German descriptions from Amazon

plunderydoo · 08-08-2010, 01:54 PM

Hi everybody,

first of all i must say thank you to Kovid Goyal for giving this great piece of software to us.
And here is my problem:
I've already organized a whole bunch of ebook with calibre, but there is one thing i dont get clear:
When downloading Metadata for most if the books there comes no description, and if, then it is in english (all my ebooks are German).

So currently i do copy the description from amazon.de and paste it in by hand into to the Book-Metadata in calibre.
Because i still got a lot of ebooks to go, the question is how to get calibre to load the german description from amazon.de ?
I think calibre uses amazon.com for getting metadata, could this be the Problem in my case ?
And if, can i change this somewhere to amazon.de?

Thanks for your help.

kovidgoyal · 08-08-2010, 01:59 PM

calibre uses various plugins to get descriptions, isbndb, google books and amazon. The amazon plugin uses the amazon AWS API which returns a description based on ISBN number. books in german should have german descriptions, but if they don't I don't easily see how that can be fixed, sorry.

plunderydoo · 08-09-2010, 12:03 PM

ok.
Doesn't sound good but still thanks for the quick answer.

kumbaja · 08-11-2010, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

calibre uses various plugins to get descriptions, isbndb, google books and amazon. The amazon plugin uses the amazon AWS API which returns a description based on ISBN number. books in german should have german descriptions, but if they don't I don't easily see how that can be fixed, sorry.

Could you offer a separate plugin for Amazon.de (and possibly all the other locales offered by amazon) or add a respective dropdown in the plugin customization window?
The API is pretty much the same, you just use a different endpoint for the request.

kovidgoyal · 08-11-2010, 10:59 AM

As far as I know there is no separate API for amazon.de as far as querying AWS is concerned.

kumbaja · 08-11-2010, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

As far as I know there is no separate API for amazon.de as far as querying AWS is concerned.

Same API but different endpoint (and different product database, hence different product summaries)

See http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AW...alLocales.html

The US locale doesn't have all the german books available.
For example the Simon Beckett's "Whispers of the Dead" (titled "Leichenblässe" in German).

The US ISBN is 978-0385340069, which can be found in the US and UK locale
The UK ISBN is 978-0593055267, which can only be found in the UK locale
The DE ISBN is 978-3805208666, which can only be found in the DE locale
(all hardcovers respectively)

Additionally the Editorial Review for the US ISBN is different in the US and UK locale.

kovidgoyal · 08-11-2010, 11:41 AM

Yes, but how does one actually use that in an AWS query?

kumbaja · 08-11-2010, 11:49 AM

If you use the SOAP API you use a different WSDL (see http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AW...LLocation.html)

If you use the REST API you simply query a different URL. I.e. A amazon.com query might look like this:

Code:

http://webservices.amazon.com/onca/xml?AWSAccessKeyId=[Access_Key]&
IdType=ISBN&
ItemId=[Query ISBN]&
Operation=ItemLookup&
ResponseGroup=Medium&
SearchIndex=Books&
Service=AWSECommerceService&
Timestamp=[Timestamp]&
Version=2009-01-06&
Signature=[Signature]

In order to query the DE locale you simply replce the base URL

Code:

http://webservices.amazon.de/onca/xml?AWSAccessKeyId=[Access_Key]&
IdType=ISBN&
ItemId=[Query ISBN]&
Operation=ItemLookup&
ResponseGroup=Medium&
SearchIndex=Books&
Service=AWSECommerceService&
Timestamp=[Timestamp]&
Version=2009-01-06&
Signature=[Signature]

kumbaja · 08-11-2010, 11:53 AM

On a similar note: Why isn't there a cover plugin for amazon? The metadata plugin is already pretty borderline in regards to amazon's recent policy changes in regards to mobile devices.

kovidgoyal · 08-11-2010, 11:58 AM

It definitely wont be separate plugins, but I could probably modify the plugin to use the current GUI language to decide which db to connect to.

kovidgoyal · 08-11-2010, 12:02 PM

No point in having an amazon cover plugin, the same covers are available elsewhere.

kovidgoyal · 08-11-2010, 12:07 PM

Open a ticket for it, so I don't forget

kumbaja · 08-11-2010, 12:40 PM

Hmm, well there are similar issues with the cover download plugins. In many cases the cover download will use an US based cover instead of a proper German one even if the German ISBN is used.

