); # ensure full legacy support $nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['Legacy']); # currently, these 2 calls to new are equivalent: $nt = Net::Twitter->new(); $nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['Legacy']);
- legacy
-
A boolean. If set to 0,
new
constructs aNet::Twitter
object implementing the REST API and throws exceptions on API method errors.Net::Twitter->new(legacy => 0);
is a shortcut for:
Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['API::REST']);
If set to 1,
new
constructs aNet::Twitter
object with theLegacy
trait.Net::Twitter->new(legacy => 1);
is a shortcut for:
Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['Legacy']);
- username
-
This is the screen name or email used to authenticate with Twitter.
- password
-
This is the password used to authenticate with Twitter.
- clientname
-
The value for the
X-Twitter-Client-Name
HTTP header. It defaults to "Perl Net::Twitter". - clientver
-
The value for the
X-Twitter-Client-Version
HTTP header. It defaults to current version of theNet::Twitter
module. - clienturl
-
The value for the
X-Twitter-Client-URL
HTTP header. It defaults to the search.cpan.org page for theNet::Twitter
distribution. - useragent_class
-
The
LWP::UserAgent
compatible class used internally byNet::Twitter
. It defaults to "LWP::UserAgent". For POE based applications, consider using "LWP::UserAgent::POE". - useragent_args
-
An HASH ref of arguments to pass to constructor of the class specified with
useragent_class
, above. It defaults to {} (an empty HASH ref). - useragent
-
The value for
User-Agent
HTTP header. It defaults to "Net::Twitter/$VERSION (Perl)", where$VERSION
is the current version ofNet::Twitter
. - source
-
The value used in the
source
parameter of API method calls. It is currently only used in theupdate
method in the REST API. It defaults to "twitterpm". This results in the text "from Net::Twitter" rather than "from web" for status messages posted fromNet::Twitter
when displayed via the Twitter web interface. The value for this parameter is provided by Twitter when a Twitter application is registered. See http://apiwiki.twitter.com/FAQ#HowdoIget%E2%80%9CfromMyApp%E2%80%9DappendedtoupdatessentfrommyAPIapplication. - apiurl
-
The URL for the Twitter API. This defaults to "http://twitter.com". This option is available when the
API::REST
trait is included. - apihost
-
A string containing the Twitter API host. It defaults to "twitter.com:80". This option is available when the
API::REST
trait is included. - apirealm
-
A string containing the Twitter API realm used for Basic Authentication. It defaults to "Twitter API". This option is available when the
API::REST
trait is included. - identica
-
If set to 1,
Net::Twitter
overrides the defaults forapiurl
,apihost
, andapirealm
to "http://identi.ca/api", "identi.ca:80", and "Laconica API" respectively. It defaults to 0. This option is available when theAPI::REST
trait is included. - consumer_key
-
A string containing the OAuth consumer key provided by Twitter when an application is registered. This option is available when the
OAuth
trait is included. - consumer_secret
-
A string containing the OAuth consumer secret. This option is available when the
OAuth
trait is included.
- credentials($username, $password)
-
Set the credentials for Basic Authentication. This is helpful for managing multiple accounts.
- ua
-
Provides access to the constructed user agent object used internally by
Net::Twitter
. Use it with caution.
AUTHENTICATION
Twitter currently provides two authentication strategies: Basic Authentication and OAuth. OAuth is officially in beta, however, Twitter has expressed a desire to deprecate Basic Authentication in the future, so consider using OAuth in your applications.
To set up Basic Authentication in Net::Twitter
, provide the username
and password
options to "new" or call the "credentials" method.
To set up OAuth, include the OAuth
trait and include the consumer_key
and consumer_secret
options to "new". See Net::Twitter::Role::OAuth for more information on using OAuth, including examples.
