XNetflix www

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

I also would like to see if I could take a stab at building a plugin for xl, could you point me in a good direction on how I could learn how to do so? Thanks!!!

Well, depends if u know how to code...

If u dont, theres two equally good starting points here:

http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/index.html
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesTitle/productCd-0764568523.html

If u do... just dl Stevens example and check the interface description and get on with it.

[sharp_1]

I don't know how to code so Thanks Bear!!!

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Well in that case i recommend the book... even if bag is c-thru plastic... u r gonna feel lot less dumb than when signing that semester fee cheque...

[sharp_1]

Is it possible to build a plugin using visual basic express? I have been told that would be the best one for me "a beginner" to use???

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Is it possible to build a plugin using visual basic express? I have been told that would be the best one for me "a beginner" to use???

I think should be... however its prolly best to just go with same language which example is written (C#)... C# is much java like... no hassle with pointers like in C++ so its quite bginner friendly.

Best idea is prolly to make small modifications to example and get hold of things... then invent some increadably simple plugin idea and code that from scratch... then u r already on your way to plugin mastery.

EDIT: btw sorry about confusion with book link above... ofcourse u should get book about c# not c++. BTW good book is must. Mostly u need just internet... but book can teach u good base knowledge first...

BTW basic aint any simpler than Java or for example C# that is just a silly myth... c++ is harder though, cause of pointers

[sharp_1]

I think should be... however its prolly best to just go with same language which example is written (C#)... C# is much java like... no hassle with pointers like in C++ so its quite bginner friendly.

I know we are way off track here but would this be a good starting point for building a plugin? http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/expre ... sytolearn/

[S Pittaway]

go with c#, you could use that kind of guide, but i always find it better to jump in and see what happens

Download the express version and go for it.

To be honest, the online msdn help is pretty good (most topics have a working example that shows how it should work), i would simply download a few simple plugins and play with them.


if you cant find a get a really simple one, let me know and i will knock you up a template that does all the basics (give me an address and i can email you one).


Sean.

[sharp_1]

if you cant find a get a really simple one, let me know and i will knock you up a template that does all the basics (give me an address and i can email you one).

Thanks for the help. I will take you up on the plugin template, please email it to me. My email address is sharpDOT2006ATyahooDOTcom

[Atlas]

sharp_1

I don't think I can get to the saved movies directly. I'll add a couple to mine and play around, but probably would take alot of page scraping. Currently I use the RSS feeds for the movie lists.

As far as updating your movies db I've been thinking about adding a feature that adds the "At Home" category to your movies as offline movies. I could possibly populate all you movies. It would be an option on the seutp page. I would obviously have to have the search function done first. Let me think on that.

For learning programming, it is all the same. Just the syntax and how data is handled is different....so pick one. I know several languages, and C# is pretty easy to learn. Couple that with MS Visual Studio Express. Also if you look on this site I've posted a couple of things for setting up Express to debug a plugin with Xlobby. Also I have posted a template of my starting points for a Xlobby plugin......<searching> OK here they are...one of them you responded in!

http://www.xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4331&highlight=
http://www.xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4037&highlight=express


I believe this is the site I used to learn some things too. Guy was real good.
http://learnvisualstudio.net

[sharp_1]

Atlas:
Thanks for the reply. I have downloaded and am going thru lessons for C# as we speak. This seems overwhelming at times!!! I will probably see this in future lessons, but how are you getting the feedback from netflix? Is it all thru the website and rss feeds? If so how are you mining for the keywords to be used in your plugin? Now back to my lessons, feels like I am back in school.

[sharp_1]

sharp_1:
Well I already have some code in there (not workable) to handle a search. I have to brush up on skinning as I need to be able to get a abc overlay and pass the typed in info to the plugin, then return the results in a category, etc. So in summary it's in the works, just got to get motivated to finish it!

Not sure what saved movies are? I only handle whatever is in the RSS feeds. That is where I get the list of movies and there id. Can you tell me where it is on the site and I can answer better if it is possible or not.

Atlas: Any progress on this...what a great this it would be. I know with the uncertainly of xl it's hard to invest alot of time in right now, just thought I would ask since you said you were working on it already.

