Facebook Python SDK - Introduction National Chengchi University Social Network and Applications - TA Session LittleQ

1. Introduction to Facebook Python API
Social Network and Applications, 2011
LittleQ, The Department of Computer Science, NCCU
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Introduction to
Facebook PY API

2. Objectives
• Learn the concepts of Facebook API
• Learn how to play with Facebook Graph
API
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3. Core Topics
• Facebook Developers website
• Graph API
• Facebook Python SDK
• Resources
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4. Facebook Developers
• Provide you online documentations
• Forum for discussion
• Management of your applications
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5. Where is it?
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6. Social Plugins
• Like Button, Send Button, Login Button
• Comments
• Your Friends
• Activity Feed, Live Stream
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7. Is That What You Want?
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8. Graph API
Response Data Aggregate Information
Access Token Request Data
Application Graph API Facebook Database
• Facebook’s core
• Social graph
• Connections
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9. Graph Model
• Composed of objects and connections
• Identify entities and relationships by id
• Data will be stored with smallest spaces
and keep being updated
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10. Object Model
information from graph API
without access token
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11. Graph Model
information from graph API
with access token
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12. Connection Model
• All of the object in the Facebook social graph are connected
to each other via connections
• Objects are just like entities while connections are like
relationship
• For example, users, pages and groups are objects and likes,
friends and feeds are connections
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13. Connection Model
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14. Access to Graph
• HTTP(S) Graph API
• SDKs
‣ Javascript SDK
‣ iOS SDK
‣ Android SDK
‣ PHP SDK
‣ Python SDK
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15. HTTP(S) Graph API
• RESTful HTTP request & response
• Response data-type: JSON
• Access URL: graph.facebook.com
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16. HTTP(S) Graph API
http://graph.facebook.com/<id-­‐or-­‐username>
• Request information of an object with id or username
• id-or-username can be “me” with the access token
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17. HTTP(S) Graph API
http://graph.facebook.com/littleq0903
Result:
{
"id":
"1681390745",
"name":
"Colin
Su",
"first_name":
"Colin",
"last_name":
"Su",
"link":
"https://www.facebook.com/littleq0903",
"username":
"littleq0903",
"gender":
"male",
"locale":
"en_US"
}
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18. Access Token
• A long string stands for the authentication of users
• Temporary
• The information behind the access token
‣ user id
‣ app id
‣ expired time
‣ secret
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19. Get Access Token
• GetMyAccess
http://getmyaccess.heroku.com
• It requires a permission called
“offline_access”, so this token can be valid
for a long time
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20. HTTP(S) Graph API
• Access token should be transferred as a
HTTP GET variable
http://graph.facebook.com/littleq0903?access_token=...
• More information:
developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/
api/
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21. Python SDK
• Let you access all features of the Graph API
• That’s all, let’s play!
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22. Python SDK
• https://github.com/facebook/python-sdk
• Designed to support Graph API and FB
Javascript SDK (You will learn in the future)
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23. Graph
• Depends your access token
• Everyone will have their own graph, could
be unique
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24. Graph API Class
• Fetch the graph by implement it
import
facebook
graph
=
facebook.GraphAPI()
user
=
graph.get_object(“littleq0903”)
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25. Authentication
my_profile
=
graph.get_object(“me”)
• Graph can be implemented with an access
token
graph
=
GraphAPI(ACCESS_TOKEN)
• And the perspective of the graph will be
different
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Introduction to
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26. Graph Methods
• get_object, get_objects
• get_connections
• put_object
• put_wall_post, put_comment, put_like
• delete_object
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27. Demo
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28. Homework
• Fetch a kind of data on the FB Graph
• Do some statistics on it
• Don’t Copy from others
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29. Q&A Time
Thanks for your listening
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