USPS API / Domo App? Need to Track Package Status Updates In Domo

TPetroski
TPetroski
in APIs & Domo Developer

Hello, I'm not a developer, but trying to help my company locate any existing infrastructure that might help us parse out USPS package tracking info so that we can join that to our orders with tracking numbers.


This is their webtool info but it's way over my head.

https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/track-and-confirm-api_files/track-and-confirm-api.htm#_Toc120028071


Reaching out to see if there's anyone who either has an app or knows of an alternative that exists within Domo that we might be able to use.


Thanks!

Answers

  • ArborRose
    ArborRose Contributor

    An “api” is a programming interface. Think of it as a program that sits waiting to give you information. When your system contacts their api, your request is asking for updated information. The api responds with the information requested

    Its appears the usps api is communicating with XML. XML is a mark-up tagged language. Meaning its formatted with fields enclosed in <>. There is a start and a stop. The stop is indicated with a slash.

    Example:
    <message>
    <header>This Is My Heading</header>
    <body>This is my body text.</body>
    </message>

    Typically when you call an api, you must have a security authentication setup so the api knows who you are and confirms you are acceptable to receive the data.

    My connections to api communicate with JSON. I am not familiar with Domo connectors to this type of api. It might require a custom connector. Domo does include ways to parse XML and convert the information into a dataset or JSON.

    Another way to solve the problem would be to connect to the usps api with your own utility program and have the program write the response to an output file which Domo could import and work with.

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