The Box_Rest_Client is a simple way to access the Box.net api utilizing the ReST api through PHP.
- cURL
- SimpleXML
- PHP version 5.3x (This is where it has been tested.. it continues the pass tests in other vresions, please let me know and this can be updated)
The Box_Rest_Client provides a standard way to execute various api methods from
the Box API.
Rather than providing "aliases" to the box.net api, the client completely relies on the api_methods. Except in a few cases (authentication, folder_tree, etc.) you will mostly be calling the api methods directly.
This happens through the use of the exec() method which accepts an API method as well as any parameters that need to be passed. As an example, to use the get_account_tree api method you would do something like the following (note, the example assumes you have already set an api_key and authenticated a user).
$box_rest_client = new Box_Rest_Client($api_key);
$box_rest_client->get('get_account_tree',array('params[]'=>'nozip'));
Of course there are "aliases" for commonly used api methods to ensure that you don't need to do a lot of work to get up and running with the box.net api.
For more details and some code examples, take a look at the example.php file.
Aliases are simply methods with the Box_Rest_Client class that can be run to perform a series of actions instead of forcing you to run through a series of api-methods manually.
replaces[get_ticket,get_auth_token]
To authenticate a user simply set the api_key and then do the following
$box_rest_client->authenticate();
The authentication will kick in and get a token, which it will use to redirect the user to the box.net login screen where they will need to grant your application permission. Once that is complete, they will be redirected back to your callback page. From there, you can do what you want.
What happens with the auth_token that is received from the completion of the
authentication process is handled via the Box_Rest_Client_Auth->store()
method. By default it simply returns the auth_token, but you could
theoretically set it up to do whatever you wanted to make the auth_token
publicly available.
After you have the auth-token, you will need to provide it to the
Box_Rest_Client class every time.
replaces[get_account_tree]
Since the get_account_tree api method returns a result structure that varies
based on the setup of a certain directory, the get_account_tree api method is
aliased as $box_rest_client->folder(0)
That will instantly return a list of files/folders below the folder wth id 0.
It will also ensure that the folders/files are of type Box_Client_Folder/Box_Client_File
respectively. These provide a standard interface for accessing properties of
the files and will eventually mean that we can add individual features to it.