Watchlist .02
Several months ago, my wife asked me if there was a web service that would notify her when her favorite authors released new books. There wasn't, so I wrote a simple PHP script called Watchlist. This is the next generation.
The original Watchlist was a simple web scraper; it took as input a text list of authors, and performed an Amazon search on each one. The script "read" each result page and generated an html page and an rss page of the results. The new version queries Amazon's database directly, using Amazon Web Services, making it much faster and more efficient. Additionally, Watchlist has transitioned to a database-driven format, which should make it easier to use and opens some new possibilities.
The script is in a very rudimentary but functional state. Try it out at http://moralanimal.net/watchlist. A downloadable package is forthcoming.
What's Coming:
- code cleanup and cosmetic enhancements
- Add to Wishlist, Ignore Title, and Add to Google Calendar functionality
- re-implement (optional) RSS functionality
Future Possibilities:
- additional media types (DVDs, music, etc.)
- Joomla and/or WordPress plugins
- mobile theme
Feedback and comments are welcome, especially if you are a CSS or web design guru who can help me get this think looking presentable...