In addition to the arguments specified for each API method described below, an additional authenticate
parameter can be passed. To request an Authorization
header, pass authenticated => 1
; to suppress an authentication header, pass authentication => 0
. Even if requested, an Authorization header will not be added if there are no user credentials (username and password for Basic Authentication; access tokens for OAuth).
This is probably only useful for the "rate_limit_status" method in the REST API, since it returns different values for an authenticated and a non-authenticated call.
API METHODS AND ARGUMENTS
Most Twitter API methods take parameters. All Net::Twitter API methods will accept a HASH ref of named parameters as specified in the Twitter API documentation. For convenience, many Net::Twitter methods accept simple positional arguments as documented, below. The positional parameter passing style is optional; you can always use the named parameters in a hash ref if you prefer.
For example, the REST API method update
has one required parameter, status
. You can call update
with a HASH ref argument:
$nt->update({ status => 'Hello world!' });
Or, you can use the convenient form:
$nt->update('Hello world!');
The update
method also has an optional parameter, in_reply_to_status_id
. To use it, you must use the HASH ref form:
$nt->update({ status => 'Hello world!', in_reply_to_status_id => $reply_to });
Convenience form is provided for the required parameters of all API methods. So, these two calls are equivalent:
$nt->friendship_exists({ user_a => $fred, user_b => $barney });
$nt->friendship_exists($fred, $barney);
Many API methods have aliases. You can use the API method name, or any of its aliases, as you prefer. For example, these calls are all equivalent:
$nt->friendship_exists($fred, $barney);
$nt->relationship_exists($fred, $barney);
$nt->follows($fred, $barney);
Aliases support both the HASH ref and convenient forms:
$nt->follows({ user_a => $fred, user_b => $barney });
Methods that support the page
parameter expect page numbers > 0. Twitter silently ignores invalid page
values. So { page => 0 }
produces the same result as { page => 1 }
.
REST API Methods
These methods are provided when trait API::REST
is included in the traits
option to new
.
Several of these methods accept a user ID as the id
parameter. The user ID can be either a screen name, or the users numeric ID. To disambiguate, use the screen_name
or user_id
parameters, instead.
For example, These calls are equivalent:
$nt->create_friend('net_twitter'); # screen name
$nt->create_friend(1564061); # numeric ID
$nt->create_friend({ id => 'net_twitter' });
$nt->create_friend({ screen_name => 'net_twitter' });
$nt->create_friend({ user_id => 1564061 });
However user_id 911 and screen_name 911 are separate Twitter accounts. These calls are NOT equivalent:
$nt->create_friend(911); # interpreted as screen name
$nt->create_friend({ user_id => 911 }); # screen name: richellis
Whenever the id
parameter is required and user_id
and screen_name
are also parameters, using any one of them satisfies the requirement.
- block_exists
- block_exists(id)
-
Returns if the authenticating user is blocking a target user. Will return the blocked user's object if a block exists, and error with HTTP 404 response code otherwise.
Returns: BasicUser
- blocking
- blocking(page)
-
Returns an array of user objects that the authenticating user is blocking.
Returns: ArrayRef[BasicUser]
- blocking_ids
-
Returns an array of numeric user ids the authenticating user is blocking.
Returns: ArrayRef[Int]
- create_block
- create_block(id)
-
Blocks the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the blocked user when successful. You can find out more about blocking in the Twitter Support Knowledge Base.
Returns: BasicUser
- create_favorite
- create_favorite(id)
-
Favorites the status specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the favorite status when successful.
Returns: Status
- create_friend
- create_friend(id)
- alias: follow_new
-
Befriends the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the befriended user when successful. Returns a string describing the failure condition when unsuccessful.
Returns: BasicUser
- create_saved_search
- create_saved_search(query)
-
Creates a saved search for the authenticated user.
Returns: SavedSearch
- destroy_block
- destroy_block(id)
-
Un-blocks the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the un-blocked user when successful.
Returns: BasicUser
- destroy_direct_message
- destroy_direct_message(id)
-
Destroys the direct message specified in the required ID parameter. The authenticating user must be the recipient of the specified direct message.