[MarkBarbieri]

I'm new to XLobby and I can't get this to work. I think I did everything in the readme. I copied the xnetflix folder. I configured it. I got my ID set up.
The databases were created. My question is, how do i get to it? There is nothing new on the main menu. There is not a new option under setup for the main menu. How do I access the Netflix screen in XLobby?

[snsumner]

I am still new to Xlobby but I believe I installed the Netflix correctly based on the readme. However, there appears to be some type of corruption that I can't overcome.

In the plugin setup I only selected my "queue" and I restarted Xlobby and waited 30-minutes for the database to get populated. I have 47 movies in my queue. I have a database called "nflx_queue" and I see all 47 movies listed under the "Items" section of the DB Editors.

However, I see that there is some type of corruption where data from the first movie in my queue is replicated across all the movies in my queue. And every single movie has the Coverart for the first movie in my queue. To explain in more detail the first movie in my queue is "Starship Troopers" and it captured the following data per field:

Coverart: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\movies\\.jpg
Display: 1- Starship Troopers
stars: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\images\stars_1_34.gif
cast: Casper Van Dien,Dina Meyer,Denise Richards,Jake Busey,Neil Patrick Harris,Patrick Muldoon,Michael Ironside,Clancy Brown,Seth Gilliam
runtime: 130 minutes
genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
ratingtext: For graphic sci-fi violence and gore, and for some language and nudity
rating: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\images\rating_R.gif
title: Starship Troopers
plot: but the question of his identity perplexes him as he fights to stay alive. Franka Potente co-stars in this action thriller based on Robert Ludlum's novel.
inq: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\images\inq_d40_s0_v3.gif
year: 1997
director: Paul Verhoeven

When I go to the second movie in my queue I get the following data:

Coverart: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\movies\\.jpg
Display: 2- Raiders of the Lost Ark
stars: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\images\stars_1_34.gif
cast: Casper Van Dien,Dina Meyer,Denise Richards,Jake Busey,Neil Patrick Harris,Patrick Muldoon,Michael Ironside,Clancy Brown,Seth Gilliam
runtime: 130 minutes
ratingtext: For graphic sci-fi violence and gore, and for some language and nudity
genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
rating: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\images\rating_R.gif
title: Starship Troopers
plot: but the question of his identity perplexes him as he fights to stay alive. Franka Potente co-stars in this action thriller based on Robert Ludlum's novel.
inq: C:\Program Files\xlobby\plugins\xnetflix\cache\images\inq_d40_s0_v3.gif
year: 1997
director: Paul Verhoeven

And it repeat the same symptom for the remaining movies. So it looks like it get the correct "Display" field but everything else is corrupted for all the movies. And it doesn't get the Coverart for each movie correctly. And it looks like it cutting off the plot also. The <xlobby>\plugin\xnetflix\cache\images only contains two files: rating_R.gif and stars_1_34.gif. The <xlobby>\plugin\xnetflix\cache\movies only contains two files: .jpg and .xml

I suspect that something on Netflix's website has changed that broke the Netflix plugin. I am using xnetflix v0.5 and XLobby 2.0.7177.12 which is the latest and greatest right now. Can anyone provide any help on how to resolve these issues?

Regards,
Scott

[mistadigga]

snsummer,

I'm seeing the exact same thing on my end, with the same build plug-in and same build xlobby. Can anyone chime in and let us know what's going on? I take it there's been some changes on the NetFlix site?

Thanks!

[Atlas]

Sorry guys. I don't check the site much anymore. I'm waiting to see what Xlobby is going to be after visiting 'extreme makeover' Also I don't plan on supporting a free plugin for a tool I have to pay for. I was fine with contributing to something that didn't cost money.

However seeing as it isn't for sale yet and I needed it fixed for myself, I updated the plugin. Yes, netflix changed the site and my scraping code was broke. I'll post the update shortly, but it is only scraping changes. I haven't added any new features and don't plan on it (sorry sharp_1 no searching )....unless I get a copy of the new XLobby for free from Steven!