Introduction to the "Refinitiv API Samples" Github group

Overview

In this article I would like to briefly introduce you to the Refinitiv API Samples Github group. I will explain what you can find in there and how to search this very useful group.

The Refinitiv API Samples Github group

This group has been created and is maintained by Refinitiv teams. It contains source code projects specifically created for the Refinitiv Developer Community. The purpose of these projects is to teach Refinitiv APIs and to show them in action in the context of various use cases.
These source code projects contain: 

• Source code examples related to API tutorials published on the Refinitiv Developer Community portal.
• Stand alone example applications that demonstrate how to use one or several Refinitiv APIs in the context of a basic or a more advanced use case.
• Source code related to articles published on the Refinitiv Developer Community portal.

Projects are presented in individual Github repositories and come with a README.md file that explain the purpose of the projects, provide links to the related tutorials or articles and give instructions to build and/or run the demonstrated source code.

Repository naming convention

For better clarity and better ease of search, repositories of the Refinitiv API Samples group use the following naming convention.

Repositories names are made of 5 parts separated by a dot '.' character. The goal of this structured naming is to give you a quick overview of the content of each project. The 5 parts provide you with indications about:

• The project type: indicates if the project is related to an Article, an Example or a Tutorial.
• The APIs list: indicates the APIs used in by the project. A short name has been defined for each Refinitiv API. Here is the current list that may be completed over time:
  • ETA: Enterprise Transport API
  • EMA: Enterprise Message API
  • EikonAPI: Any of the Refinitiv Eikon APIs (Web & Scripting,.Net, COM)
  • AppStudio: AppStudio APIs for developing Refinitiv Eikon apps.
  • DSS: DataScope Select APIs
  • RTH: Refinitiv Tick History APIs
  • RKD: Refinitiv Knowledge Direct API
  • OpenPermID: Open PermID and Calais Tagging APIs
  • RFA: Robust Foundation API
  • OpenDACS: Open DACS API
  • …

For projects that involve several APIs, this part is made of several acronyms in alphabetic order and separated by a dash '-' character. 

• The programming language: indicates the programming language used by the project. A short name is defined for each programming language. Here is the current list that may be completed over time:
  • Cpp: For C++
  • Java
  • C#
  • Javascript
  • Python
  • …
• The technology: This is an optional part that gives an indication on the technology used by the project. Here is the current list that may be completed over time:
  • COM
  • NET
  • REST
  • SOAP
  • …
• The name of the project : A name that briefly describes the project.

These five parts are always given in this specific order so that you can visually browse the repositories of the group very quickly. 

Here are some examples of names:

• Tutorial.EikonAPI.Python.CompanyTearsheetEstimates
• Example.EikonAPI.Python.NewIssuesInTheNews
• Article.EMA.Java.ChainExpander
• Example.EMA.Java.SpeedGuide
• Example.AppStudio-DSS-TRTH.Javascript.SpreadSMALastIndexComponents

As you may have realized, all these repositories have been created at the same level, as a flat structure. At first glance it may seem a bit confusing and disorganized, but this has been made on purpose. As you will see in the next section, this flat structure combined with the naming convention and the Search Repositories feature of the Github group brings you a very powerful searching facility.