Returns: DirectMessage
- destroy_favorite
- destroy_favorite(id)
-
Un-favorites the status specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the un-favorited status.
Returns: Status
- destroy_friend
- destroy_friend(id)
- alias: unfollow
-
Discontinues friendship with the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the un-friended user when successful. Returns a string describing the failure condition when unsuccessful.
Returns: BasicUser
- destroy_saved_search
- destroy_saved_search(id)
-
Destroys a saved search. The search, specified by
id
, must be owned by the authenticating user.Returns: SavedSearch
- destroy_status
- destroy_status(id)
-
Destroys the status specified by the required ID parameter. The authenticating user must be the author of the specified status.
Returns: Status
- direct_messages
-
Returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent to the authenticating user including detailed information about the sending and recipient users.
Returns: ArrayRef[DirectMessage]
- disable_notifications
- disable_notifications(id)
-
Disables notifications for updates from the specified user to the authenticating user. Returns the specified user when successful.
Returns: BasicUser
- enable_notifications
- enable_notifications(id)
-
Enables notifications for updates from the specified user to the authenticating user. Returns the specified user when successful.
Returns: BasicUser
- end_session
-
Ends the session of the authenticating user, returning a null cookie. Use this method to sign users out of client-facing applications like widgets.
Returns: Error
- favorites
-
Returns the 20 most recent favorite statuses for the authenticating user or user specified by the ID parameter.
Returns: ArrayRef[Status]
- followers
-
Returns the authenticating user's followers, each with current status inline. They are ordered by the order in which they joined Twitter (this is going to be changed).
Returns 100 followers per page.
Returns: ArrayRef[BasicUser]
- followers_ids
- followers_ids(id)
-
Returns an array of numeric IDs for every user is followed by.
Returns: ArrayRef[Int]
- friends
- alias: following
-
Returns the authenticating user's friends, each with current status inline. They are ordered by the order in which they were added as friends. It's also possible to request another user's recent friends list via the id parameter.
Returns 100 friends per page.
Returns: ArrayRef[BasicUser]
- friends_ids
- friends_ids(id)
- alias: following_ids
-
Returns an array of numeric IDs for every user the specified user is following.
Currently, Twitter returns IDs ordered from most recently followed to least recently followed. This order may change at any time.
Returns: ArrayRef[Int]
- friends_timeline
- alias: following_timeline
-
Returns the 20 most recent statuses posted by the authenticating user and that user's friends. This is the equivalent of /home on the Web.
Returns: ArrayRef[Status]
- friendship_exists
- friendship_exists(user_a, user_b)
- alias: relationship_exists
- alias: follows
-
Tests for the existence of friendship between two users. Will return true if user_a follows user_b, otherwise will return false.
Returns: Bool
- mentions
- alias: replies
-
Returns the 20 most recent mentions (statuses containing @username) for the authenticating user.
Returns: ArrayRef[Status]
- new_direct_message
- new_direct_message(user, text)
-
Sends a new direct message to the specified user from the authenticating user. Requires both the user and text parameters. Returns the sent message when successful. In order to support numeric screen names, the
screen_name
oruser_id
parameters may be used instead ofuser
.Returns: DirectMessage
- public_timeline
-
Returns the 20 most recent statuses from non-protected users who have set a custom user icon. Does not require authentication. Note that the public timeline is cached for 60 seconds so requesting it more often than that is a waste of resources.
If user credentials are provided,
public_timeline
calls are authenticated, so they count against the authenticated user's rate limit. Use->public_timeline({ authenticate => 0 })
to make an unauthenticated call which will count against the calling IP address' rate limit, instead.Returns: ArrayRef[Status]
- rate_limit_status
-
Returns the remaining number of API requests available to the authenticated user before the API limit is reached for the current hour.
