Notalib/LYT — Issue #62: Limited/slightly confusing information from getContentMetadata
Author: Flambino
Created: 2011-12-21 20:16:02+00:00
State: open
Labels: server-side

When calling `getContentMetadata` there's not very much information in the response. There's a lot more information in a NCC file's metadata, but in order to retrieve the NCC file, the book must first be issued, which will place it on the user's bookshelf/MemberCatalog.

In other words, it's difficult to get comprehensive information about a book _without_ having to issue it first.

There also seems to be a number of other issues with the response (see below)

**Example response from `getContentMetadata`**

Book title

99999

dtb

lmt

Blah blah blah
Nota

Author's name

575

As can be seen above, only 50% of the metadata-nodes actually have values. Also, the tag-names seem to be different from the ones used [in the Daisy spec's example](http://www.daisy.org/projects/daisy-online-delivery/drafts/20100402/do-spec-20100402.html#tp_contentMetadata). In the spec's example, most of the metadata elements are are prefixed with `dc:` or `ncc:` (as they are in an NCC file's metadata), but here they are not. Why?

One value, which it'd be nice to have included, is the total runtime of the book (i.e. `ncc:totalTime`), since this would be useful for a user to know, before they choose to issue a book.

The `size` value seems to be off. Comparing it to the [Daisy spec's example](http://www.daisy.org/projects/daisy-online-delivery/drafts/20100402/do-spec-20100402.html#tp_contentMetadata), it seems _very_ low. It seems as if the `size` value is the byte-size of 1 file, rather than the entire book.

If there a list of the possible values (and their meanings) of the `type` value? In this example the type is `"lmt"` which I assume means "lydbog med tekst"? In any case, the codes use here appear to differ from the `media` codes returned by a search (the specific book used in this example, has the `media` codes `"AT,PF,EB"`).
Why aren't the same codes used everywhere? I know that the search API is a custom system, and isn't part of the Daisy/DODP spec, but it'd still be easier if the two systems used the same codes.