Programming guide

PWS can be accessed using REST calls submitted through standard http GET and POST requests. An important and useful property of REST is the ability to use your web browser as a development and prototyping tool. Without having to write any initial code, you can simply enter a PWS compliant URL into your browser, hit the "Go" button and receive a XML response.

If you're using Internet Explorer, the XML data returned from your PWS request will be displayed in a convenient and readable outlined form. You can expand and collapse logical sections of the data by clicking the "+" and "-" symbols displayed the the left of the actual data.

Using most of the popular development languages it is fairly easy and common to write some code to make custom requests to PWS and parse (process) the results into your web site or application.

Future enhancements

When planning your implementation using PWS it is important to keep in mind that we frequently add new XML elements and parameters to enhance the product offering. Should we change or remove any existing field, we will provide all users with advanced notice.

Resource allocation

In order to fairly allocate access to all users, PhoneDog currently imposes restrictions on the amount and frequency of PWS requests submitted per account. Depending on your application, you may choose to mine some of the data at off-peak times to create static displays of commonly used data on your site, freeing up resources and increasing your request limit. Do keep in mind however, that per your agreements with PhoneDog it is prohibited to store data locally should you choose to stop using PWS or terminate your agreement. Furthermore, keep in mind that certain types of data, mainly pricing information, changes frequently and as such should be refreshed periodically.