5 ms·

what is the point of an API for static data like this? storage is cheap... why not just download the entire Quran, Bible, Torah, whatever to your local hard dri

what is the point of an API for static data like this? storage is cheap... why not just download the entire Quran, Bible, Torah, whatever to your local hard drive... why incur network latency for this task?

rocketpastsix 5y ago
maybe they hope someone will do a verse (is it a verse in Islam? I'm not sure) type app that will text that data to subscribers or something.
- yebyen 5y ago
  I think you mean Surah/Ayah (those are the expressions for what in the Quran is akin to Chapter/Verse)
  - jagged-chisel 5y ago
    Linguistic curiosity: why would these expressions not be translated into English?
    - jdmichal 5y ago
      Domain-specific languages / jargon are not just a computer science thing.
    - icemelt8 5y ago
      its perfectly ok to call it a verse. Dr Zakir Naik, calls it Chapter/Verse in any of his speeches.
whitefirered 5y ago
It might be easier to use an api instead of having to go through it yourself.
- bastawhiz 5y ago
  The alternative to the API is not plain text, it's structured data like SQLite.
  - whitefirered 5y ago
    Yeah, but some people don't feel like importing SQL files into there DBMS or anything like that.
    - bastawhiz 5y ago
      So you'd rather integrate with an API that involves network egress to an untrusted third party system?! There's plenty of formats they don't involve SQL. It could easily be JSON or XML or YAML or anything else. SQLite is built into Python, you just need to open the file and query it, no importing needed.
diskzero 5y ago
Some people find joy and satisfaction in developing systems. I don't have total insight on their plans, so I am not going to ask "What is the point?" I prefer never to ask "What is the point" to anyone unless somehow their efforts are providing a net negative to the human condition. Sometimes the "point" is because it can be done. Sometimes the point is someone wants to learn about building an API and would prefer to do it with the Quran rather than with movie quotes.
- drooby 5y ago
  ….? Or maybe there is a interesting and expected answer that provides a learning experience? It doesn’t hurt to ask.
  - midev 5y ago
    > Or maybe there is a interesting and expected answer that provides a learning experience? Then it should be phrased like that. It's obvious the original comment was phrased as a condescending question, especially since they tried to answer it themselves. There's a difference between genuine interest and trying to show off how smart you are.
    - cphoover 5y ago
      So quick to offense. it wasn't meant to be condescending, it was meant to be a serious technical critique of what appears to be a publicly advertised product.
      - midev 5y ago
        > it wasn't meant to be condescending, it was meant to be a serious technical critique of what appears to be a publicly advertised product Oh, I think everyone was confused because there was no serious technical critique. You made a flippant comment about disk space and network latency. Basic observations that anyone building this would have considered. You can see from all the comments that everyone viewed you as condescending and unhelpful. You might want to revisit your writing style, since your intentions are not clear to anyone.
josephwegner 5y ago
I am not familiar with the Quran, but for the Bible, different translations have different copyright policies. For instance, the ESV text is free for non-commercial use, but if you want to use it for commercial purposes you must pay a licensing fee. ESV has a pretty decent API, actually! https://api.esv.org/ https://api.esv.org/ I used it way back when when Google TV was a thing, to make a verse-display used during bible studies.
bserge 5y ago
Scratching my head over this, too... I have over 50 ebooks on my phone, it barely even registers compared to the videos and apps. All perfectly searchable, too.
aeturnum 5y ago
Presumably it has value in that it makes it easy to integrate Qur'an content into an existing application. Beyond that, it seems like this could be used as a base for adding new translations, commenting and conversation on particular verses, personal collections of scripture, etc. If you are planning on going in any of those directions you need to build a platform for the static stuff before you expand.
pancaked 5y ago
I used it to create a twitterbot that tweeted quran verses at islamic hate speech tweets. not particularly innovative but funny

rocketpastsix 5y ago

maybe they hope someone will do a verse (is it a verse in Islam? I'm not sure) type app that will text that data to subscribers or something.

yebyen 5y ago
I think you mean Surah/Ayah (those are the expressions for what in the Quran is akin to Chapter/Verse)
- jagged-chisel 5y ago
  Linguistic curiosity: why would these expressions not be translated into English?
  - jdmichal 5y ago
    Domain-specific languages / jargon are not just a computer science thing.
  - icemelt8 5y ago
    its perfectly ok to call it a verse. Dr Zakir Naik, calls it Chapter/Verse in any of his speeches.

whitefirered 5y ago

It might be easier to use an api instead of having to go through it yourself.

bastawhiz 5y ago
The alternative to the API is not plain text, it's structured data like SQLite.
- whitefirered 5y ago
  Yeah, but some people don't feel like importing SQL files into there DBMS or anything like that.
  - bastawhiz 5y ago
    So you'd rather integrate with an API that involves network egress to an untrusted third party system?! There's plenty of formats they don't involve SQL. It could easily be JSON or XML or YAML or anything else. SQLite is built into Python, you just need to open the file and query it, no importing needed.

diskzero 5y ago

Some people find joy and satisfaction in developing systems. I don't have total insight on their plans, so I am not going to ask "What is the point?" I prefer never to ask "What is the point" to anyone unless somehow their efforts are providing a net negative to the human condition. Sometimes the "point" is because it can be done. Sometimes the point is someone wants to learn about building an API and would prefer to do it with the Quran rather than with movie quotes.

drooby 5y ago
….? Or maybe there is a interesting and expected answer that provides a learning experience? It doesn’t hurt to ask.
- midev 5y ago
  > Or maybe there is a interesting and expected answer that provides a learning experience? Then it should be phrased like that. It's obvious the original comment was phrased as a condescending question, especially since they tried to answer it themselves. There's a difference between genuine interest and trying to show off how smart you are.
  - cphoover 5y ago
    So quick to offense. it wasn't meant to be condescending, it was meant to be a serious technical critique of what appears to be a publicly advertised product.
    - midev 5y ago
      > it wasn't meant to be condescending, it was meant to be a serious technical critique of what appears to be a publicly advertised product Oh, I think everyone was confused because there was no serious technical critique. You made a flippant comment about disk space and network latency. Basic observations that anyone building this would have considered. You can see from all the comments that everyone viewed you as condescending and unhelpful. You might want to revisit your writing style, since your intentions are not clear to anyone.

josephwegner 5y ago

I am not familiar with the Quran, but for the Bible, different translations have different copyright policies. For instance, the ESV text is free for non-commercial use, but if you want to use it for commercial purposes you must pay a licensing fee. ESV has a pretty decent API, actually! https://api.esv.org/ https://api.esv.org/ I used it way back when when Google TV was a thing, to make a verse-display used during bible studies.

bserge 5y ago

Scratching my head over this, too... I have over 50 ebooks on my phone, it barely even registers compared to the videos and apps. All perfectly searchable, too.

aeturnum 5y ago

Presumably it has value in that it makes it easy to integrate Qur'an content into an existing application. Beyond that, it seems like this could be used as a base for adding new translations, commenting and conversation on particular verses, personal collections of scripture, etc. If you are planning on going in any of those directions you need to build a platform for the static stuff before you expand.

pancaked 5y ago

I used it to create a twitterbot that tweeted quran verses at islamic hate speech tweets. not particularly innovative but funny