[vdr] Re: ANNOUNCE: EPG2vdr version 0.1

[Thomas Keil <tk@commedia-group.com>]

>>If we write software that batch-downloads their schedule data without
>>any interactive use of their site, they will start counter-measures,
>>such as changing their layout, so it will be more difficult to parse.
> 
> I agree with you not to offend them, but my script does use the site in
> an "interactive" way, because there is no other way but following the
> links from the start page to the site you/i want since the "position"
> (in means of URL) of the actual data changes from day to day anyways, so
> there is no way of directly "stealing" the content.

Carsten has a point.

In the view of the one that offers the content, you "steal" from them by 
obtaining the data without looking at the commercials that are woven 
into the page (and the only way for them to make money).
Aside from a very pesky juristical way to see this, it probably won't 
hurt anyone if just one or two users simply get the data with a script 
like this.
But if everyone does it, they just give away their work and get nothing 
out of it and have to close down eventually - or change their site in a 
way that the scripts won't work anymore.


Another approach would be possible, like Klaus already tried to do it.
Simply obtain the data from their site, build a EPG-Datafile from it and 
put it somewhere on a server so that interested users (like me, my EPG 
f*cks up all the time =( ) can obtain it from there and thus not hurt 
tvtv.de

Have a look at ftp://ftp.cadsoft.de/pub/people/kls/vdr/epg.data.gz
It's kinda outdated though, but I think the approch is right!