SOAP/REST API Developer Contributed Documentation
Getting Started with hi5's REST API
hi5 has a pretty easy REST API to work with. A REST call is made using simple HTTP requests.
We'll start with an example call using a HTTP GET:
http://api.hi5.com/rest/profile/user/1000?Hi5AuthToken=SECRET
This call will fetch user profile information from the api.hi5.com server in XML format; authenticating with an Hi5AuthToken = SECRET.
If you want the data returned in JSON format, substitute "json" for "rest", e.g.,
http://api.hi5.com/json/profile/user/1000?Hi5AuthToken=SECRET
Hi5AuthToken
You'll need to authenticate most REST calls with an "Hi5AuthToken" that can be retrieved from one of:
- A hi5 user's OpenSocial application environment (insert sample code here)
- A REST authentication endpoint (insert details here)
This is added as a parameter. App guidelines state you cannot store this token for future use and there is an enforced short time limit on the token's validity.
Things to Consider
- Rate limiting - hi5 has rate limits in place to prevent spammy applications from killing the API servers, as well as maintain a good user experience.
- Service outages - hi5 maintains a fairly good platform, but spammy applications can sometimes overload the system which manifests as 500 status errors.
- OpenSocial REST - This REST API may be deprecated in favor of the standardized OpenSocial 0.8 REST spec. That spec uses OAuth for authentication, but many of the same principles will apply. You may discover not all hi5 REST features port over, so understanding the native hi5 interface may still be of use.
API Issues
Insert any API issues here.
