This article is for subscribers to our data feedsYour subscription account- This is, usually, for a single web site or app unless otherwise agreed
- There are conditions relating to display and usage, which are described in full on the relevant Features page, but include display of FixturesLive link + logo.
- the data key we provide you with is unique to your account; it must not be passed to others - not least because we are able to switch off individual accounts at any time
What you have access toWe will have initially set you up with a subset of the feeds we think you need access to. You can see all possible feeds by looking at
http://www.fixtureslive.com/external/webservice/fl.asmx; to see which feeds you currently have access to you can run GetWebServiceMethodsForAccount.
If you would like access to other feeds, just tell us which ones, but please note that some feeds are effectively disused; ask if unclear.
Please also note that our existing feeds cover a majority of the commonly-used public data on FixturesLive, but not everything (as we've not needed to develop the feeds for ourselves or customers). If you would like new feeds added, please ask. We may need to charge to add feeds for you if they are not likely to be widely used.
Notable data issuesThe data structure reflects the way FixturesLive has developed over time (we started in 2000), so there are some naming and usage issues which we'd like to point out, as missing these would lead to data anomalies. Most fields have sensible names, like FixtureID, TeamID and so on, so most things should make sense immediately, but here are some notable data issues:
Friendly fixtures - be careful with linking:- a League (LeagueID) contains a number of 'competitions'.
- 'competition' (DivisionID) is either a league division or a cup competition
- all Fixtures (FixtureID) relate to a single competition
- LeagueID = 0 is the league which holds all 'friendly' fixtures - these are arranged between clubs, and do not have league tables etc. to display.
Therefore your code needs to prevent links trying to display a competition where LeagueID = 0Venue 'tbc' - be careful with linking:All Fixtures can have a venue associated with them. The default VenueID for a fixture is 4, whose name is 'tbc' (to be confirmed). The fact that this default is 4 is a long-standing legacy issue, and, if we were starting again, we'd be setting this to 0, but we are where we are. In any event, VenueID 4 is clearly not a real venue, t
herefore your code needs to prevent links to display a venue's details where VenueID = 4Cup competitions are different from league divisions:As you may know from clicking around FixturesLive, clicking on a 'competition' (DivisionID) link wiil display either a league division screen or a cup competition screen. This is done by detecting the type of competition after the link is clicked. If you want to replicate that behaviour, fine, but also be aware that there are two types of cup competitions - so, in short, this can be quite complicated.
Other issues:The issues mentioned above are the most important/dangerous to be aware of; whether you encounter any other issues will depend on how much development you are doing, and for what purpose. So, rather than go into enormous detail here, just ask for advice if you need it.
SupportYour subscription includes a basic level of support i.e. the occasional email query. If you think you require more than this we will need to charge; for some clients we have agreed a one-off fee to advise/review during their build phase, reverting to normal support thereafter.