PBSWS - Developers

To use the PBSWS you will need a working knowledge of XML and how to parse it into your application. Parsing could be as simple as a XLST document or as complex as a server-side scripted application.

Making a request is done very easily by requesting a URL with the correct parameters. The below example request will return the 10 most recently posted books.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/api/v1/index.php?RequestType=RecentlyPosted

The RequestType variable in the above example makes a request for RecentlyPosted. The PBSWS then return the 10 most recently posted books in a XML document. Below is a table that lists the valid RequestTypes.

RequestType	Description	MemberID Required?
Bookshelf	Returns a list of books that a particular member has posted into the system.	Yes
BooksRead	Returns a list of books that a particular member as on their Books I've Read List.	Yes
ClubWishList	Returns the book details for a list of ISBNs and whether they are on the Club Wish List.	No
ISBNList	Returns the book details for a list of ISBNs and whether they are currently available in the system.	No
MemberReviews	Returns a list of book reviews written by a particular member.	Yes
MemberWishList	Returns a list of books on a Member's Wish List.	Yes
RecentlyPosted	Returns a list of the 10 most recently posted books.	No
RecentlySwapped	Returns a list of the 10 most recently swapped books.	No
TBRPile	Returns a list of books on a particular Member's TBR Pile.	Yes

For RequestTypes that require a MemberID it must be passed in the URL as MemberID. MemberIDs are case-sensitive. To retrieve your MemberID please login and visit this page.

To make a request with RequestTypes ISBNList or ClubWishList you will need to pass the ISBN(s) with the request. Pass the ISBN(s) through the variable in a comma-delimited list.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/api/v1/index.php?RequestType=ISBNList&ISBN=0684826976,9780684826974

Each RequestType will return different attributes back in the XML document. If a date is returned, it will be returned in two different formats. The first format will be a Unix TimeStamp while the second will be in human readable format. The Unix TimeStamp is an integer representing the number of seconds since the Unix Epoch (January 1, 1970 00:00.00 GMT). Below is a sample response for RequestType=RecentlyPosted.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' standalone='yes' ?>
<Response>
   <APIVersion>1.0</APIVersion>
   <RequestType>RecentlyPosted</RequestType>
   <ResponseID>d2dvUExtUVhEZTQ9</ResponseID>
   <ResponseTime>0.000816822052002</ResponseTime>
   <GrandTotalResults>1160175</GrandTotalResults>
   <ResultsThisResponse>10</ResultsThisResponse>
   <Books>
      <Book>
         <ISBN-13>9781560547259</ISBN-13>
         <ISBN-10>1560547251</ISBN-10>
         <BookDetailsLink><![CDATA[http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9781560547259-Garters+Thorndike+Large+Print+Romance]]></BookDetailsLink>
         <Title><![CDATA[Garters (Thorndike Large Print Romance)]]></Title>
         <Authors>
            <Author><![CDATA[Pamela Morsi]]></Author>
         </Authors>
         <CoverImages>
            <SmallImage>http://www.paperbackswap.com/images/no_cover/no_cover_41_60.png</SmallImage>
            <MediumImage>http://www.paperbackswap.com/images/no_cover/no_cover_93_140.png</MediumImage>
            <LargeImage>http://www.paperbackswap.com/images/no_cover/no_cover_322_475.png</LargeImage>
         </CoverImages>
         <Binding>Hardcover</Binding>
         <Rating>4.2</Rating>
         <PostedDateTimeStamp>1178561628</PostedDateTimeStamp>
         <PostedDate>5/7/2007 2:13.48 PM ET</PostedDate>
         <Available>true</Available>
         <BuyItNew><![CDATA[http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2F1560547251%2F&tag=paperbackswap-20]]></BuyItNew>
      </Book>
      <Book>
      .
      .
      .
      </Book>
   </Books>
</Response>				

Response Attributes

• APIVersion
• RequestType
• ResponseID
• ResponseTime
• GrandTotalResults
• ResultsThisResponse
• ResultsPreviousSet (excluding RequestType "RecentlyPosted")
• ResultsNextSet (excluding RequestType "RecentlyPosted")

Response - Book Attributes

• Bookshelf
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • MemberRating
  • MemberRatingDateTimeStamp
  • MemberRatingDate
  • PostedDateTimeStamp
  • PostedDate
  • BuyItNew
• BooksRead
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • MemberRating
  • MemberRatingDateTimeStamp
  • MemberRatingDate
  • ReadDateTimeStamp
  • ReadDate
  • BuyItNew
• ClubWishList
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • Wishes
  • BuyItNew
• ISBNList
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • Available
  • NumberOfPages
  • PublicationDate
  • Publisher
  • Description
  • BuyItNew
• MemberReviews
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • MemberRating
  • MemberRatingDateTimeStamp
  • MemberRatingDate
  • ReviewDateTimeStamp
  • ReviewDate
  • ReviewText
  • ReviewHelpful
  • ReviewUnHelpful
  • BuyItNew
• MemberWishList
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • AutoRequest
  • WishDateTimeStamp
  • WishDate
  • WishQueuePosition
  • WishQueueTotal
  • BuyItNew
• RecentlyPosted
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • PostedDateTimeStamp
  • PostedDate
  • Available
  • BuyItNew
• RecentlySwapped
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • SwappedDateTimeStamp
  • SwappedDate
  • Available
  • BuyItNew
• TBRPile
  • ISBN-13
  • ISBN-10
  • BookDetailsLink
  • Title
  • Author
    • Author
  • CoverImages
    • SmallImage
    • MediumImage
    • LargeImage
  • Binding
  • Rating
  • TBRDateTimeStamp
  • TBRDate
  • BuyItNew