Use
->rate_limit_status({ authenticate => 0 })
to force an unauthenticated call, which will return the status for the IP address rather than the authenticated user. (Note: for a web application, this is the server's IP address.)Returns: RateLimitStatus
- saved_searches
-
Returns the authenticated user's saved search queries.
Returns: ArrayRef[SavedSearch]
- sent_direct_messages
-
Returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent by the authenticating user including detailed information about the sending and recipient users.
Returns: ArrayRef[DirectMessage]
- show_friendship
- show_friendship(id)
- alias: show_relationship
-
Returns detailed information about the relationship between two users.
Returns: Relationship
- show_saved_search
- show_saved_search(id)
-
Retrieve the data for a saved search, by ID, owned by the authenticating user.
Returns: SavedSearch
- show_status
- show_status(id)
-
Returns a single status, specified by the id parameter. The status's author will be returned inline.
Returns: Status
- show_user
- show_user(id)
-
Returns extended information of a given user, specified by ID or screen name as per the required id parameter. This information includes design settings, so third party developers can theme their widgets according to a given user's preferences. You must be properly authenticated to request the page of a protected user.
Returns: ExtendedUser
- test
-
Returns the string "ok" status code.
Returns: Str
- update
- update(status)
-
Updates the authenticating user's status. Requires the status parameter specified. A status update with text identical to the authenticating user's current status will be ignored.
Returns: Status
- update_delivery_device
- update_delivery_device(device)
-
Sets which device Twitter delivers updates to for the authenticating user. Sending none as the device parameter will disable IM or SMS updates.
Returns: BasicUser
- update_profile
-
Sets values that users are able to set under the "Account" tab of their settings page. Only the parameters specified will be updated; to only update the "name" attribute, for example, only include that parameter in your request.
Returns: ExtendedUser
- update_profile_background_image
- update_profile_background_image(image)
-
Updates the authenticating user's profile background image. Expects raw multipart data, not a URL to an image.
Returns: ExtendedUser
- update_profile_colors
-
Sets one or more hex values that control the color scheme of the authenticating user's profile page on twitter.com. These values are also returned in the /users/show API method.
Returns: ExtendedUser
- update_profile_image
- update_profile_image(image)
-
Updates the authenticating user's profile image. Expects raw multipart data, not a URL to an image.
Returns: ExtendedUser
- user_timeline
-
Returns the 20 most recent statuses posted from the authenticating user. It's also possible to request another user's timeline via the id parameter. This is the equivalent of the Web /archive page for your own user, or the profile page for a third party.
Returns: ArrayRef[Status]
- verify_credentials
-
Returns an HTTP 200 OK response code and a representation of the requesting user if authentication was successful; returns a 401 status code and an error message if not. Use this method to test if supplied user credentials are valid.
Returns: ExtendedUser
Search API Methods
These methods are provided when trait API::Search
is included in the traits
option to new
.
- search
- search(q)
-
Returns tweets that match a specified query. You can use a variety of search operators in your query.
Returns: ArrayRef[Status]
- trends
-
Returns the top ten queries that are currently trending on Twitter. The response includes the time of the request, the name of each trending topic, and the url to the Twitter Search results page for that topic.
Returns: ArrayRef[Query]
- trends_current
- trends_current(exclude)
-
Returns the current top ten trending topics on Twitter. The response includes the time of the request, the name of each trending topic, and query used on Twitter Search results page for that topic.
Returns: HashRef
- trends_daily
-
Returns the top 20 trending topics for each hour in a given day.
Returns: HashRef
- trends_weekly
-
Returns the top 30 trending topics for each day in a given week.
Returns: HashRef
TwitterVision API Methods
These methods are provided when trait API::TwitterVision
is included in the traits
option to new
.
- current_status
- current_status(id)
-
Get the current location and status of a user.
Returns: HashRef
- update_twittervision
- update_twittervision(location)
-
Updates the location for the authenticated user.
