node-ndlna

A Node library for resolving names through the National Diet Library's Name Authority. This utility exists as an alternative to simply querying using the SPARQL endpoint as you can easily mix both English and Kanji forms of a name by querying the web service directly. Additionally search results and record results are heavily parsed and cached, to avoid performance hits from repeated usage.

This utility was created to correct artist names and generate bios for the Ukiyo-e.org service, created by John Resig. All code is available under an MIT license.

Example Usage

var ndlna = require("ndlna");

ndlna.init(function() {
    ndlna.searchByName("hiroshige", function(err, search) {
        search.load(function() {
            search.results.forEach(function(record) {
                console.log("ID:", record.id);
                console.log("URL:", record.url);
                console.log("Name:", record.name);
                console.log("Aliases:", record.aliases);
                console.log("Life:", record.life);
                console.log("VIAF URL:", record.viafURL);
            });
        });
    });
});

Methods

.init(callback)

Initialize the NDLNA connection (specifically loads the romaji-name library for future name parsing). You should probably wait until init completes before completing any searches.

.searchByName(name, callback)

Search for a person by name. The name can be in either English or Japanese (Kanji) - although you will get more results when searching in Kanji. The callback will have two arguments: An error object and a Search object.

Search

The search results of the searchByName method.

Properties:

• .results (Array): A collection of all the Records returned from a search.

Methods

.load(callback)

Calls .load() on all the result records. Is complete once all the results have been completely loaded.

Record

A single record returned in the Search results.

Properties:

• .id: A string holding the ID for the record.
• .url: A string holding the full URL of the record.
• .viafURL: The URL of the record in the VIAF database.
• .name: An object (returned from romaji-name) representing the name in the record (potentially a mixture of both kanji and romaji).
• .aliases[]: An array of objects (returned from romaji-name) representing the aliases in the record (potentially a mixture of both kanji and romaji).
• .life: An object (returned from yearrange) representing the lifespan of the individual.

Methods

.load(callback)

Load a full record. Normally the results returned in a single Search result set are rather meager, with only the ID of the record being returned. Calling .load() on the record will load all the rest of the properties.