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convert.rb

convert.rb is a script that interactively prompts you for ISBN numbers, uses the Amazon Product Advertising API to look up information about the book. It then stores this information in the file dokuwiki.txt, in a format that is valid DokuWiki table row syntax.

The software lends itself to use in conjunction with a barcode scanner to rapidly record a large number of books.

This software was written to maintain the libary records of the Abteilung-für-Redundanz-Abteilung, a hackspace in Berlin.

Setup

An Amazon Web Services developer account that is signed up for the Amazon Product Advertising API is required. You must enter your Access Key ID and Secret Access Key in the file config.rb, otherwise the script will not work.

This script requires the following ruby gems to be installed:

  • amazon_product
  • term-ansicolor

Library Input

When the file dokuwiki.txt is not empty at program start, it is being used to initialize the list of known ISBNs. convert.rb will then append the rows created in this session to the file.

Features

  • Prevents duplicates based on ISBN
  • Supports multiple Amazon locales and tries them in order until valid data is found
  • Use convert.rb --help for a list of command-line options

Disclaimer

This software has not been excessively tested. You should check the contents of dokuwiki.txt for obvious errors before using it as input for DokuWiki.

Before using this software with your AWS credentials, you should carefully read the relevant Amazon Terms of Service and consider whether your intended use is covered by them (Hint: It may be not).