Returns: HashRef
LEGACY COMPATIBILITY
This version of Net::Twitter
automatically includes the Legacy
trait if no traits
option is provided to new
. Therefore, these 2 calls are currently equivalent:
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(username => $user, password => $passwd);
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(
username => $user,
password => $passwd,
traits => ['Legacy'],
);
Thus, existing applications written for a prior version of Net::Twitter
should continue to run, without modification, with this version.
In a future release, the default traits may change. Prior to that change, however, a nearer future version will add a warning if no traits
option is provided to new
. To avoid this warning, add an appropriate traits
option to your existing application code.
ERROR HANDLING
There are currently two strategies for handling errors: throwing exceptions and wrapping errors. Exception handling is the newer, recommended strategy.
Wrapping Errors
When trait WrapError
is specified (or Legacy
, which includes trait WrapError
), Net::Twitter
returns undef on error. To retrieve information about the error, use methods http_code
, http_message
, and get_error
. These methods are described in the Net::Twitter::Role::WrapError.
if ( my $followers = $nt->followers ) {
for my $follower ( @$followers ) {
#...
}
}
else {
warn "HTTP message: ", $nt->http_message, "\n";
}
Since an error is stored in the object instance, this error handling strategy is problematic when using a user agent like LWP::UserAgent::POE
that provides concurrent requests. The error for one request can be overwritten by a concurrent request before you have an opportunity to access it.
Exception Handling
When Net::Twitter
encounters a Twitter API error or a network error, it throws a Net::Twitter::Error
object. You can catch and process these exceptions by using eval
blocks and testing $@:
eval {
my $statuses = $nt->friends_timeline(); # this might die!
for my $status ( @$statuses ) {
#...
}
};
if ( $@ ) {
# friends_timeline encountered an error
if ( blessed $@ && $@->isa('Net::Twitter::Error') ) {
#... use the thrown error obj
warn $@->error;
}
else {
# something bad happened!
die $@;
}
}
Net::Twitter::Error
stringifies to something reasonable, so if you don't need detailed error information, you can simply treat $@ as a string:
eval { $nt->update($status) };
if ( $@ ) {
warn "update failed because: $@\n";
}
FAQ
- Why does
->followers({ screen_name => $friend })
return my followers instead of$friends
's? -
First, check carefully to make sure you've spelled "screen_name" correctly. Twitter sometimes discards parameters it doesn't recognize. In this case, the result is a list of your own followers---the same thing that would happen if you called
followers
without thescreen_name
parameter. - How do I use the
geocode
parameter in the Search API? -
The
geocode
parameter value includes a latitude, longitude, and radius separated with commas.$r = $nt->search({ geocode => "45.511795,-122.675629,25mi" });
SEE ALSO
- Net::Twitter::Error
-
The
Net::Twitter
exception object. - http://apiwiki.twitter.com/Twitter-API-Documentation
-
This is the official Twitter API documentation. It describes the methods and their parameters in more detail and may be more current than the documentation provided with this module.
- LWP::UserAgent::POE
-
This LWP::UserAgent compatible class can be used in POE based application along with Net::Twitter to provide concurrent, non-blocking requests.
SUPPORT
Please report bugs to bug-net-twitter@rt.cpan.org
, or through the web interface at https://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=Net-Twitter.
Join the Net::Twitter IRC channel at irc://irc.perl.org/net-twitter.
Follow net_twitter: http://twitter.com/net_twitter.
Track Net::Twitter development at http://github.com/semifor/Net-Twitter.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to Chris Thompson <cpan@cthompson.com>, the original author of Net::Twitter
and all versions prior to 3.00.
Also, thanks to Chris Prather (perigrin) for answering many design and implementation questions, especially with regards to Moose.
AUTHOR
Marc Mims <marc@questright.com>
LICENSE
Copyright (c) 2009 Marc Mims
The Twitter API itself, and the description text used in this module is:
Copyright (c) 2009 Twitter
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.
IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENSE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.