imclab/nytimestream

NYTimes Newswire API as a stream using node.js

About

nytimestream is a demonstration of using Node.js and Socket.IO to create a web based push stream for breaking New York Times stories using the Times Newswire API.

Since the Times Newswire API is oriented around an HTTP client polling for new stories, nytimestream also needs to poll for updates. However nytimestream can poll once, and when a new update is found it is pushed to however many clients have subscribed for updates. Compare this to a more traditional scenario where all the browser clients need to poll either the nytimes api directly, or a proxy for the API. nytimestream significantly lowers the amount of traffic going to the Times Newswire API, since Node.js is able to keep lots of open network connections to clients that are waiting for updates.

Setup

1. install node
2. install npm
3. get a NYTimes developer key for Times Newswire
4. npm install
5. NYTIMES_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" node app.js
6. point your browser at http://localhost:3000/

License

Public Domain