Market Websites 101

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Contents 1 Class Information 1.1 General Information 1.2 Notes for the Teacher 2 Class Contents 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Introduction to the Market Database Websites 2.3 Contributing Data 2.4 Online Functionality 2.5 Using the API for Automated Lookups 2.6 Class Wrap-up

Class Information

This chapter contains the standard information of this class pertaining to scheduling and class contents. The General Information should be sufficient to create a proper class topic for scheduling on the Eve University forum. Additional information relevant to the teacher is listed under Notes for the Teacher.

General Information

Illustration link for class description on the Eve University forum: none yet

This class provides an introduction to the various 3rd party Market Database websites, such as EVE-Central, EVE Marketeer, and EVE-MarketData. We will describe what exactly they do, how you may contribute, and how you may access and utilize the data.

• Duration: 2.0 hours
• Location: Docked up safely in a station

Class contents:

• Market Database websites description
• Contributing data
• API access in GoogleDocs
• Q&A

Student requirements:

• Mumble registration and access - make sure you have Mumble sorted out and operational well before the class begins. Use this guide for set-up: http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Mumble
• Access to the Class.E-UNI in-game chat channel

Additional information: This class is primarily lecture delivered in the Class.E-UNI channel in Mumble, followed by Q&A.

Notes for the Teacher

Required materials:

• Class.E-UNI chat channel, to receive questions and post relevant links
• List any relevant links to teacher's references on the wiki or other resources, if needed
• Describe any ships, fittings, modules, or tools required to have on hand, if needed

Any particular notes or tips about how to deliver the class go here.

Class Contents

Introduction

Welcome to this class on Market Database websites!

This class provides an introduction to the various 3rd party Market Database websites, such as EVE-Central, EVE Marketeer, and EVE-MarketData. We will describe what exactly they do, how you may contribute, and how you may access and utilize the data.

We will concentrate on a single site, specifically EVE Marketeer, but the ideas will be applicable to most all of the other marketing sites. We will also cover how to use GoogleDocs Spreadsheets to perform automated price lookups in Jita, and other tasks.

(Instructor should then introduce himself or herself - covering relevant experience level and background.)

We have a few ground rules for this class:

• Please put your Mumble settings on "Push to Talk" if you have not already done so.
• Feel free to type any questions in the Class.E-UNI chat channel as we proceed - I will try to answer your questions as they come during the class. [At the end of my lecture, we'll open Mumble for any further questions or general discussion.]
• This class is entirely lecture. There are no live exercises.
• When we get to the GoogleDocs Spreadsheet portion, it may seem like a lot of complicated programming for those unfamiliar with advanced spreadsheet functions. But we'll try to explain things so that anybody can understand it.

Everyone ready? OK, then - let's begin....

Introduction to the Market Database Websites

• What are they?
  • they store market information, most typically current prices for items
  • updated by users and/or dedicated uploader alts
• Some of the most popular
  • EVE-Central: http://www.eve-central.com/
  • EVE-MarketData: http://eve-marketdata.com/
  • EVE Marketeer: http://www.evemarketeer.com/ (this class will focus on this one for demonstrations)
• Which is "best"?
  • whichever has the right tools for what you want to do
  • frequent and active data uploads

Contributing Data

• Automated uploaders
  • download an application and run it in the background while you play EVE
  • old-school needed to use the "Export to File" functionality
  • current uploaders will scan the EVE cache files
• market item scanners
  • they use JavaScript to automatically step through items in the Market Window

Online Functionality

• Varies with the site
• Some examples
  • EVE-Central Trade Tools: http://eve-central.com/tradetool/
  • EVE Marketeer Profitable Hauling: http://www.evemarketeer.com/trade/profitable_hauling/
  • EVE Marketeer Loyalty Point Spending: http://www.evemarketeer.com/trade/bestloyaltypoints/
  • EVE-MarketData Shopping List: http://eve-marketdata.com/shopping_cart.php
  • EVE-MarketData Sell My Hangar: http://eve-marketdata.com/sell_my_hanger.php
• Some will require an API key to access characters, assets, etc.
  • Example: EVE Marketeer Asset Manager

Using the API for Automated Lookups

• Most sites have an API, or Application Programming Interface, that returns data in XML format
  • don't let that scare you; basic price lookups can be as easy as copying and pasting
  • in our examples, we will use EVE Marketeer
    • other sites' API lookups will be similar but not identical, may need some customization
• Our example: http://www.evemarketeer.com/api - go to Item Details section
  • use the middle example: http://www.evemarketeer.com/api/info/34/xml
    • looks ugly in the IGB :( :( :(
    • looks good in any browser with automatic XML formatting

• • • in an "intended outline" format
      • all the available data listed in the Item Details section
    • for our example, we want: //result/row/sell_lowest5
• We need the ItemID
  • in the URL http://www.evemarketeer.com/api/info/34/xml it is the "34"
  • E-UNI XML call that retrieves itemID when given the itemName
    • documentation at http://forum.eveuniversity.org/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=49273
  • for our exercise, we want the top example: http://util.eveuniversity.org/xml/itemLookup.php?name=tritanium
• The super-easy copy-and-paste stuffs!
  • for the itemID: =importxml(concatenate("http://util.eveuniversity.org/xml/itemLookup.php?name=",B2);"//itemLookup/typeID")
    • change the B2 to the cell with the itemName
  • for the price lookup: =importxml(concatenate("http://www.evemarketeer.com/api/jita_info/",C2,"/xml");"//result/row/sell_lowest5")
    • change the C2 to the cell with the itemID
• Customizations
  • limit of 50 importxml() calls in GoogleDocs spreadsheets
    • can hard-code the itemID after finding it
  • customize the data being referenced by changing "//result/row/sell_lowest5"
  • see the documentation for other calls and filters

Class Wrap-up

• Thanks for attending this class!
  • I would appreciate any feedback from people on how to improve the class
• Questions ?