library(tidyverse)
## -- Attaching packages ----------------------------------------- tidyverse 1.3.0 --
## v ggplot2 3.3.2     v purrr   0.3.4
## v tibble  3.0.3     v dplyr   1.0.2
## v tidyr   1.1.2     v stringr 1.4.0
## v readr   1.3.1     v forcats 0.5.0
## -- Conflicts -------------------------------------------- tidyverse_conflicts() --
## x dplyr::filter() masks stats::filter()
## x dplyr::lag()    masks stats::lag()
library(knitr)
library(httr)
library(jsonlite)
## 
## Attaching package: 'jsonlite'
## The following object is masked from 'package:purrr':
## 
##     flatten

Assignment/Introduction

Your task is to choose one of the New York Times APIs, construct an interface in R to read in the JSON data, and transform it into an R DataFrame.

I went on the NY Times API website and I chose the Books API, since I am a fan of reading books. I chose the “Book Sellers History”. I retrieved info for the history to see the last few best sellers.

Link here

Preparing Data

ex<-GET("https://api.nytimes.com/svc/books/v3/lists/best-sellers/history.json?api-key=AkaADUlHKZkrwFyA3iDtzBbhtuZMECIa")


cat("The status returned is:", ex$status_code)
## The status returned is: 200

Converting JSON Data

data <- fromJSON(rawToChar(ex$content))
names(data)
## [1] "status"      "copyright"   "num_results" "results"
df<-data.frame(data$results, stringsAsFactors = FALSE)

View the data

df %>% 
select(title, description, author, publisher, reviews) %>% 
rename("Title" = title, "Description" = description,"Author" = author, "Publisher" = publisher, "Reviews"=reviews) %>% 
kable
Title Description Author Publisher Reviews
“I GIVE YOU MY BODY …” The author of the Outlander novels gives tips on writing sex scenes, drawing on examples from the books. Diana Gabaldon Dell , , ,
“MOST BLESSED OF THE PATRIARCHS” A character study that attempts to make sense of Jefferson’s contradictions. Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S Onuf Liveright , , ,
#ASKGARYVEE The entrepreneur expands on subjects addressed on his Internet show, like marketing, management and social media. Gary Vaynerchuk HarperCollins , , ,
#GIRLBOSS An online fashion retailer traces her path to success. Sophia Amoruso Portfolio/Penguin/Putnam , , ,
#IMOMSOHARD Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley HarperOne , , ,
#NEVERAGAIN Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School describe the Valentine’s Day mass shooting and outline ways to prevent similar incidents. David Hogg and Lauren Hogg Random House , , ,
$100 STARTUP How to build a profitable start up for $100 or less and be your own boss. Chris Guillebeau Crown Business , , ,
$20 PER GALLON Christopher Steiner Grand Central , , ,
’57, Chicago NA Steve Monroe NA , NA , https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/books/books-in-brief-fiction-poetry-319660.html, NA
‘ROCK OF AGES:’‘ROLLING STONE’’ HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL’ NA GEOFFREY STOKES, KEN TUCKER’ ’ED WARD NA , NA , https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/28/books/three-chord-music-in-a-three-piece-suit.html, NA
‘THE HIGH ROAD TO CHINA: GEORGE BOGLE, THE PANCHEN LAMA AND THE FIRST BRITISH EXPEDITION TO TIBET’ NA KATE TELTSCHER NA , NA , https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/books/review/Stuart.t.html, NA
’TIL DEATH Sharon Sala Harlequin Mira , , ,
’TIL DEATH DO US PART A matchmaker in Victorian England turns to a crime novelist for help when she starts receiving a series of disturbingly personalized trinkets. Amanda Quick Berkley , , ,
’Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America NA Naomi Schaefer Riley NA , NA , https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/books/review/til-faith-do-us-part-by-naomi-schaefer-riley.html, NA
’TIS THE SEASON Two classic holiday stories — “Under the Christmas Tree” (2009) and “Midnight Confessions” (2010) — plus the novella “Backward Glance” (1991). Ron Carr Harlequin Mira , , ,
——, THAT’S DELICIOUS Action Bronson with Rachel Wharton Abrams , , ,
…and the Horse He Rode In On: The People V. Kenneth Starr NA James Carville NA , NA , https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/18/books/preaching-to-the-converted.html, NA
.HACK G.U. , VOL. 5 This series, set in the future, is about an online, multiplayer game run amok. This volume concludes the tale. Hamazaki Tatsuya TOKYOPOP , , ,
1 Ragged Ridge Road NA David Adams Richards NA , NA , https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/31/books/books-in-brief-fiction-747866.html, NA
1,000 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE A guide for traveling the world; second edition updated with new entries. Patricia Schultz Workman , , ,

Confirm if data frame works

tf <- is.data.frame(df)
cat("Is this a dataframe?", tf)
## Is this a dataframe? TRUE

Conclusion

I was able to retrieve, format and use the API from The New York Times.