Are the cover download plugins also open source and if so, where can I find their source as they are not in the main bazaar repository?
Edit: nevermind. They are in the source, just not where I expected them.

plunderydoo · 08-12-2010, 02:21 PM

Great News.
Thanks for engagement !!

plunderydoo · 08-21-2010, 05:14 AM

Not sure now what going to happen now:
Is there to be a change in the current Calibre-Amazonplugin or a extra plugin for Amazon DE ?
And (of course) when to expect ?

08-08-2010, 01:54 PM	#1
plunderydoo Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 412 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: WinMobile, Hanvon N516 w. OpenInkPot, eLyricon EBX-500, Iphone 3GS	German descriptions from Amazon Hi everybody, first of all i must say thank you to Kovid Goyal for giving this great piece of software to us. And here is my problem: I've already organized a whole bunch of ebook with calibre, but there is one thing i dont get clear: When downloading Metadata for most if the books there comes no description, and if, then it is in english (all my ebooks are German). So currently i do copy the description from amazon.de and paste it in by hand into to the Book-Metadata in calibre. Because i still got a lot of ebooks to go, the question is how to get calibre to load the german description from amazon.de ? I think calibre uses amazon.com for getting metadata, could this be the Problem in my case ? And if, can i change this somewhere to amazon.de? Thanks for your help.

08-11-2010, 12:40 PM	#13
kumbaja Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: iPad	Hmm, well there are similar issues with the cover download plugins. In many cases the cover download will use an US based cover instead of a proper German one even if the German ISBN is used. Are the cover download plugins also open source and if so, where can I find their source as they are not in the main bazaar repository? Edit: nevermind. They are in the source, just not where I expected them. Last edited by kumbaja; 08-11-2010 at 12:42 PM. Reason: stupid

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08-08-2010, 01:59 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,185 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	calibre uses various plugins to get descriptions, isbndb, google books and amazon. The amazon plugin uses the amazon AWS API which returns a description based on ISBN number. books in german should have german descriptions, but if they don't I don't easily see how that can be fixed, sorry.

08-09-2010, 12:03 PM	#3
plunderydoo Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 412 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: WinMobile, Hanvon N516 w. OpenInkPot, eLyricon EBX-500, Iphone 3GS	ok. Doesn't sound good but still thanks for the quick answer.

08-11-2010, 10:59 AM	#5
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,185 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	As far as I know there is no separate API for amazon.de as far as querying AWS is concerned.

08-11-2010, 11:41 AM	#7
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,185 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Yes, but how does one actually use that in an AWS query?

08-11-2010, 11:53 AM	#9
kumbaja Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: iPad	On a similar note: Why isn't there a cover plugin for amazon? The metadata plugin is already pretty borderline in regards to amazon's recent policy changes in regards to mobile devices.

08-11-2010, 11:58 AM	#10
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,185 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	It definitely wont be separate plugins, but I could probably modify the plugin to use the current GUI language to decide which db to connect to.

08-11-2010, 12:02 PM	#11
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,185 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No point in having an amazon cover plugin, the same covers are available elsewhere.

08-11-2010, 12:07 PM	#12
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,185 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Open a ticket for it, so I don't forget

08-12-2010, 02:21 PM	#14
plunderydoo Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 412 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: WinMobile, Hanvon N516 w. OpenInkPot, eLyricon EBX-500, Iphone 3GS	Great News. Thanks for engagement !!

08-21-2010, 05:14 AM	#15
plunderydoo Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 412 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: WinMobile, Hanvon N516 w. OpenInkPot, eLyricon EBX-500, Iphone 3GS	Not sure now what going to happen now: Is there to be a change in the current Calibre-Amazonplugin or a extra plugin for Amazon DE ? And (of course) when to expect ?

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