Without much further ado, here are the basics for creating a tracking request:

TEST_DOMAIN = 'gatewaybeta.fedex.com'

def find_tracking_info(tracking_number, options={})
        options = @options.update(options)
        tracking_request = build_tracking_request(tracking_number, options)
        response = commit(:track, save_request(tracking_request),
                          (options[:test] || false))
        parse_tracking_response(response, options)
  end

protected
   def build_access_request
        xml_request = XmlNode.new('ns:WebAuthenticationDetail') do |access|
          access << XmlNode.new('ns:UserCredential') do |user|
             user << XmlNode.new('ns:Key', @options[:key])
             user << XmlNode.new('ns:Password', @options[:password])
          end
        end
        xml_request
      end

      def build_client_detail
        xml_request = XmlNode.new('ns:ClientDetail') do |client_detail|
          client_detail << XmlNode.new('ns:AccountNumber', @options[:account])
          client_detail << XmlNode.new('ns:MeterNumber', @options[:meter])
        end
        xml_request
      end

     def build_tracking_request(tracking_number, options={})
        xml_request = XmlNode.new('ns:TrackRequest',
                         :'xmlns:ns'=>"http://fedex.com/ws/track/v2",
                         :'xmlns:xsi'=>"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance",
                         :'xsi:schemaLocation'=>"http://fedex.com/ws/track/v2") do |root_node|
          root_node << build_access_request
          root_node << build_client_detail
          root_node << XmlNode.new('ns:TransactionDetail') do |detail|
            detail << XmlNode.new('ns:CustomerTransactionId', 'Ground Track')
          end
          root_node <<  XmlNode.new('ns:Version') do |version|
            version << XmlNode.new('ns:ServiceId', 'trck')
            version << XmlNode.new('ns:Major', '2')
            version << XmlNode.new('ns:Intermediate', '0')
            version << XmlNode.new('ns:Minor', '0')
          end
           root_node <<  XmlNode.new('ns:PackageIdentifier') do |package|
              package << XmlNode.new('ns:Value', tracking_number.to_s)
              package << XmlNode.new('ns:Type', "TRACKING_NUMBER_OR_DOORTAG")
          end
        end
        xml_request.to_xml
      end

     def commit(action, request, test = false)
        http = Net::HTTP.new((test ? TEST_DOMAIN : LIVE_DOMAIN),
                                (USE_SSL[action] ? 443 : 80 ))
        http.use_ssl = USE_SSL[action]

        headers = {
          'Referer' => 'me',
          'Port' => '443',
          'Accept' => "image/gif, image/jpeg, image/pjpeg, text/plain, text/html, */*",
          'Content-Type' => 'image/gif'
        }

        http.verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE if USE_SSL[action]
        response = http.start do |http|
          http.request_post ('/xml', request, headers)
        end
        response.body
      end

The 0.2.7 version of Ruby OAuth isn’t totally compatible with the Netflix authentication APIs. However, thanks to the grooviness that it is GitHub, Rob Ares graciously forked the OAuth gem in order to get it working. So clone his repository and get cracking!

Here’s a start:

require "oauth/consumer"
consumer = OAuth::Consumer.new(
      "developer api key",
      "developer api secret",
      {
        :site => "http://api.netflix.com",
        :request_token_url => "https://api-user.netflix.com/oauth/request_token",
        :access_token_url => "http://api.netflix.com/oauth/access_token",
        :authorize_url => "https://api-user.netflix.com/oauth/login"
      })

    request_token = consumer.get_request_token  

 request_token.authorize_url({
       auth_consumer_key => "you developer api key",
      :application_name => "application name",
       auth_callback => "optional"
    })

    access_token = request_token.get_access_token

    response = consumer.request(
      :get,
      "/users/#{access_token.response[:user_id]}",
      access_token,
      {:scheme => :query_string})

Rake::Task["thinking_sphinx:index"].invoke

And, if you happen to get funky “bad minute” errors when trying to setup said rake task via cron, make sure your cron command fits on one line while ediiting via crontab -e.

Choose your next adventure.

Love it. Song to celebrate my new fish.

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.

As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. “Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!”

“Brother,” the second monk replied, “I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her.”