What steps do I need to take to use TBXDS?
When you're investigating the possibility of using the TBXDS service for retrieving quotes, you will have to consider the following points:
- Knowledge of XML (XML DOM, XPath) is vital.
- Availability of a conforming XML parser library (or COM object like MSXML, pre-installed on almost all Windows platforms with the Internet Explorer).
- HTTP-library to send HTTP-POST messages, and receive data. (An all-in-one solution is, for example, the MSXML distribution, which includes an XMLHTTP COM object).
- A local storage location for the received data; for quotes this can be a simple database, but it's also possible to save the received XML (or parts thereof) as a local file.
- A schedule for regularly requesting the TBXDS data. For quotes, an interval of each 10 to 15 minutes is more than adequate.
- A solution of displaying the stored data dynamically in your web page (e.g., ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, JSP, etc.) But you could also generate a static HTML page every time you receive the quote data.